The 21st-century is blessed with innovations and digitization. A clear shift can be seen from the industrial revolution to the new economic domination of information technology.
Today, digital technologies have emerged as a major player in shaping the future. An excellent example of the same is the phenomenon called e-auction portals.
The online auction platforms have made everything possible and easier for people today, from reaching out to the most buyers to selling different assets for the best prices in the shortest time.
This edition, The 10 Most Promising Online Auction and Bidding Companies, emphasizes the companies that have leveraged the capabilities of innovation to deliver fascinating new ways of auctioning. A prominent name among those companies is Team Auctions.
Team Auctions, also known as Sekura Auctions, is one of the fastest-growing auction companies in Canada, servicing off-site and on-site, real-estate, industrial, and farm auctions. This company has been operating for over 60 years with great achievements.
In the following interview with Insights Success, Corey Sekura, Chief Executive Officer and President at Team Auctions, briefed us about the company’s global ascension, his opinions on the present, and his vision for the future.
Why TEAM Auction?
Team Auctions is an original family-owned ‘live and online’ auction house that currently intensively services Western Canada. Team Auctions was founded by Corey’s parents – Wendell and Helen Sekura, in 1958 and is now owned and operated by Corey Sekura, his wife Lorena Sekura, and their daughter Tiffany LaRose.
Team Auctions started as a farm equipment, real estate, and cattle auction company. Over the past 60 years, Team Auctions grew, expanding livestock sales to three locations and selling over 250,000 heads annually. The livestock divisions were sold, and the focus was put on Real Estate and Equipment Auctions.
Since 1965, Team Auctions has had locations throughout Western Canada, with the head office remaining in Drayton Valley (approximately an hour west of Edmonton, AB).
For over 20 years, Team Auctions has promoted online bidding and, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has converted all Real Estate and Equipment Auctions to an online timed format.
Team Auctions can design an auction proposal to fit any client’s needs and is not bound by a rigid structure (which doesn’t work for all sellers). This flexibility, along with the company’s intensive marketing, procedures, and service model, makes Team Sekura Auctions very successful in the industry.
The Inspiring Visionary
Corey Sekura grew up in a family of auctioneers. His parents – Wendell and Helen Sekura, his three brothers – Tim, Ron, and Travis, and two sisters – Cherry and Tania, are all licensed auctioneers or have worked in the auction business.
Corey gained his Auction License at the age of 15, being the youngest in his graduating class to do so. His entire life has been working in auctions before working his way up to manage them.
In 2003, Corey and his wife Lorena purchased Sekura Auctions from his parents, becoming proud owners of Team Sekura Auctions.
Corey’s honesty, transparency, integrity, and adaptability, along with his work ethic, leadership skills, and intense marketing knowledge have vastly contributed to the success of Team Sekura Auctions.
Sharing his motto, Corey says, “We are first and foremost more of a marketing company and secondly an auction company because if no one knows what you are selling, it won’t sell well.”
After high school, Corey received his degree in Business and Marketing (as did his daughter Tiffany) and has used his education and experience, along with his fortitude and common sense, to surround himself with a great team of employees that are a large part of the company’s success.
Today, Corey’s daughter Tiffany LaRose runs the company along with a strong management team who all have a lot of experience in the auction industry. In total, Team Auctions has approximately thirty-seven employees, all of whom are dedicated and keen on doing all they can to help in the company’s ongoing success.
Passion driven workplace
We asked Corey about the core values upon which the company is built, to which he said, “From Team Auctions’s inception, integrity, transparency, and honesty have been vital in helping build our clientele who are able to trust our auctioning model.”
In the past, Team Auctions has provided ‘Subject to Owners’ and ‘Reserved’ Auctions. However, the business model now focuses on ‘Unreserved’ Auctions which allows for stronger buyer participation and, therefore, improved results for our sellers.
While technology has paved the way for fewer hands-on approaches in a lot of industries, Team Auctions believes that when liquidating assets, customers deserve ‘boots on the ground’ and the ability for human interaction, making it a more personal service that is becoming increasingly rare these days.
Dynamic offerings
Talking about unique offerings of Team Auction, Corey Sekura elaborated that Team Sekura Auctions’ continued growth comes from three aspects:
- Experience – With over 60 years of experience in the auction business, Team Auctions’ stability and reliability in representing assets provide our customers with a trust that not all auction houses can provide.
- Continued advancement – Team Auctions prides itself on being a leader in the industry. From being one of the first modern-era auction companies to selling real estate via auctions in the late 50s, Team Auctions has transitioned from live bidding to all online bidding, and broadcasting technology recognizing the importance of being a leader in all facets of marketing.
- Adaptability – Team Auctions’ willingness to adapt to any situation as well as its solid business model, allows us to design and execute successful auctions. This can be any scenario from selling unique assets, real estate, and livestock to location challenges, on and off-site auctions, leases, and many more.
Opinion that Matters
Sharing his vision on how the inclusion of technology in the auction world is impacting all the stakeholders of the market, Corey says, “Technology has absolutely changed the auctions industry and Team Auctions has led the auction industry in technological advancement with online bidding, marketing, and logistics.”
“The presence of COVID-19 has really forced consumers to join the world of technology regardless of experience or preference in all facets of life. The combination of Team Auctions’ already being technologically advanced and consumers becoming more engaged in online purchasing has exploded the size of audiences attending each auction and altered how each transaction is completed,” Corey Sekura added.
Overcoming adversities
Team Sekura Auctions has adapted to many challenges in the past and will continue to adapt in the future. Whether it be auction legislative changes, livestock disease (such as B.S.E disease – commonly known as Mad Cow Disease), technology, and now COVID-19, Team Auctions have always and will continue to use common sense, adaptability, and endurance as its keys to deal with any situation.
Enlightening upcoming entrepreneurs
When asked about his advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the auction and bidding industry, Corey said, “Team Auctions currently sits on various auction associations and committees, and I see a lot of new online auction companies popping up everywhere. Currently, the auction industry is trying to adapt live auction legislations into online laws that currently don’t exist.”
“My advice to young auction entrepreneurs would be to learn the industry through experience, be well-versed in the rules and regulations of our industry, and most importantly, always operate with honesty and an incredibly hard work ethic. This industry can be exhausting and stressful, but it can also be exhilarating. Manage yourself well,” he stated.
The future holds progress
We asked Corey how he envisions scaling his company’s operations and offering in 2022 and beyond, to which he said, “Team Auctions continues to apply our auction model to our incredible growth in the auction industry. The company’s growth across Canada is based on building and adding experienced team members, more locations, and acquisitions of smaller ‘similar minded’ auction companies.”
“Team Auctions’ latest acquisition has been Lambert Premier Auctions and Precision Auctions in British Columbia, an elite real estate auction company that will increase the quality of Team Sekura Auctions real estate division and expand its market share in all auction asset liquidations in British Columbia and Western Canada.”
“Team Auctions is one of the fastest-growing auction companies in Canada. Its ever-expanding buyer population and easy to execute consignment and buying experience will continue to grow this company in the future,” he concluded.
