How does a person become an auctioneer?

September 13, 2009

Denver, Colorado

This is a question that we hear quite frequently. It's a good question with a variety of answers. Some people grow up in the business and learn it as a family tradition. Some people simply heard an auctioneer somewhere and decided they could do just as well – and then they do. Others, myself included, learned some by being around auctions, and learned more by going to auction school.

Yes Virginia, there really is an auction school. There are several in the US, and they are all very good. I happened to graduate from the Worldwide College of Auctioneering, based in Mason City, Iowa. The natural follow-up question to that is "what's it like to go to auction school?" I have my opinions and answers, but I have a much better way of showing you.

A good friend of ours, Chris Longley, is going to auction school. Although he works for the National Auctioneer Association (NAA), he's not an auctioneer. But he wanted to learn what it was like, He wanted to experience auction school. This week, Worldwide is hosting a class in Denver, and Chris is attending. And he's blogging. He's added some personal insights, some video, some interviews, and I'm sure a lot more as the week progresses.

Here's your chance to see what it's like, as it happens. You can view Chris' blog at: http://nationalauctioneersassociation.blogspot.com/?spref=fb. I encourage you to watch. It's a glimpse into something very interesting.