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LEADING THE
WAY -
One Year
After Starting
New Auction
Division, United Country Leads
Industry
January 2008 - AUCTIONEER
MAGAZINE
Editor, Steve Baska
Auctioneers Mike Jones, CAI,
GPPA, and Shawn Terrel, CAI,
AARE, are helping United Country
Real Estate change the way the
traditional real estate industry
operates. Today this giant real
estate company of 683 offices
teaches a blended approach of
considering auctions and
traditional brokerage for every
property.
In December 2006, Jones was
hired as president to start the
new division: United County
Auction Services, and Terrel was
hired as vice president a month
later. United Country Real
Estate & United Country Auction
Services is the largest fully
integrated organization of
Auctioneers and real estate
professionals in America.
“It
takes vision and capital to
start a division like this,”
Jones said.
In the first 10 months, Jones
and Terrel have welcomed over 50
veteran Auctioneers onboard as
United Country franchisees
across the country, nearly
triple the projected number
anticipated. Among these are
many NAA members and leaders.
When United Country’s
traditional brokers have
properties to auction, Jones and
Terrel refer the brokers to the
veteran real estate Auctioneers.
The
result has been a boom in the
number of auctions conducted by
United Country franchisees.
“We auctioned $86.5 million in
property as of November, 2007,
which is only nine months after
our auction division started. We
expect to hit $100million for
the first year, and so far this
year we have evaluated over$532
million in properties proposed
for auction,” said Terrel.
United Country (UC) has more
than 3,500affiliates and
specializes in rural properties.
Only five to 10 percent of the
company’s 683 offices were doing
any auctions before one year
ago, and there was no auction
education or marketing to them.
But Jones and Terrel have spent
substantial time teaching these
traditional brokers in regional
meetings about the benefits of
auctions. Some brokers are also
attending Texas Auction Academy,
owned by Jones.
“We do not expect them to
instantly become real estate
Auctioneers, but we want them to
understand how Auctioneers
think, how to identify
properties for auction,
qualifying buyers and sellers,
and how to network with
Auctioneers,” Jones said.
With heightened awareness
conventional offices are now
considering the auction method
of marketing as a viable
solution to their clients needs.
“We could not be happier with
how business has gone in 2007,
and 2008 should be even better.”
Terrel said new programs in 2008
include a residential and land
mortgage program offered to
buyers.
“The idea is for buyers
and sellers to have a one-stop
shop in United Country. We can
take care of all their needs,”
he said. This will also include
referrals to UC Auctioneers who
can sell an estate’s personal
property, as well as the real
estate. The United Country home
warranty program has already
been implemented for selling
homes at auction.
“A home warranty at auction is
something new for most
Auctioneers since we usually
sell in As-Is condition, but the
warranty can provide more
confidence and raise the value
of the property,”
Jones said.
United Country Auction Services
was not created as a reaction to
the declining real estate
market. Conversely United’s
leadership recognized the
auction method’s increased
global acceptance and
wanted to
use it as a blended model,
combining auctions and
traditional methods for selling
real estate. The ability to
leverage over 60 professional
home office employees and more
than 30 field staff gives United
Country the competitive edge
needed in today’s ever changing
market place. United Country’s
infra-structure provides their
franchisees with technology
support, marketing solutions,
business
planning, training,
education, and consulting
services.
Terrel said the UC franchisees
have been extremely open to the
auction method because many are
from rural areas where farm and
livestock auctions have been a
tradition, so adding real estate
is a natural fit. “When you look
at the socio-demographic profile
of buyers and sellers that
United Country has been dealing
with for over 82 years, it is
perfectly in line with the same
buyers and sellers we have been
dealing with for years in the
auction industry. That is what
made this company the perfect
partner for auctioneers and
auction marketing companies.”
“At
first we were concerned that
some of the traditional brokers
would see auctions as
competition,
but that was not
the case. In fact, brokers and
agents are looking for a
competitive advantage and new
ways to sell property, so they
have been extremely open to
learning about the auction
method of marketing.”
“As United Country continues to
expand, we become further
established in urban and
commercial/industrial markets”
Terrel said.
Jones and Terrel continue
educating their brokers through
articles in UC magazines and
publications.
A recent article
explained the method and
benefits of well executed
multi-parcel auction. The
auction division also recently
hired a new Director of
Marketing, Kevin Oldham.
Oldham’s advertising background
delivers cutting edge marketing
concepts combined with a wealth
of experience and education.
