Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.

People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!

Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.

Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.

Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.

After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.

Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.

Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.

Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.

Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.

Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.

It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.

Tip 4: Present your items neatly.

No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.

There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.

While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.

Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.

The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.

Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.

If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.

Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!

The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.

Owning a small business provides many opportunities to those who seek the independence and unlimited income potential associated with this type of endeavor. When going through the decision process of which kind of small business to start, one of the best opportunities available is a home based business franchise. A franchise is a turnkey operation that will have certain guidelines and a system in place to help you succeed. These types of businesses will also provide you with important aspects such as training, support and consultation along with a steady set of tactics to use in order to operate and market the business. A franchise is one of the better types of small businesses to start because of these factors.With a home based business franchise you can start a business in a variety of fields. One of the top fields for this type of franchise is a cleaning business. A cleaning business is a type of endeavor where the owner operates a business that specializes in professional cleaning services. With this type of business, the owner travels from one job to the next cleaning different structures such as office buildings and houses. They can also hire employees once they grow the business and have more revenue. This can be a lucrative business because it provides a good income potential and low startup costs.Another home based business franchise that is among the best is a travel agency. A travel agency is a business that provides travel packages and recommendations to consumers. When someone decides to go on a vacation, the travel agency can give them the best deals such as low priced hotels, flights and give out brochures or online recommendations on what activities to do while on the trip. This too can be one of the more lucrative business opportunities due to low or moderate startup costs and high demand because there are so many people who enjoy traveling on a regular basis.Service businesses such as accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation and advertising are also among the best home based businesses to start. These businesses provide flexibility, high demand and very good income potential. Whenever you are looking to start a home based business it is always a good idea to start a franchise. These businesses give you just about every opportunity to succeed and place you in a better position to reach your potential to enjoy a profitable and successful business with a more rewarding lifestyle than you may currently have.

Several years ago, I was riding the Metro subway in Washington, DC and got off at the end of the line. The location was in a depressed area, and few businesses were there for commuters. As I waited for my ride, I saw these two boys carrying a huge box of M&Ms in hopes of selling to weary commuters. I found it amusing that these young men were hustling in such a manner. Yet, this spoke to the spirit of entrepreneurs. The boys found an unmet need in the market. Yes, with no stores located in the immediate area, these young men sold a lot of M&Ms to hungry commuters.

With increasing competition abroad, today’s professionals cannot afford to be ignorant in understanding business practices such as marketing. The problem is that marketing is not second nature for all business professionals. Sadly, most business owners do not have the time to take a long, drawn-out college course, while others want a simple process for understanding the basic concepts until they can take more formalized courses. In fact, when you do not have a lot of money to spend on advertising your product, you have to be smarter and more creative in order to stay ahead of the competition.

Marketing is the cornerstone of understanding today’s economic changes. Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, authors of Marketing Management, argue the important of understanding marketing concepts for today’s professionals: “The first decade of the 21st century challenged firms to prosper financially and even survive in the face of an unforgiving economic environment. Marketing is playing a key role in addressing those challenges… Thus financial success often depends on marketing abilities.”

Consequently, marketing gives individuals the ability to understand how to locate these opportunities and what to do with them when you find them. According to the American Marketing Association, marketing can be defined as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, capturing, communicating, and delivering value to customers. However, the simplest definition is that marketing is about understanding and satisfying customer wants or needs.

In fact, there are times when customers do not know what they want or desire. Marketing then becomes that linchpin in the process of finding a solution for the consumer. Traditionally, marketing has been defined in terms of four variables described as the marketing mix, or the 4Ps: product/service, price, placement, and promotion.

Furthermore, the marketing mix is the controllable set of activities that entrepreneurs use to attract or respond to the needs of their target market. In essence, entrepreneurs attempt to create value for their customers. Value relates to the customer viewpoint, not that of the business. Value relates to the benefits the customer perceives they are getting in exchange for their purchase of the product or service.

Business experts Donald Lehmann and Russell Winer point out that inaccurate information or incorrect analysis often leads to poor decisions about marketing a business product. This flaw can hurt a business attempting to make a profit. In fact, understanding competition is a point most executives miss. Some of the questions executives should ponder include:

Who are my competitors?
What are the competing product features?
What is their positioning strategy?
What markets do they currently own and what is their future outlook?
How do you distinguish your products from those of your competition?
How do consumers make this distinction in products?
In today’s global markets, organizations cannot operate with a ‘trial and error’ mentality. In fact, what worked yesterday is no guarantee that it will be successful in the future. Business professionals who are less knowledgeable about marketing and marketing forces are a liability to organizations that aim for sustainable success.

Successful entrepreneurs understand how to tap into their target market instead of random selling. Why should the expectations be any lower for today’s professionals? Therefore, savvy professionals seek to understand and implement effective marketing strategies.