Do you need to go OUT to work at your home-based business? Yes, I’ve been there too. I had the “home-based” business that’s not really based at home at all. You have to attend training and meetings that are usually held in the evenings. You need to book presentations/parties mostly at nights or weekends. I went into my Party Plan business with the idea that I would only book parties during the week when my children were at school. I found the reality is that rarely happens. Of course, no-one tells you this – they just want to sign you up! And let’s face it, the people we need to come to our presentations are the ones with money to spend – and they are at work during the week. So YOU end up working nights and weekends to accommodate them.For us work-at-home mums and dads, there is no point having this business if it causes us to work those hours! Juggling schedules with your partner – or worse, paying for babysitters, so you can “work” from home. I was proud of the fact that I worked from home until I realized I was spending most Friday nights and Sunday afternoons away from my family – which is where I really wanted to be!What you need is a business that fits your needs and TRULY allows you to work from home. I struggled for ten years until I realized that myself, until I found the answer to my dilemma. I now really do work from home and it is everything I dreamed it would be. I have real freedom and flexibility now that I have the right business for my needs.Whether you’re looking at, or already running a “home-based” business, consider how much freedom you really have. If you’re a work-at-home mum or dad, how well does the business fit your lifestyle? Are you really able to work at home? It was life-changing for me when I looked objectively at what I was doing and my motivation behind it. So, whether you are researching a home business or are already in one, be realistic, take into account how much time you spend away from your family – and then ask, is it really working for you?
Want to Start a Home Based Business? Here’s 3 Things You Need to Succeed
With high unemployment and people losing their jobs almost daily many people have decided to take their destiny and financial success into their own hands and start a home based business. Anyone who decides to starts a home based business knows the great adventure they are about to embark on. Before beginning any adventure, it’s important to ensure that you have packed the necessary tools you will need to succeed. I have come up with a few necessary tools that you will need to stock up on before you begin your journey:Computer: This seems obvious right? Well I did say start a home based business so this should be a no brainer. Believe it or not all home based businesses specifically involve using a computer. SHOCKER! Imagine a hairstylist who decides to cut and color hair from his/her home. These people will not necessarily need to have a computer right? WRONG Again. While you obviously do not need a computer to add color to someone’s hair, a computer will provide efficiency and professionalism. Instead of listing your appointments into some outdated book you can quickly add all of your customer’s appointments to a database on your hard drive. You can also store important events in your clients lives such as birthdays and anniversaries to remind you so that you can acknowledge these special days. This way you are providing extra special customer service for your clients. A computer is a great tool in marketing that you can use to build your clientele, for example via Facebook, twitter or other social media sites. And the list goes on.Scanner/Printer: I would have added a fax machine but really does anyone still use a fax machine? This is an important tool that some people often try to avoid. This is actually very important. Although many things are done online now, having a printer and scanner can come in handy when you have items that’s not online that you may need a copy of immediate or have hard copy signatures of items that you need to send to someone immediately.Private Home Office: When you start a home based business, that’s exactly where you are at home. However your clients don’t need to know that do they? There is nothing more unprofessional than listening to dogs barking or screaming kids in the background while talking about business. While to you it may seem endearing and adds to your “personal/homely” persona, a client doesn’t care about our dog or your crying child all he/she cares about is how you will solve their problem, or deliver their service.Use these simple tips to help provide the professionalism and quality you need to make your company seem larger than life.
Here is the TRUTH About How to Succeed With an Online Home Based Business Opportunity
Here is The TRUTH about how to succeed with an online home based business opportunityWhen it comes to building a successful online home based business you need leads, there is just no way around it! The aspects of a lead and consistent prospecting are the lifeblood of an internet network marketer!Lets face the hard facts, without a steady flow of leads to talk to it will be virtually impossible for you to make any money in your business!There are internet resources where you can buy leads. No need to chase your friends and family! When you have made your first $10,000 a month, then go ahead and give them the chance too, if you care about them. But if you do not want to buy leads, but generate your own right from the go because you have the time and resources to do so, then Sandi Krakowski is your answer.
