TAP 103. My Favourite Auctioneer. An Interview with David Wood

Take a look behind the scenes at real estate’s most popular reality show of all time!

If you’re a seller, there’s something indescribably wonderful that happens when bidding at auction goes past the reserve.

There’s an intensity

The air thickens

Pulses quicken

Emotion challenges reason

Limits are forgotten

…as the two most powerful forces in nature

the chance of gain

and fear of loss

collide with the clock and dual with the auctioneers gavel.

I’m Ray Wood and I’d like you to meet my favourite auctioneer.

But just before we do, I want to take a look at the forces that lie behind buyer motivation.

For an auction to work, three things need to happen.

First, multiple buyers need to notice the property

Second, multiple buyers need to view the property

And finally, stage three, or what I like to call dueling banjoes

…and this is where the magic happens.

There’s nothing complex here

It’s almost primal

If it’s good enough for one bidder…

It’s good enough for the other

And the dual begins

And when bidding sails past reserve… our bidders are playing for keeps and any good auctioneer becomes a heavy weight prize fight referee, with a ring side seat to watch the contenders slug it out.

And if all goes according to plan… You’ve got yourself a hoedown!

One of the best marketing weapons of my real estate career and my unique selling proposition was showing my selling clients how they could produce a better result.

…and my forte is presentation.

What’s going to help me achieve those three key success objectives… getting buyers to notice, getting buyers to see inside and they getting them to turn up and bid.

How does the property look?

How do I want it to look?

What are the hot buttons I need to set up to attract buyers…. Multiple buyers…

How do I trigger those powerful emotional forces that take a driven buyer beyond the limit they set for themselves in the car on the way to the auction.

After all, isn’t that what I’m there for.

Channel Nine’s top rating series The Block captured the attention of a nation dedicated to all things real estate.

Every contestant was on a budget, but Josh and Elyse had a better eye for where to spend theirs.

Their attention to detail and eye for design, colors, fittings and textures gave them a powerful edge.

But they also needed someone to bring it all together on the day.

Someone who could carefully harness the collective emotions of five seriously interested bidders then harvest the prize of a winning bid as far above reserve as he could possibly achieve.

The only way you win The Block is when you achieve the highest price between reserve and winning bid.

And this is money you get to keep together with a $100,000 bonus for pulling it off.

Let’s keep in mind, if you’re a contestant on The Block, you can invite any auctioneer in the country to represent you.

For his seventh time on The Block and his second victory, my brother David remained calm, cool and confident in the Chaos of TV cameras, a thronging crowd and bidders wound as tight as a drum all ready to fight for the prize.

He pulled it off without a hitch and while I’m probably a little biased, he’s still my favourite auctioneer.