FACES OF NAA
Q&A Gary Peterson
What sparked your interest in becoming an auction professional? I was selling donated cars for charity at my retail car lot and really didn’t like the “used car business” as it didn’t really work well for the type of cars I was selling. I started thinking of other ways to sell them and it dawned on me that I should have an auction. New Mexico doesn’t have a ton of auctioneers, but I figured since I enjoyed going to auctions, l really should look into it.
What road did you take to get there? I’m a first-generation auctioneer and figured I could use training. After looking
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AUCTIONEERS.ORG
at various auction schools, I decided on Worldwide College of Auctioneering. I was a fish out of water and could barely count to 10. One of my instructors, JillMarie Wiles, was such an inspiration that I stuck it out. It was then I started my own auction company. I take every opportunity to learn from others and apprenticed with several local auctions companies.
Were there any challenges you faced? I’ve faced many challenges getting started. Creating an auction company was quite an undertaking. There is no blueprint, but through apprenticeships and continued
training I’m overcoming the obstacles. We just get out there and do it and figure it out as we go, and hope we don’t lose our shirts! For example, there are so many auction software and systems out there, choosing the right takes time becuase of so many differing opinions on systems and paths to take.
Has your perception of the auction industry changed since you started? If so, how? I’ve grown to love it more and more. The auction method of marketing was something I could not get my arms around in the beginning, but as I’ve worked in the business, I see it’s a superior method. We started just