Once you have your leads then you need to have a way to keep them organized with an email marketing system. I give you recommendations here also. So finding them is not the problem, home business leads can come from many different resources. A lead could come in the form of purchased or self-generated!When it comes to finding companies on the Internet that will provide you with leads, a search on Google will turn up with thousands of results. You can buy or generate home business leads and learn how to invite them to take a look at your home based business.QUESTION: If you just opened an exclusive $500,000 restaurant in your city, how in the world are you going to get the word out about your new restaurant? Did I hear you say…advertise? You are correct. In order for people to walk into your new restaurant, you need to expose your restaurant by taking “all-out-massive-action in exposure”.It is the exact same thing with an online home based business. Whether you run a traditional business or a home based business, you need leads constantly or you will have to shut down! Now you know why 97% of home business owner’s fail in their home business…not enough leads. Guess what? 300,000 leads (people) on the internet each week are looking to escape their rat race! If you could reach 1000 of those leads via the internet who are motivated like you about making money, how much money would you be making from that client base?The key to your online home based business success, will be your ability to qualify a lead in the 5 basic areas required for your business:1. Talking to leads (people)
2. Sending them to a simple message
3. Following up and enrolling
4. Mentoring Them
5. Developing Team LeadershipThis is where most people, fail to adequately prepare someone like you. In any business you need consistent action to be successful, you need a steady and reliable flow of leads. Even more importantly you need to know how to expose, involve, upgrade and what to do with those leads in order to achieve success!Expose, involve and upgrade is a process, that you can learn! It does not matter if you generated the lead on the internet or you bought them, understand this process and your future is secured no matter what you do in life, after all business is about making sales. Consistent action is what causes any business to grow, you will need a weekly lead package that fills those needs.Turning Leads into Hot Prospects; Is both a skill and art, I have watched many times skilled marketers take a lead that 99% of the people in other companies today would have failed with, go on to schedule follow up calls and either have them become a client or a business partner.So what is the difference between You and Them? One of the most important thing is the understanding that when you are in a business, your not just talking to a lead on a list, YOU are talking to “REAL PEOPLE.” They really do not care about what you want, they care about what they want… yet so many people on the “outside” proceed to sell leads on how crazy they would be not to jump in the business now! If you know human sycology, then you know that people are naturally selfish. They care about what THEY want…not what YOU want (this is one of the insider secrets of dealing with people). No one likes to sell. We build relationships and make friends with new leads.People will build your business if you can show them how to make money. It’s a win – win situation. Effectively working Leads requires; Both time and patience. Have you ever heard someone say; you just need more leads. Well that might be true if you have lots of money to throw away. You can build your business on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, if you know how to be strategic, working your leads and having fun building a team.Are you ready to work Smarter not Harder?
If your answer is yes, then read on. What I’m going to layout here is a plan that you can put into action, even if you choose not to work with me. Remember the most important variable in starting a business today is YOU. People want to make more money today and do it in less time with less stress. They want no ceiling on their money making capacity.
That is one of my focus…..I show people how to make money while having a life and adding my fun personality inside of those tips and strategies.Regular training is vital to your online based business success, I can provide you with a success plan. This plan is tailored to your specific needs based on your current skill level. It does not matter if you are new to this industry or not.Getting your business email organized. Think about it if you are working for an employer, do you have personal emails etc… arriving in your work email box? Why should working a home business be any different. All of the unnecessary emails just tends to slow you down from your main objective… building your business. A unique email address for your business is the best solution. Free emails like yahoo, gmail, hotmail etc. is not a good solution, because they are often bombarded with spam emails. If you are using a web based email system stop now.Email marketing is tough today; sometimes important emails can end up in the bulk mail folder. If you want to be a professional, you need a unique email address that is your own. For example: my personal business email has my name and company on it. It’s a good idea to have your name in your unique email adr.Get Your Email Marketing System setup. This is one of the most important steps in becoming an effective and efficient business builder. Those who do not understand prospecting think that they need thousands of leads in order to be successful. Note pads, spread sheets etc… is not a good way to manage your leads. Once you see and understand how a good contact management program can simplify your life by making you more effective and productive you’ll wonder how you ever got along without your second brain. My recommended email marketing system can give you access to a contact management system to store your leads.Knowing at What Stage to Implement Sales Processes. Lets face it! We are all impatient when it comes to building our business. We want to build it quickly, we all do! but we never take the time to create a solid foundation on which to build a long term successful business. We place lead generation in front of skill development, only to become discouraged when nobody joins us. I’m conveying to you that it takes more, than just having a source of leads. You will need SKILLS to be an effective, successful and confident network marketer with your online home based business opportunity.