FFA PARTNERSHIP
An important partnership was
recently formed with the Future
Farmers of America (FFA) as UC
conducted the FFA’s annual
alumni auction in November at
the 2007 FFA Convention in
Indianapolis,
IN. United Country
Auctioneers from across the U.S.
participated in conducting the
live auction fundraising event
sponsored by the FFA Alumni
Association. The auction was a
fundraising record
for the
annual event, drawing in nearly
850 on-site bidders and over 40
on-line bidders.
For
the first time, the FFA’s live
auction was broadcast around the
world through a live Internet
simulcast. Online buyers
accounted for over 20 percent of
the auction’s total sales.
“We registered Internet bidders
from 22 states and three
different countries (New
Zealand, Brazil and Canada) and
received over 220 pre-bids on 57
lots prior to the auction. The
high ticket item of the night
was a 2008 Ford F-150pickup that
sold on-site for $24,500 with
the runner-up bidder being
online,”
Terrel said.
AUCTIONEER FRANCHISEES
Veteran Auctioneers say they are
finding great success with
United Country. Former NAA
President Larry J. Theurer, CAI,
GPPA of Wellington, KS said
“Last summer I contacted the
owners of a 7,000 acre ranch in
Nebraska about selling their
property. The sellers were aware
of United Country and agreed to
meet with me to further discuss
the marketing and selling of the
ranch. We were fortunate to be
able to sell their ranch this
past November for 25 percent
more than appraised value. I
feel confident our firm would
not have been selected to sell
the ranch had we not been
associated with United Country."
Auctioneer Leroy Hendren, of
Jay, OK, said “I have been in
the real estate auction business
for 15 years and joined United
Country approximately 3 years
ago. I was apprehensive at first
about paying a royalty fee to
anyone since we were enjoying a
stable auction market in our
area along with what I
considered to be steady and
normal growth. But over the past
3 years since joining United
Country our company has doubled
it’s growth in numbers and in
revenue. I attribute most of
this growth to United Country
Auction Services, a working
national network, lead flow,
access to buyers, professional
advice, cutting edge technology,
and technical support in the
field. I believe that three
major things have advanced my
career in the auction business,
joining the NAA, going to CAI,
and my affiliation with United
Country.”
Mike Fisher, president and CEO
of United Country - The Redfield
Group, of Alabama, said “I have
been
in the high end real estate
auction business since1999 and
have looked at several programs
that were attempting to build a
national network of auction
professionals. I can say that,
after years of searching, United
Country has developed the best
model to accomplish just that.
Although we market on a national
scale, United Country has added
value that can not be found
anywhere else in our industry.
Web traffic of nearly1,000,000
visits per month, national
advertising of listings, third
party relationships and a
database of over 300,000
profiled buyers has added tools
to our already powerful
marketing campaigns that truly
separates us from any of our
competition. United Country is a
very strong organization that is
positioned perfectly to take
real estate auctions to the next
level.”
Auctioneer David R. Hudgins CAI,
AARE, of Fairview, TN, said “I
conducted 33auctions since May
1st,
as United Country –
Hudgins, 13 of those auctions
were United Country referrals.
Five of our auctions had high
bidders, out-of-state, from the
United Country Confidentials
list. All of those bid over the
phone during the live auction.
Yesterday, our 113 acre
Tennessee farm sold toa United
Country buyer from Maryland. The
back-up bidder was a United
Country buyer from Virginia.
Another bidder drove up
from
Atlanta, GA to participate,
again from the United Country Confidentials list.
The
marketing has exceeded all
expectations! Our Dec.
4,Southern Colonial on 50 acres,
attracted 4,900 visitors and
inquiries. We had to hire an
additional staff member to
manage the inquiries and replies
for our last three auctions. I
cannot even imagine what is
ahead for us in 2008!”
United Country Real Estate and
United Country Auction Services
are the only national real
estate and auction franchise
systems specializing in
residential, farm and ranch,
trophy, commercial and
recreational properties in
cities and towns across
America. The company currently
publishes nine niche real estate
magazines and executes a
marketing program that attracts
more than 2.4 million visitors a
month to its 725 owned and
operated web sites including
925,000 visitors a month to:
www.unitedcountry.com, the
leading real estate web site in
its market. United Country®
reaches more than 90 million
homes each
week through its
national advertising of
franchisee-listed properties in
various local, regional and
national print media outlets.
With a heritage that dates back
to 1925 and headquartered in
Kansas City, Mo., the company
supports 700 franchisees in 44
states and markets a national
database of properties valued
at
over $9 billion at
www.unitedcountry.com.
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
2820 NW Barry Road, Kansas City,
MO 64154
816-420-6200
www.unitedcountry.com |
