It would be hard to convince Orlando Realtor Troy Fletcher that he is in the middle of a recession.

After all, the 27 condominiums he listed sold within about four hours one recent Saturday morning at Celebration, FL, totaling over $6 million.

From all indications, Troy is on the right track and on the right train. His company, Stirling Sotheby's International Realty together with Worldwide Auction Realty Services is rapidly gaining "auction momentum," as Troy calls it.

"In the big picture, the success of the auction depends on the seller trusting the auction team's process. There are two kinds of sellers. There is the seller who waited too long. The fire sale he dreaded is now looming because the distressed property is either pending or already in foreclosure. Then there is the seller taking the road less traveled and is the hardest to choose. This one brings him face to face with market reality. He understands the market and that he needs to take a corrective strategy to limit his losses and stay in the game. Our company looks at a lot of properties, and turns down some because we must have a match that fits the criteria needed to have a successful auction. It could be location, conditions or unrealistic expectations," Troy said.

"Once the auction team is comfortable with the products, it prepares a market study using its customized matrix to determine probable price ranges. If the seller does not agree with the price ranges, "we must work harder to reach consensus to be on the same wave length based on the facts presented."

He continued, "However, if property and price are in line, the only thing left is to implement the right process. This is where the auction team excels and we follow its lead every step of the way. Our third generation auctioneers generate this final step to our success by giving everyone the opportunity to bid on their favorite property using the auction advantage. If we have the right product at the right price, our process will accomplish the most important thing that can happen at an auction: a multitude of bidders, bidding for the same property."

"The seller of the Celebration property walked away with the auction delivering 13% more income than projected. 'Happy' cannot begin to describe his feelings, or ours," Troy said, but we were not surprised."

Interestingly enough, this success story did not depend on 'out of the box" thinking. It depended on the professional implementation of marketing, pricing, and sales principles.

"When we go to auction with the right product and right price, we know our process delivers results."

Published: November 5, 2009

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David Fletcher provides sales solutions for builders, developers, and lenders through introductions to prequalified internet marketing services. Fletcher has marketed more than $3 billion as exclusive broker or marketing consultant for more than 75 Florida communities. Keller Williams Realty International named him a Lifetime Achiever in 2008. At the invitation of Prentice-Hall publishers, he authored Condominium Sales and Listings. Internet marketing and internet auction companies producing verifiable traffic and sales numbers should contact him at 407.234.2349 or www.creintro.com.