3 Tips On Picking The Home Based Business That’s Right For You
While the idea of starting a home based business may appeal to many people, there are a few things you should consider prior to investing your capital. Home based business appeals to individuals primarily because of the following reasons:- Flexibility of working hours- Ability to control level of income- Ability to hold several jobs at once- Comfort of having home as a work stationIn the world of the 9 to 5 grind, one does not usually experience these types of working conditions, yet they are a great motivating factor towards starting a home based business. Picking the right home based business is important. Ideally, one gets both the job satisfaction they need and the profit margins they desire.Here are 3 great tips on how to choose the right business for you:Consider your level of knowledge in the businessGoing into a business requires not just passion and drive but also the technical know-how of how to start, run and make a profit from the business. Going into a business that you know little about may result in a waste of time, money and other resources. If you decide to go into a business that you have little or no experience in, make sure you take a few courses to know how the business works before embarking on it.Decide between product and serviceMaking this decision is very vital to the success of your business. Deciding whether your home business will be product based or service oriented will determine how much resource you need to invest when starting off. Services require much less capital because they are usually based on a certain skill or expertise that you have. If you find a market whose demand is high for your skill then this might bring you a lot of profits. Product based businesses need a lot of capital to start because of the need for manufacturing and keeping stock. If you have ready market then your product can sell very well.Consider the amount of time you needPicking the right home based business involves a lot more than just considering the business logistics. Personal attributes and traits also come strongly into play. For instance, Home based business requires a lot of time and dedication. An individual who is lazy and under-motivated will definitely not make the kind of money they hope to. Similarly a stay at home mum with several kids will have her hands full most times of the day. This does not mean however that such people cannot find a home based business that works for them. Calculate the amount of time you will need to put in to make the amount of money you want and project tis over periods of time. The next step is to work out a comfortable schedule and adhere to it. In this way, you will spend time wisely and succeed in your home based business.There is no harm is seeking help from successful entrepreneurs who have experience working from home. They will point you in the right direction and offer you valuable tips on which business is best for you. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should follow your passion and your drive, and you will ultimately be successful in whatever you choose.
Build a Small Business Network to Help Your Business Succeed
As a small business owner you can often feel alone, even when surrounded by many people.How is this possible? The answer is that many small business owners keep their business challenges to themselves. They don’t want employees, or customers, or suppliers, or family and friends for that matter, to know that they have business issues that might be difficult to manage.If this describes your business environment, consider building a business network to help you manage your challenges and grow your business.What is a small business network? In this instance it is a network of either similar or dissimilar small businesses that work together to help each other solve their business issues and also to help each other manage and grow their businesses.Let’s examine an example of a small business network for similar businesses. A group of between eight and twelve business owners in the same industry but in non-competing locations set up a peer business network. They get together (either face-to-face or online) at a regularly scheduled day and time (maybe monthly or quarterly) to discuss their small business strategy and issues and they each ask for, and get, feedback from the rest of the group — all experienced business owners of similar type businesses.Some of the discussion might center on human resource issues such as training, hiring, firing, turn-over rates, and comparative wages or salaries. Other discussions might be on common customer centric issues such as turn-around times, over promising and under delivering, quality, service, handling difficult customers. Some sessions might focus on business planning, marketing planning, sales planning or results from plans.To form this type of group, business owners could meet through national or international industry trade associations. To make this type of network work, the participants must sign confidentiality agreements and non-compete agreements — even though today the businesses are non-competing, there is no guarantee that tomorrow they won’t be competing. It is important that legal advice is obtained at the start of setting up this type of network — your group will need to know what is allowed or not allowed by government competition acts.The advantage of this type of network is that all participants already know and understand the industry and can bring that knowledge and expertise to the discussions.Now, let’s examine an example of a small business network for dissimilar businesses.This type of network would work best in a group of not less than eight and not many more than twelve business owners (too small and the input is weakened; too large and