About Ryan Dorman

AUCTIONEERING LURES REAL ESTATE AGENT INTO THE AUCTION INDUSTRY.

When Ryan Dorman was a boy, his father used to take him to weekly used car

auctions; perhaps he thought the lad would grow up liking cars, just like his dad,

who owns a used car business.

The elder Dorman probably never expected that it was the auctioneering that

Ryan would grow to love, not the cars.

“I was mesmerized by the Auctioneers at the weekly auctions, by their ability to

sell cars and to talk so fast,” remembers Ryan.

Years later, Ryan came in contact with Auctioneers again – this time selling real

estate. It was in 2003 that Ryan began selling residential real estate in Indianapolis.

When he lost two potential listings to real estate Auctioneers, he began to take seriously

his lifelong fascination with the profession.

“I always win competitive listings for my brokerage, but I was not able to beat

out the option of an auction for those two clients. I started thinking that maybe

being an Auctioneer was another bullet that I needed in my gun.”

But it was not until November 2006 that he acted on that thought. He was in

New Orleans attending the National Association of Realtors annual Conference &

Expo where attended a session titled “Auctions No Longer a Last Resort.”

Bill Sheridan, president of the National Auctioneers Association, who was the

featured speaker, reported that residential and commercial real estate sold annually

at auctions is expected to reach $260 billion.

That did it for Ryan. Within weeks, he had begun Auctioneer training back home in Indiana

at the Repperts School of Auctioneering. Now, just a few months later, at age 31, he has two

successful auctions on his resume and is making big plans to combine his real estate sales with

his auctioneering.

Prospecting for auctions

 

Ryan tries to spend time every day on the phone prospecting for auctions, but his first two

auctions actually came to him. The first one was just a few weeks after completing his auctioneer

training. Ryan donated his services for his real estate office’s annual holiday auction.

About 30 to 40 realtors attended and Ryan auctioned 60-70 items, raising $6,000 for the St.

Mary’s Child Center in Indianapolis. “In previous years, some of the other agents – who did

not use any bid calling – had auctioned the donations, and the bidding drug on and on. Once

I started bid calling this year, things really went fast. It was very exciting, everyone had a good

time, and we raised a lot of money. Afterwards, everyone encouraged me with how well it had

gone.”

“But don’t think of that as my first real auction,” he chuckles. He reserves that label for the

evening that he spent with the Indiana University Delta Delta Delta Sorority, where his sister

Amanda is a member. At the sorority’s annual Mom’s Weekend, the freshmen moms all donate

items to be auctioned to raise money to support the sorority’s team for the annual Little 500,

the largest collegiate bike race in the United States. Sponsored by the Indiana University

Student Foundation, the Little 500 raises over $35,000 in IU scholarships.

 

Each year, the “Tri Delta” race team needs

items like a racing bike, uniforms, entry fees

and the like, all of which are funded by the

annual Mom’s Weekend auction. About 60

of the sorority women and their mothers

attended this year, with 28 items up for bid.

“Everyone was having so much fun that

I was really sorry when the last item finally

sold,” says Ryan. “You should have seen

those moms bidding; they were really competitive.

In some cases, their daughters were

laughing and holding their moms’ hands

down to get them to get them to stop bidding,

saying, ‘Mom, its not worth that

much!’”

Ryan recalls that many of the items sold for double their

retail value.

“Boy, I learned one lesson the hard way though. I held up a

pair of really ‘girly’ sunglasses and said, ‘These look like Paris

Hilton sunglasses.’ Suddenly everything got really quiet. After

a moment, a mom said good-naturedly, ‘We really don’t want

our daughters to look like Paris Hilton.’ Everyone laughed,

but I sure knew what not say the next time.” By the end of the

night, the auction had raised $3,000, doubling

the sorority’s goal of $1,500.

From here, Ryan wants to grow his experience

and reputation by doing more

fundraising auctions. He intends to eventually

do real estate auctions, perhaps starting

his own real estate auction company. He has

joined NAA, reads Auctioneer magazine

every month, and regularly visits and uses

the auctioneers.org discussion forums and

videos.

“NAA is like a fraternity, filled with people

to help you and answer your questions.”

And Ryan’s dad? He is proud of how

things turned out with his son. “He always

makes me show off at cocktail parties, saying, ‘Go faster!’”

With his good start under his belt, Ryan should have lots of

chance to develop his speed in the coming months and years,

even though he may never auction used cars.

Freelance writer Russ Munyan lives in Olathe, KS and can

be reached at russ@russwrites.com.  NAA Auctioneer Magazine Article