One of the biggest mental hurdles you're going to have with auctions happens about five minutes after the auction ends. You already know the winning bid isn't where all the money is. You already know those losing bidders have demonstrated REAL buying intent. Great. Now the next step is the dreaded "go talk to them." This is where a lot of people freeze. Because you're thinking: "Wait... you want me to DM somebody who just LOST my auction and try to sell them something else?" Yep. "Isn't that going to feel salesy as hell?" It will if you do it like an asshole. Because here's what you DON'T do: "Hey Jim! Sorry you didn't win the auction, but GOOD NEWS! I've got this other package you can buy for $2,500!" Congratulations. You've just turned your Domino Offer into a consolation prize. And nobody wants the shitty stuffed animal hanging underneath the giant teddy bear they were trying to win. So don't start with the offer. Start with the person. How? Well, if you've been running your auction correctly, this isn't nearly as awkward as you're making it in your head. Because you've already been talking to Jim. During the auction you were answering his questions. Joking with him. Watching him bid. Maybe teasing him when somebody jumped his bid. Jim isn't some cold lead whose name you found on a spreadsheet. You were literally just talking to the guy. Now the auction ends... But that just means the PUBLIC conversation ends. All you're doing now is moving it somewhere private. That's it. Easy peasy. Something as simple as: "Hey Jim, thanks for jumping into the auction today. I really appreciate it. I'm curious... what appealed to you most about the package?" And then... SHUT UP. That's the part people screw up. Don't ask the question as some bullshit setup so you can immediately paste your sales pitch underneath it. Actually listen to the answer. Maybe Jim says: "Honestly, it was the private strategy day." Okay. Why? "I've been stuck on this offer forever and I need somebody who knows what they're doing to look at it."

I was at the casino over the weekend to watch a show. We had dinner. Watched the show. And afterwards, we grabbed a couple seats at the bar for a few cocktails. The place was PACKED. And sitting there, I was watching the bartender work. Not because I was impatient (I actually know him, and sat there on purpose). But because the dude is fu@$!ng GOOD. There were probably 20 different things competing for his attention at any given second. Someone needed another drink. Someone was trying to get his attention from the other end of the bar. A couple just sat down. Somebody wanted to close their tab. Another guy was telling him a story. The waitress needed drinks. Glasses were stacking up. And somehow... He was controlling the entire room. One thing was very clear… A great bartender doesn't just pour drinks... He controls attention. He controls anticipation. He controls conversation. He controls the ENERGY. And THAT is exactly what makes for a great auction! Think about it. He sees a couple getting quiet. He cracks a joke... Energy comes back. Somebody asks what drink he's making... Now he's got three people involved in the conversation. Maybe he gives the guy at the end of the bar a little shit. But he keeps moving. Keeps talking. Keeps acknowledging people. Keeps the whole damn bar ALIVE. Now pay attention... Because here's what he's NOT doing. Pouring everybody their first drink... Then sitting back and watching. Yet that's EXACTLY how most people typically run an auction. They put up the auction post... Then they sit back and wait for bids. That's not an auction. That's a freakin Craigslist listing. An auction is LIVE. It's a performance. Once that Hero Package goes on the block, YOUR JOB HAS JUST STARTED. Someone bids? Acknowledge it. Someone asks a question? Answer it where everybody can see it. Bidding slows down? Stir the pot. Drop an update. Ask a question. Reveal something. Add an enticer. Maybe add a bonus.

You know the guy. Two lanes are merging into one because of construction. Everybody sees it. Most people get into the open lane and wait their turn. But there's ALWAYS that one guy... He flies past 30 cars, gets all the way to the cones, turns on his blinker and expects somebody to let him in. And what happens? Suddenly the nicest people in the world become... "NOT IN FRONT OF ME, MOTHERTRUCKER." 😂 (I'm not sayin that was meeee 😇). You'll ride six inches off the bumper in front of you just to make DAMN SURE this guy doesn't get in. Which is kinda ridiculous when you think about it. If I let him in... What did I actually lose? One car length? Five seconds? Who gives a shit? But it doesn't FEEL like five seconds. It feels like... He got ahead of me. And THAT is when it hit me about auctions. Because the exact same thing starts happening when people bid. Let's say I bid $1,000 on your auction. At that moment, I'm winning. There's a tiny little piece of my brain that has already started thinking... "That's mine." Then you come along and bid $1,200. But look... I didn't lose $1,200. I didn't lose $1,000. Technically, I haven't lost ANYTHING. But it sure as hell doesn't feel that way . Because... YOU JUST GOT IN FRONT OF ME. So now my next decision isn't the same decision I made when I placed my first bid. Before I bid, I was asking: "Do I want this?" Now I'm asking: "Am I really going to let THAT GUY take it from me?" That's an entirely different psychological game. And it gets even crazier when somebody has been bidding all day. $1,000. $1,500. $2,000. $2,500. They've been in the lead. They've been watching the auction. They've been imagining themselves owning the thing. Then... 15 minutes before the auction closes... Some dude who hasn't made a SINGLE BID all day shows up and drops: $3,000. 😂😂😂 He just flew past 30 cars and turned his fu@$ing blinker on. Because an auction isn't just a mechanism for discovering what somebody is willing to pay.