Victoria's young auctioneers knuckled down for two days of training this week as part of the Australian Livestock & Property Agents Association (ALPA) school for young auctioneers in Melbourne.
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The long-run program saw the young bucks of the trade put through their paces with workshops on the law, speech pathology and selling.
ALPA chief executive Peter Baldwin, Sydney, said he and his team were "very impressed" with Victoria's best talent.
"They've some good all-round skills," he said.
"There's been some good development in those who've come to [the] school as beginners who are now advancing.
"Probably the highlight of it is the impression created by the fellows who don't normally sell in saleyards, or get a lot of selling.
"They're developing a nice technique.
"They certainly have the mechanics and potential to be solid auctioneers."
Will Phillips, Elders Yea, said one of the best things about the ALPA training was the "networking you can do".
"You get to meet all these other blokes from other agencies and companies and you get to act as just mates and get mates for the future," he said.
"I want to keep building on it and I'm only starting out as most of us are here."
Mr Phillips said auctioneering and agency work was "one of the best careers ever".
"You get to move around and travel and meet everyone, everyone in towns, all the farmers and learn about their programs," he said.
"We're only in our first few years and we've got a long way to go but once you get your start you just try to keep moving forward."
James Robbins, Nutrien South Gippsland Livestock, Stradbroke, said he too wanted to build a career in the auctioneering craft.
"It's a fantastic job where you travel all over and meet a lot of people and I've made some good friends along the way," he said.
"It's a good job to get into and I really enjoy it."
Mr Robbins said he enjoyed learning from the skilled auctioneers at the ALPA training who were able to pick him apart.
"It was a really good opportunity to have all those people in the same area and the speech pathologists really help you."
Alister Bright, HF Richardson, Ballarat, had a similar experience.
He said the two-day program had been "good" and highlighted the speech pathology support.
"They've really helped me the last couple of years," he said.
"The experience goes a long way in the last two or three years so you get more confident.
"You're not as nervous when you get up there and sell."
Speech pathologist Eliza Stacey, Warragul, emphasised the importance of each young auctioneer refining their vocal skills.
"Their clarity affects the outcome of the sale," she said.
"If they're not clear enough or the buyers don't know where they're up to in their sale, they won't bid and that can directly affect the market price on the day.
"We get down to that level of vocational consequence."
She said she was training the auctioneers how to make their voice last, good vocal hygiene, how to use their voice correctly, the right breathwork, posture, body language, and anything else to do with communication.
Ms Stacey, who had been working with ALPA for 25 years, said the young auctioneers were really keen to improve.
"The speech therapy side of the training is really valued," she said.
"It's new information and the first time they've really had to think about their voice and how to use it as their instrument and probably the first time that they've reflected on the fact that their voice is a vocational hazard," she said.
"Without their voice, they definitely can't be an auctioneer and even their agency work would be impacted."
Campbell Czempinski, Elders Delaney Leongatha, Tyers, said the school offered an opportunity for him to be critiqued by those who wouldn't normally see him selling.
"You have blokes from different selling centres, different towns and regions that you don't normally see and they can just pick up certain things that others don't," he said.
Mr Czempinski said the thing he liked most about the job was "just getting a good result for your client and building a good client base".
Declan Haines, Elders Ballarat, Waurbra, said it shouldn't be understated how "hard it is to really nail down on some fine points when you're in the heat of the moment".
"These skills are just unbelievable for that," he said.
"We're dealing with our clients' livelihood so we want to make sure that we're doing a good job."
Mr Haines said he'd loved livestock since he was a kid, growing up on a farm, and that auctioneering was the perfect career for him.
"I've got a real passion for dealing with people so it ticks a lot of boxes," he said.
"We get to work with livestock and clients.
"The auctioneering part of it is something I never really considered until later on but I've fallen in love with that now too."
Mr Baldwin said the training delivered was "absolutely vital".
"The term professional is thrown around the industry," he said.
"We want these people to prove that they are professionals.
"We want to give them the tools to reach that pinnacle of professionalism."
He said the livestock auctioneers of today could not just be "coin in the slot auctioneers".
"We want them to be great all-round agents," he said.
