🤠Sold... How do auctioneers boom sales?

My hope is you're dominating this week like a lady wearing lots of leather and equipped with a bad attitude. 

I’ll start us off with insights from an odd industry that knows how to push sales. Even if you don’t need those insights, you’ll walk away with guerilla marketing ideas that can work in any type of business.

After the Feature, I’ve got lots to get to in the sections below… 

• The Knowledge Base (unlearning)  

• Self Help (size of the fight in the dog)

• Facts & Stats  

• Get Hacking (halo effect)

Now, let’s whip up that Feature Story.

Modern Auctions & Tactics that Boom Sales 

A few years ago, I found out a local feed store owner bought and sold prized cattle at online auctions. 

Odd thing, having one of the oldest trades in the country being modernized like that. But he said it was a booming business. 

I figured auctions were just for collector cars on ESPN and local car auctions nowadays. I even assumed Ebay auctions were mostly extinct (you’ll be on that one).

That got me thinking about the sales skills it takes to be an auctioneer. You know, the “going once, going twice, sold” guys. Girls too. I reckon they can bang a gavel.

Let’s look at how auctioneers pump up sales and how auctions will still be popular fifty years from now.

Creating Urgency and Scarcity

Auctioneers fire up the bidders by:

• Setting time limits on bidding

• Emphasizing the uniqueness or rarity of items

• Creating high-energy pressure

Marketers can use those tactics with limited-time offers and highlight product scarcity to motivate faster purchase decisions.

Social Proof

Auctions intentionally create an environment where bidders can see others' interest. This shows the item must be valuable - else, all the other folks wouldn’t be bidding. Auctioneers amplify this by:

• Announcing multiple bids quickly

• Drawing attention to active bidders

You can and should do the same by putting a spotlight on customer testimonials, user numbers, or real-time product popularity to boost perceived value. (Don’t be subtle about it, either. I once took a job I didn’t even want just because I knew another guy wanted it. Made the job enticing.)

Price Anchoring

Auctioneers start with a high opening bid to anchor the perceived value of an item. Doesn’t matter if the first few bids are lower —the psychological benchmark has already been branded in the bidders’ brains.

Mimic this auctioneer tactic by presenting your premium options first.  Or take a lazier, maybe smarter path, by comparing your product to higher-priced alternatives to make your offer seem like a no-brainer.

Emotional Prodding

Successful auctioneers create a fun, emotionally charged atmosphere. They:

• Use enthusiastic, rapid-fire talking

• Tell stories about items to increase emotional attachment

• Encourage friendly competition among bidders

Use stories to make your products and services stand out and seem more valuable. One specific study even showed even when buyers knew a story was made up, they still paid more for those story-laced products. 

Finding interactive ways to engage your shoppers is harder but not impossible. 

Multiple Sales Technique

Auctioneers often sell popular items to multiple bidders at the second-highest bid price, maximizing revenue.

Consider tiered pricing strategies or bundle deals to capture different segments of willing buyers. This is a great reason to lean into more precise segmenting of your email list.

Confidence and Authority

Auctioneers are bold and sure of themselves. Who would buy a prized Brahma bull or 65 Corvette from a slumped-shoulder, shaky-voiced fella? Nope. Auctioneers show authority by:

• Speaking clearly and decisively

• Showing deep knowledge about items

• Maintaining control of the room (imagine getting a tongue-lashing from an auctioneer🥴)

Marketers can do this by showing their industry expertise and working on every form of communication they have to use. 

Expert doesn’t mean never being wrong, by the way. Today, you get more respect by standing up and saying you screwed up. People who refuse to do that are not hiding their mistakes… they’re hiding their human side and ruining their reputation.

What the Best Auctioneers Have

A couple famous names in the auction world are Ellen Toscano and Hugh Edmeades.

They have these traits and skills that produce the highest sales figures:

• Emotional Intelligence

• Showmanship

• Articulate

• Persuasive

• Quick-thinking

• Can convey crucial information clearly

• Charisma

Alternative Angle on Auctions

Maybe you’re having an affair with an auctioneer’s spouse and already know all those auctioneer sales secrets. 

You can still use the idea of auctions to get more awareness for your brand. Or offer special experiences for your VIP customers. 

You don’t need any items to auction off. Just get creative with experiences. Idea-sparkers below:

1. Personal lessons (e.g., golf, singing, or writing lessons with a pro)

2. Custom artwork commissions

3. Guided local tours

4. Lunch dates with notable figures

Doesn’t have to be high-end, either. You could aim for fun engagement by auctioning off “artwork” from local elementary students. 

Lots to learn from auctions and auctioneers in a time when people would rather just do a one-click purchase. 

Ebay numbers prove auctions are declining. 88% of items sold on eBay are 'Buy It Now'. Only 12% via auction. However, there are 2.1 billion listings on Ebay. 

You’ll have to do the math, my head hurts.

Self-Help

I’ve read that the holiday season gets lots of people down.

Probably been the case for me in some years.

If that happens to you as Christmas rolls our way, just remember there’s fight left in you like these two dogs below:

#1 Watch how the dog reacts once he’s freed

#2 Tough to watch this one, but it pays off because ain’t no quit in this girl 

Facts & Stats

Bonus: What was voted number #1 thing a company can do to better support marketing operations? Answer at end of email.

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Get Hacking

A specific strategy to implement today

ISCS found online sales increased after opening a physical store—about 6.9% sales increase. And the online halo effect is two times for emerging and direct-to-consumer (DTC) retailers that open physical stores in the same trade area.

“Great!” you say, but you don’t have the moola to build a store or just don’t want the hassle. Cool.

Are there any upsides for an existing store that could sell your online products for you?

List those upsides and pitch them to five or six brick-and-mortar store owners. 

Can’t think of any upsides? Hire someone with creativity oozing out their ears to find some.

Yeah, it’s possible no upsides exist. But often it’s impossible to see benefits before bouncing ideas off someone.

Inbox Hacking is read by good marketers like yourself at Gartner & Allstate. Please share this newsletter (you’ll be benefiting my pups with better treats😉).

Shane McLendon, Copy Kingpin 

Bonus answer from Facts & Stats section: Better alignment among teams voted #1 thing a company can do to better support marketing operations (Marketing Ops 2024 Report).