Q&A

Gary Peterson

What sparked your interest in becoming an auction professional?

I was selling donated cars for charity at my retail car lot and really didn’t like the “used car business” as it didn’t really work well for the type of cars I was selling. I started thinking of other ways to sell them and it dawned on me that I should have an auction. New Mexico doesn’t have a ton of auctioneers, but I figured since I enjoyed going to auctions, l really should look into it.

What road did you take to get there?

I’m a first-generation auctioneer and figured I could use training. After looking at various auction schools, I decided on Worldwide College of Auctioneering. I was a fish out of water and could barely count to 10. One of my instructors, JillMarie Wiles, was such an inspiration that I stuck it out. It was then I started my own auction company. I take every opportunity to learn from others and apprenticed with several local auctions companies.

Were there any challenges you faced?

I’ve faced many challenges getting started. Creating an auction company was quite an undertaking. There is no blueprint, but through apprenticeships and continued training I’m overcoming the obstacles. We just get out there and do it and figure it out as we go, and hope we don’t lose our shirts! For example, there are so many auction software and systems out there, choosing the right takes time becuase of so many differing opinions on systems and paths to take.

Has your perception of the auction industry changed since you started? If so, how?

I’ve grown to love it more and more. The auction method of marketing was something I could not get my arms around in the beginning, but as I’ve worked in the business, I see it’s a superior method. We started just before pandemic and was building towards a live auction, but the state had different thoughts and closed our dealership and live activities, so we shifted online and haven’t looked back. We can now do live or simulcast depending on situations.

Why do you love what you do?

I love everything automotive and charity. We started our businesses after I retired from the Unites States Air Force. I wanted to do something automotive, but also continue to serve my community. So we started our dealership to help charities sell donated vehicles. That took off as well as the auction company. We’re now doing vehicles, estates, and government surplus auctions. Our focus over the near term is anything automotive while building our government contracting expertise. We recently won a contract to do our state Department of Transportation surplus vehicles and equipment, so that was a great experience.

What do you think is the biggest thing (or things) auction professions can do to stay relevant?

For us, it’s to continuously learn and grow.

We have to keep up with technology and what consumers are doing. We focus heavily on being better marketers while also building relationships. We recently have started using ChatGPT to help our marketing efforts and that has saved us time to do other things. Our efforts have led us to be the #1 rated auction company in New Mexico.

Now has the NAA helped you become a better auction professional?

This is one profession that I feel everyone wants to see you succeed and grow. I’ve been taking lots of training and anytime I need help, I search for those topics. I try to attend the chats and other offerings. I look forward to enrolling in CAI soon and want to attend my first conference this year. I’ve reached out to mentors and just learned so much about the industry by reading and being a member of NAA. Last year we completed AMM and that helped us in our marketing efforts.

What do you find most rewarding about this point in your career?

The most rewarding part is to be able to provide for my family while doing something I love. We also enjoy helping families and agencies solve their problems. By listening to our clients, we can come up solutions to meet their needs. We want to make it easy for a family dealing with loss by lifting some of the burden off their shoulders. I love learning and building a business, so starting from scratch as a first-generation auctioneer has been exciting. We look forward to growing and building our business.