it’s hard to have a voice or hear what’s going on). This group would get together on a regular basis (likely monthly) and review each business’ progress, operations, challenges, or the designated topic of the month. Since this is a network of non-competing, dissimilar businesses, the group could be local and meetings could be face-to-face.An advantage for local meetings is that the group would be operating in the same economic climate and would have a thorough understanding of what that means to local businesses. It would be relatively easy to form a local group by meeting businesses through local small business associations.Topics could be selected in advance by month, by quarter, by year and each business owner would attend a network meeting prepared to discuss issues surrounding that topic. For example, one month’s topic could be about reducing the cost of financing and sharing tips and tactics. Another month’s topic could be about the use of the best and most successful recruiting methods for that local area. Another month’s topic could be on creating a business plan and the necessary tools to do so.In this type of network it is also important to have confidentiality agreements and non-compete agreements at the start of the network meetings. You will want to have the assurance that if someone leaves the group that they won’t share confidential information with others.The advantage of this type of network is that you can more easily set this group up in your local market so that face-to-face meetings would not be difficult and that you might actually get more out-of-the-box thinking from business owners outside of the industry who are not constrained by past practices.For both types of networks, use an outside facilitator to ensure that the group stays on track and that each member gets out of the network what it needs (its reason for joining). The concept of a business network is to provide small business owners with a small business advisory group to test solutions, find answers, change old ways of doing things, and more. In large businesses, that type of network support typically comes from other departments or management. In small businesses, a strong small business network is part of an overall business community that becomes part of the infrastructure for your business’ success.
Thinking About a Home Based Business?
Are you thinking about a home based business, but are not sure if it’s the right decision for you? There are countless of work from home opportunities that flood the Internet and our emails every day, making it even harder to decide.
If you’re not quite sure where to begin, don’t despair. Years ago, I too was faced with the same decision. I had just delivered my first child and was on maternity leave for a few weeks. I knew that I would have to return to work when my 6-week leave was over. I battled over the idea of someone else watching my daughter, even though I had already researched and visited several day cares and finally chosen a fun loving place. But I didn’t have a choice. I needed money to pay bills, get diapers, buy infant formula, the list continued. So, on week seven, I returned to work tearfully leaving my child in someone else’s care. It was a very difficult decision for any new mother to make. That day, I resolved to find a way to work from home by either working for someone else or starting a home based business of my own.
My dream to work from home didn’t come true right away, but I didn’t give up. I tried several work from home opportunities – everything from typing to stuffing envelopes – and found several scams and programs that just didn’t work. I invested thousands of dollars into different businesses hoping to find a legitimate and profitable home based business. After trying again and again, I finally found a program that worked for me. If I can do it, so can you.
Maybe your reason to start a home based business is to build income and supplement your current cash flow. You may want the luxury of setting your own hours. Maybe you are tired of the time you spend commuting and want to save on gas. Or maybe you’ve been laid off and you don’t know how you can make ends meet. Whatever your reason, don’t get discouraged. It’s okay to want to improve your life and get out of the rat-race. It’s all right to want to start a home based business and build residual income. You may have tried different home based programs in the past and run into a lot of scams. Don’t let the scams prevent you from achieving your dream. If you’re thinking about working from home, you can. You may have been blessed with a great skill that you can offer as a service or product. Or you may want to start a home based business that’s already been created, so you can save some extra time and energy.
Take the first step and give it a try. Do your research about the home based business you would like to start or join. Are there other businesses in your area that are offering the same services? How are they doing financially and how are they getting business? Will the home based business require that you leave your home to drive more business your way? How will you advertise your business? If you’re still not sure, there are a lot of free resources on home based businesses. You may start with your local library or review home businesses online. If you don’t have a lot of money to invest, look for a home based business that’s already established and includes an automated system. Make sure it offers the support and training you need, so you can start generating income.
The home based business that I own is 98% automated and very cost-effective. There are some good programs out there. Just be sure to do your homework and research them thoroughly. Make your dream to have a home based business of your own a reality. Nothing beats a failure but a try.
