It’s showtime!

Saturday is game day for McGrath’s Scott Kennedy-Green and, with up to a dozen auctions scheduled, it’s definitely hectic. Here he shares a typical Saturday with us.

By Scott Kennedy-Green

In truth, my Saturday starts on Friday. That’s when all the planning happens. That’s when I start to get a picture of how my Saturday is really going to pan out.
 

As Head of Network Auctions and Chief Auctioneer at McGrath Estate Agents, I have more than 35 auctioneers operating from Queensland, throughout New South Wales and down to Victoria. Friday sees us planning our schedule for Saturday. It takes a lot of co-ordination to ensure everyone is where they need to be and plan for the best outcomes for our vendors.

And given that 95 per cent of our auctions are conducted on Saturdays, we see the day as ‘game day’.
 

6.30am

To be in tip-top condition, I need to be well rested – so an early night on Friday is always in order. It’s a big day. Not just for us and the agents, but more importantly for our vendors and their property. So an early night is key.

I’m out of bed early on a Saturday morning and I like to have breakfast at a café in the area where I’m auctioning for the day. It gives me the chance to immerse myself in the atmosphere of the area. It also gives me some background for my first auctions of the day, so I can refer to local landmarks and the general buzz of the area in my opening spiel.
 

8.15am

After breakfast I always like to wash my car. Clean car. Clean mind. It’s a great way to start the day. It’s one of the little rituals I like to indulge in to set myself up for day ahead.

9.00am

It’s auction time! We operate our auctions on a 45-minute cycle – 9.00am, 9.45am, 10.30am and so on over the course of the day. It’s a tight schedule, so I have to make sure every auction starts on time. If I start late, even by a few minutes, it sets off a chain reaction for the rest of day. Timing is everything.

I like to take 5-10 minutes to meet and greet all of my vendors prior to each auction. Talking with potential purchasers is also beneficial. I do my homework about each property the night before and have a good understanding of how the auction is likely to roll out, so I can talk the vendors through the process.

Most auctions take about 15 minutes, which gives me 20 minutes or so to get to the next one. It’s tight, but doable.

12.30pm

If I’m lucky, I might get a break around lunchtime – but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes there’s no chance to stop, so it’s a quick snack in the car while I’m on the run. But that’s OK. That’s what I’ve signed up to do. My vendors expect me to be there on the day and operating for them, and I always ensure I deliver.

 
“Saturdays are always a hectic day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
 

1.30pm

My days rolls on for the afternoon session of auctions. I’ll generally do 10-12 auctions on any given Saturday. It’s a lot. To make it possible, we have to schedule our auctions regionally. I operate in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, so getting from A to B shouldn’t be too far away. We don’t like to stretch the boundaries too far when it comes to logistics, because Sydney traffic can be a real nightmare.
 

5.15pm

During daylight savings, I often have auctions scheduled through to late in the afternoon and early evening. In the winter months, I might do my last auction at 3.45pm or 4.30pm. At McGrath our philosophy is that it doesn't matter what time we do the auction, if management of the sale has been correctly handled, the buyers will come.

6.00pm

With my last auction over, I spend time reflecting on the day. I like to get through the day with nothing less than a 100% clearance rate. It doesn’t always happen, but that’s my goal.

The results for our network come out in the evening, so finishing my last auction for the day doesn’t mean I can switch off. I have to take stock of the day’s results for the whole network. I look to my senior auctioneering team to drill down on specific results, percentages and market conditions. This is a key part of my day, because I have to deliver the results to our management team on Monday. 

7.00pm

With my work day over, it’s family time. I have to admit, after a really long day of calling auctions, the conversational aspects of family life can be a bit quiet! A solid day can really pull it out of you. But after 18 years, it’s second nature; it’s very much part of my life. Saturdays are always a hectic day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.