Blog Post Thursday: We Show Up in More Places Than You Think
Last week's blog post was awesome and a quick read — because it was nonexistent. You're welcome.
There's been a lot going on around here. The earth literally moved today — a 4.0 earthquake hit the Bootheel of Missouri at 12:59 this afternoon and I watched my desk move and saw the water shake in my glass. Kind of cool. We'll worry about the big one for a while and then forget again. That's just how it goes.
We've got two auctions in the organizing phase right here at the building, and the crew has been out in Carterville doing what they do — cataloging, hauling, making sense of a lifetime of stuff. Full-tilt busy season.
But I have to tell you a story first, because it was told to me the other day and I've been repeating it ever since. Fair warning: I don't tell it nearly as well as it was told to me.
Bob ran an orchard business somewhere here in Southern Illinois. Good man, good operation. He started thinking it was time to hand things over to his son — Junior. He'd been watching Junior and decided Junior was ready. Really ready. They asked how old Junior was.
Junior was 73. Bob was 96.
I laughed. I bet Junior was ready.
The same person told me about his dad's heating and air conditioning business. Started working on units at 4 years old. By 11, he could fix one start to finish. I told him that reminded me of a friend of mine whose dad owned a tractor business — he could put a motor back together by 11. Later I mentioned it to my tractor friend and he corrected me: by 11 he could put it all back together... except the motor.
Still. Eleven years old.
Child labor in auctions is alive and well, by the way. My nieces tagged along to quite a few over the years — including the cattle auctions Alex worked. They ran around and soaked it all in. I genuinely regret not dragging my son to every setup and every auction. That stuff gets in you whether you know it or not.
We got a really nice compliment the other day. Someone heard there was going to be an auction. Did you get Ollis? They're the best. Well, of course they got Ollis.
It felt great for about five minutes before something humbled me right back down. Which is probably right where I need to be.
It did get me thinking though — about how people find us. I had a conversation recently where I started talking about what we actually do marketing-wise and I realized it's a lot. More than most people know. We're on TikTok — and I'll be honest, I don't really know anything about TikTok, which is strange to admit when we actually have videos on there. That's Kristen. She handles it. I just try to stay out of the way.
Then there are the signs. For our Lake of Egypt listing we put signs up — Alex had actually suggested that approach for a different property and we carried it over. The seller is thrilled. His neighbors didn't even know he owned all that land. Signs. Sometimes it really is that simple.
But here's the part I love. A guy in California had been buying personal property with us and got on our email list. He saw a piece of land come through and bought it. A guy in Texas heard about a piece of property from his friend who lives right near it. We sold real estate to a buyer from Alabama. These are all past auctions — different properties, different people, different ways they found their way to us.
I'm not going to give away every detail of what we do — but I'll tell you this: we think about it. A lot. And I want to keep learning. I want to understand marketing better than I do right now. That's part of why I keep going to conferences. I'm registered for the NAA Conference & Show in July — San Antonio this year — and I'm still trying to figure out whether to fly or drive. Haven't found a flight that makes sense yet. If you have opinions, I'm listening.
The right buyer is out there for every piece of property, every lot, every auction. Our job is to make sure they find it — wherever they are.
Happy Bidding,
Kara C. Belcher-Miller