Email Advertising
Email advertising has become almost as common as TV, postal or any other advertising. Each day, every mailbox is filled with hoards of information about product offers. Everything from credit cards to mortgage loans to personal enhancement offers is publicized. Though no one is sure whether viewers really acknowledge these offers or not, email advertising has become a very important part of the marketing mix.
There are many advantages to email advertising. It is a very cost-effective and efficient way to keep in touch with existing customers and provide them information about products or services in which they may be interested. It helps to improve a company’s brand loyalty. It saves a lot of time as compared to traditional direct mail advertising.
The results are also measurable, as nearly 80% of the responses arrive within the first three days after sending the mail. It is also very easy to track, as bounce-backs, click-through and other responses can be tracked immediately. Email advertising is ideal for certain products like downloadable software, online conferences, up selling to higher-priced products, or cross-selling.
Email advertisements are generally treated as “spam”. Spamming is the process of sending out advertising messages to millions of mailboxes through email. These messages are unsolicited; the recipient does not invite them. However, now spamming has been outlawed as a criminal offense. Besides, each advertising message should have an “opt-out” option, which will allow the recipient to block any more messages in the future. The reason is that, spamming causes servers to get clogged up, restricting important messages from passing through. Besides, spamming is also causing companies to lose their image. Hence, most companies are restraining themselves from sending spam messages. There are spam filters available that can effectively block emails from a certain email account.
Just like any other kind of advertising, email advertising also has to be attractive enough to grab the viewers’ attention. Ignoring an email advertisement is very easy for a user, as it just involves a single click of a button. The user can sift through several emails without even opening them. This is the reason email advertisers try to attract viewers with attractive subject lines. Most email advertisements use special offers, attractive discounts and other promotional gimmicks to attract viewers’ attention. Some advertisements are also designed to attract certain target groups like older people, women in a particular age group, or teenagers. Companies obtain this information from databases, which the viewer might have provided sometime in the past for any other reason.
Companies most commonly use opt-in email advertisements. In such advertisements, the mails are sent only to those recipients who have given permission to receive such emails. Another kind of email advertising is sending informative newsletters that contain useful information about any topic that the viewer might have expressed interest in. These newsletters contain advertisements of various products, which the viewer can click and access if they are interesting enough. Other forms of email advertising include online surveys and questionnaires, free offers for a limited period, offers of “winning a prize” and so on.
Email advertising messages have to be short and crisp enough to attract the viewer’s attention. The URL that links to the company or to the product has to be clear and visible to the reader, as most readers generally do not bother to read through the end of the message to find the URL. The language has to be upbeat and interesting, to hold the reader’s attention. Overly short messages are also not effective, as they are not taken seriously.
There are email advertising software tools available that make email advertising much easier. These are many kinds, such as email address extraction, bulk mailer programs, newsgroup extractor, email verifier, list manager and others. Prices start at $30 and may go up to $80 or more depending on the options available. Free trial versions are also available. The Internet is a great source for these software tools and the companies that provide them.
The Finer Points of Internet Auctions
WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?
Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.
The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.
The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.
The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.
HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!
The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.
There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.
Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.
HOW TO WIN!
Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.
The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.
The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.
The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.
HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!
Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.
Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.
Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.
CONCLUSION!
New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.
There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.
It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.
Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.
There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.
There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.
Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.
There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.
Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?
Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.
Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.
A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.
Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.
When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.
When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.
Hiring An Auction Company
Estimating your assets value:
Typically, one of the first questions a business owner will ask me is, “how much will the assets bring at an auction”. After taking the time to review the assets, the auctioneer should give the client a conservative estimate of the sale based upon his experience and the current market trends. It is important that the company give realistic expectations so the seller can make informed decisions based on their best interest.
Compensation and Expenses:
Is the company you are considering working for you or against you? The agreement you decide may determine this.
A business owner should carefully consider how the auction company is compensated. The most common commission structures include: straight commission, outright purchase of assets, guaranteed base with a split above to both auctioneer and seller, guaranteed base with anything above going to auctioneer or a flat fee structure.
In a straight commission structure, the company is paid an agreed upon percentage of the total sale.
In an outright purchase agreement, the auctioneer simply becomes your end buyer. The company purchases your assets and relocates them. While this can be an option in some unique situations, keep in mind that they will want to purchase your assets at a very reduced price to make a profit at a later date.
