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.

Let us all admit that whenever you work at home it does not take long for things to become chaotic. This is because having a company as well as a home lifestyle does not gel together. However, if it is always your wish to own your work at home business; here are five home based business strategies you can apply in order to get the success you are looking for.1. Organize Yourself and BusinessThe two main aspects your home based business must have are your work area, as well as your time. When there isn’t any method or organization in your company as well as your home living, it is possible for you to be completely stressed out 24 hours a day. You will not have a clear start or finishing time, plus your place of work will become a mess the whole day. Try to organize essential records in document folders, and put them in a filing cupboard. Additionally, when you are filing, cautiously carry out labeling for customers tax details, finances, building contractors, providers, and so on. Keep things to do list on your own desk throughout the day, and tick them as soon as the task is completed.Even when your customers know that you work at home; there needs to be fix working hours when you can be reached. One example is, if someone is generating an income on the internet they should remember to supply a get in touch with form so that people can contact them on a twenty-four seven (24/7) service, By doing this they will set up their online business boundaries so that they won’t be getting phone calls through the entire evening hours. An additional way to make sure that company message or calls remain inside the appropriate perimeters is to arrange an independent business telephone line that has an answering machine. This allows you to keep track of messages or calls that occur after working hours without you getting trapped in using the telephone 24 hours a day.2. Telephone AppointmentsTry to keep your appointments regardless of whether it is face-to-face or via the telephone. Collect all relevant details about your customer prior to making the phone call. You see, the consumers will know if you are rushing about for documents or someplace apart from your working environment. Choose a peaceful location for your business phone calls so that your calls are free from background disturbances such as children crying, and so on. In most cases your customers will have an understanding of when they hear your children talking (at the back) a couple of times, however, if this takes place frequently some customers may doubt your professionalism and trust.3. Develop a Professional PictureUse items such as letterheads, pamphlets, business cards, custom-made labelling, and so forth to create a professional picture of your work at home enterprise. Items that are printed using your company logo will enable consumers, and colleagues to realize that you are seriously interested in helping them. Should you have an internet site, make sure that you add the address of your website to your letterhead and envelopes. Use pamphlets to generate more income by publishing a diverse pamphlet for every service or product range offered. Remember e-mail advertising, and post cards to past clients. These things are not only inexpensive, but they are very effective if you want to send birthday celebrations, special deals, promotions, vacations, recommendations, and so forth to your customers.4. Send Out Express Thanks Cards to Customers Cards written by hand to say thank you continues to be valuable in developing devotion and confidence with consumers. These small express thanks cards can do a lot, but they must not be utilized to market your up coming deals. Just compose a basic note saying thanks for his or her business; write the envelope with your own writing (not typed), and post it two or three days following a purchase of your product. You will be amazed at just how much this simple action can boost your consumers trust in you.5. Maintain Accurate Documents Keep a documentation of everything that happens in the business; such as things that takes place from day-to-day, or once a week objectives, to company accounts due, and company accounts receivable information. Even if you are not hectic, you must maintain accurate documents every day to guarantee organization once your company increases. In case you have numerous employees, it is better to employ a pay-roll accountant to maintain personnel pay out, and income taxes. An accountant also can help with general business financial situation, and taxation all through the year as your home based business develops.Since you learn to generate money with a home based business, understand that working at home isn’t a lot diverse from other companies. With the right organization, and marketing your home based work at home business is likely to develop, and become successful.

Don’t you get tired of seeing large businesses advertising on every medium? From billboards and radio to YouTube and television, large businesses (the businesses that make millions of dollars a year, even though by some accounts these businesses are still considered “small”) have the cash flow and subsequent budget required to fund these advertisements, which gives them a huge marketing advantage over small businesses. Since government officials are always so fond of saying small businesses are the drivers of job creation and growth in this country, it would follow that any advantage these businesses can muster would be helpful for America. As such, I believe legislation which would make it illegal for large businesses to send unsolicited paper advertisements to private residents would be beneficial for a multitude of reasons. Large business advertisements already flood the airwaves and reach millions of people, so here’s why I think paper advertisements from said businesses should never be allowed to reach my mailbox or driveway.The most obvious reason in favor of this approach would be the newfound marketing niche over which small businesses would enjoy a monopoly. Oftentimes, the budget of small/microbusinesses is so minuscule that business cards and flyers are the only way they can reach the consciousness of consumers. This being said, a second advantage of this approach becomes obvious. That is, if small business advertisements were the only game in town, or in this case, a citizen’s mailbox, they would garner more attention then they would when mixed in with dozens of other flyers and advertisements from larger businesses, the dilution effect of which would make the small business ad just another piece of paper in a sea of advertisements. Keeping this in mind, a third advantage of this approach would be correlated to the sheer volume of paper produced. Fewer paper advertisements would mean fewer trees destroyed and less waste, plain and simple! In addition, fewer paper advertisements would mean people like you and I would need to spend less time disposing of them. For example, many unsolicited paper advertisements I receive from large companies have my name and address emblazoned on the envelope and on documents inside, which for me means I have to shred them. All of this takes time, and since I never wanted these advertisements in the first place, I almost feel like I should be getting paid to receive them! After all, practically anywhere that you want to advertise in America requires you to pay for the use of that advertising space, so why should my mailbox be any different? However, as someone who cares about jobs for Americans, I would have no qualms about allowing small businesses to send me paper advertisements.The almighty dollar drives this country, and as such it is nigh impossible to avoid advertisements in America. However, I don’t want to receive advertisements at my home unless I say so, since I own my home, not the mega corporation. Look, I am not against capitalism, as capitalism fuels job creation and American competitiveness in the global economy. However, when my wife and I take a walk and see planes flying above us carrying streaming banners for huge insurance companies, it is not hard for us to see small businesses need to be given niches that the large businesses cannot access. If my wife and I can see this point of view, then in my opinion, astute legislators who care about America and its small businesses should not only see this point of view, but they should act on it. Disallowing paper advertisements from any for-profit business except a small business would be one such action.