|
Articles
Theresa Taylor: Going, going,
sold!
By
By Jack Kohane, PROFIT-X
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
How Theresa Taylor blends technology and
tradition in her auction business
From globe lamps to Damask linen, balloon chairs and Barbie dolls,
Theresa Taylor always gets the final say on price. With a chant of
"going�going ..." and the finishing pound of her gavel, Taylor,
recently named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Cornwall & Area
Chamber of Commerce, sets the pace of her sales.
The days when auctioneers stood watching for subtle hand signals
from prospective bidders are nearly history. "You have to market
yourself, your products, your services, your prices long before an
auction begins," she explains. "Much of the serious bidding has
already occurred by the time the on-site sale starts. Now with
Internet technology, bidding has a global reach." Most pre-bids,
many cast by avid collectors, reach Taylor through her web site
(www.theresataylor.com). "We get about 67,000 visits to our site
each year and that number keeps growing," she says. So does
demand for her services.
After 28 years in business management, Taylor decided to follow
her dream and open her own business, Theresa E. Taylor and
Associates Auctioneering, in 1997. "I was focussed then on building
businesses for others, so it was time for me to concentrate on my
creating my own success," she says. Raised on a farm, Taylor was
familiar with the auction environment. She enrolled at the World
Wide College of Auctioneering, based in Mason City, Iowa. Says
Taylor: "We were taught the fundamentals of salesmanship and the
signature auctioneer's chant by world champions."
Back home after graduation in Cornwall, Ont., Taylor set about the
daunting task of establishing a customer base. "It took a lot of
blood, sweat and tears in the early going," she recalls. But
gradually, through word of mouth, local advertising campaigns, and
then her web site, Taylor's business began to skyrocket. "As well,
in this kind of career it's critical to be able to sell yourself � before
you can set out to sell to others. Personality, people skills and
showmanship panache are requisites here."
Taylor targets two kinds of clients. "An auctioneer is really a
facilitator. I'm an intermediary helping the seller sell pieces at the
best possible price while attracting a crowd of interested buyers
who want go home with their new purchases feeling that they 'got
a good bargain.' The auctioneer must therefore be able to satisfy
both ends of the spectrum, whether he or she is selling high-end
antiques, second-hand furniture, carnival glass or cows!"
To further streamline the bidding process, Taylor maintains a
database of her most frequent buyers. "I know what they collect
and how much they're willing to spend. If I think they'll be
interested in something on the block, I inform them beforehand and
they can submit preliminary bids online."
Johanne Norchet, a passionate antique collector in Hudson, Que.,
was sold from her first contact with Taylor. "When she starts
selling, you realize that she's a great auctioneer with an eagle eye
and a gift for generating interest for the pieces she's selling. But
before promotion and marketing, before charm and knowledge,
before a good voice, and a great head for numbers, an auctioneer
first builds their business by reputation � and here, Theresa
outshines most of her competitors. I've had the chance to speak
to many of her customers and one comment is constant: she is
scrupulously honest in every aspect of her business � I feel that
this is the key feature that will keep her business flourishing."
|