In a minimum base guarantee, the auction company guarantees the seller that the auction will generate a minimum amount of sales. Anything above that amount either goes to the auction company or split with the seller. While a seller might feel more comfortable doing an auction knowing that he is guaranteed a minimum amount for his sale, keep in mind that it is the best interest of the auction company to secure a minimum base price as low as possible in order reduce their financial liability to the seller and secure higher compensation for the sale.
In a flat fee structure, the auctioneer agrees to show up for the sale and call the auction. There is no incentive for the auctioneer to get the best prices for your assets. The auction company is compensated regardless of the outcome of your sale.
What is the best option for business owners? In my experience, an agreed upon straight commission structure. This puts the responsibility on the auction company to offer the best outcome for everyone involved. There is an incentive for the auction company to work hard for both parties, set up and run a professional sale, get the highest bid and sell every item on the inventory. Successful auctions translate to a higher bottom line for both the seller and the auction company.
Auction Expenses:
In most auction agreements the expenses to conduct an auction are passed to the seller. If the auction company pays for the expenses, it is simply absorbed in higher commission rates.
All expenses should be agreed upon in advance in a written contract. Typical expenses will include the costs of advertising, labor, legal fees, travel, equipment rentals, security, postage and printing. A reputable auction company will be able to estimate all expenses based upon their experience in previous auctions. An agreement should be actual costs charged as expenses, not an estimated amount.
Advertising is typically the highest cost in conducting an auction. The auction company needs to set up an advertising campaign that will promote the sale to its best advantage and not overspend to simply advertise the auction company.
Once the auction is complete, the auction company should provide a complete breakdown of all expenses to the seller, including copies of receipts within the auction summary report.
Buyer’s Premium:
What is a buyer’s premium? If you attend auctions regularly, you are very familiar with this term. The auction company charges a fee to the buyer when they buy an item at auction.
The buyer’s premium has been around since the 1980′s and is standard auction practice. It was first used by auction houses to help offset costs of running brick and mortar permanent auction facilities. Since then, it has spread to all aspects of the auction industry. It is prominent in online auctions and allows auction companies to cover added expenses incurred from online sales.
It is the responsibility of the auction company to provide clear disclosure of the buyer’s premium to both the buyers and the sellers. Those not familiar with auctions are often taken back by the buyer’s premium. They looked upon it as an under handed way for the auction company to make more money. Reputable auction companies will provide full disclosure within the auction contract, advertisement and bidder registration.
Typically, an auction company will charge online buyers a higher buyer’s premium percentage than those attending an auction in person. Extra fees are incurred with online bidding and are charged accordingly to online buyers. This provides the seller a level playing field for both online buyers and those attending the auction in person. Without the buyer’s premium, there is no way to do this.
Pre-Sales:
We’ve all been there. We’re looking forward to attending an auction only to find that some items were sold prior to the auction date.
As an auctioneer with over thirty-six years of experience, I can honestly state that pre-sales will hurt an auction. When a company decides to liquidate their assets, it is easy to sell off high-end pieces of equipment through online sources, equipment vendors or to other businesses. The seller receives instant cash and avoids paying a commission to an auction company.
Auctioneer’s find themselves appearing to acting in a self-serving capacity when potential clients say they are planning to sell off parts of their inventory prior to an auction. It’s hard not to consider the auctioneer’s commission when they warn you not to pre-sell anything. Yes, the auctioneer wants to earn a commission on those sales but it is more important that the auctioneer protect the sale from potential negative backlash that comes from pre-selling. The buying public knows when an auction has been “cherry picked” prior to the sale and it reflects in their bidding. It becomes a sale of “leftovers” and that impacts prices.
A buyer who purchases prior to the auction usually does not attend the sale. They already bought equipment at a good price with no competition. If they do attend the auction, they tend to let others know of their great pre-sale purchases which again, impacts prices and the overall excitement of the sale.
It is important to understand that auctions work best with a complete inventory. You want competition on your higher end equipment. The easy to sell items make it possible to gain respectable prices for hard to sell items.
When a business owner decides to liquidate their equipment assets, there is only one opportunity to do it right. Hiring a reputable auction company will assist you with a professional, orderly and timely liquidation.