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Gain firsthand insight into how auction professionals can overcome growth barriers and use technology built by auction people for auction people, without losing the personal touch.
Brandon Giella: Hello and welcome
back to The Innovate Podcast.
Today we have yet again, Jody Amaya
walking us through how technology is
a multiplier and why auction owners
should not be thinking of technology
as just a form of automation.
It's actually amplification.
So I wanna dive into what we're talking
about here, why automation isn't enough.
Can you talk to me, Jody?
Why is automation not enough and why
are you thinking about technology in
a, in a way that's a multiplication
effect, an amplification effect?
Jodi Amaya: That's a great question
and I, I think it's something that,
um, I'm learning that I have to
explain a lot more, um, in my, in my
customer demos and things like that.
The way I try to think about it is
automation is like help you, that
assists you in handling tasks But
let's say that, um, you wanna send out.
A, a ton of emails to
this group of people.
Um, that's where multiplication comes in.
So now the person that is
responsible for handling that
task, we can also multiply that.
So that person has gotten five
times more work done because.
We took logic and said, that's
just one step of the task.
Now what is two and three and four?
So then we are able to expand and make
each person, um, that that works for
the auction company more effective.
And we look at the process
from the beginning to end.
Does that make sense?
Brandon Giella: Yeah.
Yeah, I like that.
So it's like, um, you built logic, so you
built like step-by-step tasks and what
you're saying is if you connect these
together, you actually get more out of
not just speeding up those tasks, but you
actually like amplify the power of those.
Like the outcomes of that.
Is that fair?
Jodi Amaya: Yes.
Um, in the past, for me, I
would say I need more people.
I need more people, and that's
what I hear from my prospects
today, is that we need more people.
And we talked about that
some last week, but.
I literally documented what is
step 1, 2, 3, 4, 200, you know, to
getting an item listed online, um,
or what are the buyers calling about?
And then with very smart developers,
uh, and architects and, you
know, QAs and bas, uh, we created
logic, um, so that we can make.
Each person's role and their contribution
to, uh, customer management or inventory
management or auction management.
We, we built in.
Multiplication, basically.
So tech is a part of automation, you
know, getting it online for the world
to see, but if we can make your team
more effective, more productive,
more accurate, to me that's the
multiplication that the, uh, logic or
the, the system is helping you build.
And it doesn't mean we're taking
away people, but it does provide an,
uh, a solution to have less people.
Brandon Giella: Mm.
Would you say, is it fair to say that, um.
For a lot of folks that you talk to, they
may not even have all of the processes
written out to do this effectively.
So where you guys are, you, you're
bringing in the tech, which obviously
has the, the logic and the process,
uh, which makes things faster,
more efficient, but also amplifies.
We'll get to more of that in a second,
but even before that, you guys are
actually, because you've done this a
thousand times, you've been doing this
for decades, you've actually got the
processes written out where they can just.
They don't even have to document their
processes because you've really, like
you, you've really knocked down, you
know, the, the, the main things that
they need to be doing to begin with.
Is that fair?
Is
Jodi Amaya: right.
Yes.
I mean, and I, I think that
that's one thing that has made.
Me successful in this role is, and it
took me a while to actually understand
that because I worked at auctions forever.
I was in, I did all things, you know,
uh, auction clerk, uh, writing up the
inventory, taking the pictures, adding the
lot numbers, uh, taking people's money.
Um, I did all the things and so I
just thought that was normal work,
but it was, it was really hard.
And so when I had the opportunity, uh,
to build innovate, that was something
that was very exciting to me that I
could let, one of the, one of the harder
things, if I can go ahead and just give
you an example, is things that we just
take for granted is that the phones ring
nonstop with our customers calling, and
we think that's never gonna go away.
And, and that may never go
away, but we can minimize it so.
I I, I don't recall if I talked about this
before, but to me this is one of the, the
simple things is it's not complicated.
It's very simple that we took
calls from buyers who were calling
saying, tell me about payment terms.
Tell me about the loadout conditions.
Uh, what are the hours?
Just very simple things.
Or where is my invoice?
Or have you received my payment?
And we automated that and then we were
able to multiply that so that we followed
the buyer's journey from beginning to end.
And with Innova's, uh, storefront
and, uh, customer portal
that customer can self-serve.
So they can go from the beginning of
a transaction all the way to paying
and loading out without having to
call the auction house if possible
for me.
That reduced a ton of steps for me.
Number of people I had more
time to do other things.
I had time to work on growing my business.
So simple examples like that
that we just take for granted.
