Growth for the Sake of Growth?

by Deb Weidenhamer

Auctioneers are paid on performance. The more we sell our consignors' assets for, the more commission we make. So it only makes sense that the more assets we have for sale - the better we do for ourselves. Or does it make sense at all?

As an INC 500 company, my firm is ranked as the 100 fastest growing privately held firm in the United States - with an overall growth rate of 2,500% over the past five years. Growth is a part of our company culture along with our company values, which include a value statement "Grow via quality service and customers, not via growth for growth's sake." We consider this value to be extremely important in order to maintain a solid company.

Many small companies begin with great service and continue to grow leaving many buyers and sellers longing for "the good old days". Customers should never be wondering why the old style of service has been abandoned in exchange of quick growth and more profit. Such a paradigm for business is often associated with publicly held companies where stock value rules everything in the business.

Although profitability is the main focus of any business, there is a short-term and long-term goal for a company. This can mean not taking on an auction if your business can not properly handle the auction. This is a difficult situation to wrestle with and requires a complete lack of greed along with total focus on the customer's needs.

This scenario came into focus with an auction firm that was bidding on an auction to be held for their long time buyer. After reviewing the proposals the buyer had received to sell his business, the auctioneer gave his buyer the following advice, "I believe that one of the other firms you are considering to conduct your auction is more capable then my auction team."

The buyer was astonished that the auctioneer would be so forthright with his evaluation; the buyer called the recommended firm and suggested that the firm work together with the advising auction team. The benefit was that two auction companies that had never joint ventured on an auction together had an opportunity to learn from each other.

Most importantly, the CUSTOMER got the service to which he was entitled. This is the importance of growth. We often think of growth in terms of profits, but not in terms of our talents. We must always think before growing our business if it will profit both the company's net and the company's values.