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Why automation such as an online auction software is not only a good business practice, it’s a necessary one. And it’s not as difficult as you might think.

Change is the only constant in the auction industry and these days it’s moving at warp speed. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and decide to wait for things to settle. When it comes to bidding in an auction, there’s a time to wait. But when it comes to running an auction business, waiting is seldom the best strategy.

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Or, in this case, face the change by changing. If you’ve not yet taken your auction business online, you could be missing the biggest opportunity available to you right now.

  • Online spending has increased by 44% during the first six months of 2020. People are more accustomed to buying online.
  • A recent Forbes article puts it this way: “Most businesses will not survive in this economy if they’re not digital.”
  • Companies like Sotheby’s are breaking sales records in online (art) auctions

The fact is, you have significant advantages over most online business start-ups. For one, you already know how to run a business. This is no small thing. Nearly 84% of small business failures are due to poor cash flow. You need to keep the cash flowing, and going online will help you do so successfully.

Auctions are still going strong. According to a global industry research company, IBISWorld, the auction and e-commerce business has grown at an average rate of 7.5% between 2015 and 2020. The forecast for 2020 sales revenues is $467 billion.

The offline model is proven – it’s one of the oldest business models around, and it’s demonstrated its flexibility across industries and products. Many of the businesses that die-off in the future will be those that don’t have the capability to go online.

Even if you’re convinced online auctions are no longer something nice to have – that they are a must-have  – you may still have doubts about going digital. Does the idea of implementing online auction software seem daunting?

It’s natural to think you don’t have time to make this kind of change, or that it’s too difficult. You may think it’s even harder if you don’t feel like you have the technical wherewithal.

But here are three reasons to have hope:

Tech speeds up the tech learning process.
We learn faster when we use technology like online auction software every day. You know the saying – repetition really is the motor of learning.

Purpose is a driver.
Having a strong purpose is key to fast learning. You understand the importance of taking your business online. Think about the benefits of automating your bid process or having access to information and applications from your phone at any time. These can be strong motivators for you.

User experience (UX) has improved dramatically.
Creating platforms that are easy to understand has become a mainstay in the software industry. Companies like Amazon put user experience over shareholder profits. UX has accelerated the learning process. If it’s been a while since you tried to learn a new program, you may be surprised at how much easier it’s become.

Here are some quick tips for learning software (or any other new skill) quickly:

  1. Chunk it down – what are the most important elements of your business? Learn the elements of the software that apply to those pieces first.
  2. Give it a rest after some strenuous learning. When you step away from a learning session, your brain keeps working on it. The mechanism in play here is the same one that causes a name to bubble up out of the blue when you were hard-pressed to remember it at first.
  3. Use available resources. Google is your friend. Better yet, find or make a human friend who has the knowledge you need. For example, buying lunch or coffee for a well-seasoned businessperson could have a huge ROI.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice is to be patient with yourself. Learning any new skill is uncomfortable at first. But it’s the kind of discomfort that can separate you from the pack in terms of future business growth.

We began this post with the idea that waiting is seldom the best strategy.

Jack Welch put it another way: “Change before you have to.”

Adopting a learner mindset is the most dependable strategy for facing the changes ahead.