And we say that's just the way that it is.
You really can simplify so that
the service is better for your
employees and for your buyers
and, and even your consignors.
'cause they're buy happy buyers.
Equal happy consignors.
Brandon Giella: Hmm.
I, I love that example.
Uh, it makes me think of, um, uh,
like there's an important distinction
where when folks call up and they're
doing business with somebody,
they like to talk to a person.
I do.
My customers.
Do your customers do your customer's?
Customers do, but there are a lot of
those cases where you actually don't
need to talk to somebody and it's okay.
Actually a delight to go to a portal
if it's a nice experience and it's
simple and I can find what I need
that I don't have to call you.
I think about like my barber.
He's, I want like a, i, I wanna
like, just schedule something
without having to call him
Jodi Amaya: that's right.
Brandon Giella: and, and, uh,
you know, stuff like that.
Like that's very simple and
straightforward and like a very simple
software solution can figure that out.
But it's a delight to me.
It's easier on the owner
and everybody's happy.
It's a win-win.
Now, of course, I still want
that human relationship.
I still want that
partnership and that trust.
But, but there's a, there's,
there's a distinction there.
Jodi Amaya: we do not wanna
take customer service away.
If your customers wanna
call you, let them call you.
But what if they don't want to?
You know, I think of the dread of
calling at and t, you know, not, or.
Or for me, whenever, you know, I would
hire a temporary help, uh, to help
work auctions because the phones rang
so much and as much as I would tell
them the answers, they, they would say
something wrong or inconsistently or
whatever it is, and then we end up.
Misrepresenting or giving
the wrong information.
So I believe that if the buyers have that
information in front of them, not always.
'cause buyers aren't always easy to train.
But if you can show them, sir,
the left hand side under the photo
every single time, that's where
Loadout details are gonna be.
So if you wanna make a decision
about Loadout, here's where you go.
And then they say, oh, thank you.
And then the next time they know
where to go and they can start
self-serving and they're happy to do so.
Brandon Giella: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We're not talking to be clear about,
you know, uh, calling up the mega
Corp and you get this like 10 minute
long hold period with a phone tree
and you gotta push all these buttons.
It's not like that though.
That helps them, but
that does not help us as
Jodi Amaya: But for me, sometimes there
was long wait times for my customers, you
know, because we only had so much staff
Brandon Giella: Yeah.
Fair.
Fair.
Yeah.
Jodi Amaya: they would
have to wait on hold.
But the answers can be right in
front of them instantaneously.
If somebody wants to call me, and I, I'm
happy to talk to them, but I also wanna
give them the option to say, Hey, do you
wanna know if your wire's been received?
'cause that's a common thing.
Buyers will call going,
did you receive my wire?
Did you receive my wire?
And we would say, as soon
as we do, we will call you.
But 10 other things happen
before we get to call the buyer.
And so it's nice if they can
get a notification that their
payment has been received.
And oh, by the way, here's
your release ticket.
The release ticket is only handed
whenever the payment is received
and the office doesn't have to worry
about calling that person back.
It's all automated and the effect.
Is multiplied, you know, because
now your team is more effective,
your buyer is happy, he's on
his way to pick up his item.
We didn't have to go through all
these things, um, you know, and stay
till midnight to get it all done.
Brandon Giella: Yeah.
Yeah.
I, I like the phrase that you
used there, there, you, you said
that it, it gives them the option.
I think that's the important thing.
It's not, we're not taking it away.
It's the option that they can
choose to, to do it this way,
and it makes everybody's lives
easier if they have that option.
Jodi Amaya: And I think
consumers expect it today.
Um, you know that they want to be able
to have the answers in front of them.
Um, and I also think it, it puts
you ahead of your competitors, um,
that you've got a storefront that
enables your business to be open 24 7.
That also multiplies this.
Another example of multiplication
is that your storefront.
It's basically not replacing your
brick and mortar, but it is the image.
You know, not everybody's just
driving by today and going,
oh, I'm gonna stop in there.
They look and they go, oh, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna look up their website,
and they go to their storefront.
And so these service things and
bring in more business for you
whenever your customers are not
walking through the front door.
Brandon Giella: That's right.
That's right.
It's marketing and sales 24 7,
which is a, an added benefit.
Yeah.
Jodi Amaya: Right.
Brandon Giella: Okay, so moving on.
You used this phrase that I wanna
hear more about, uh, you say the
compound effect of small efficiencies.
Tell me about that.
What does that mean for you?
Jodi Amaya: I think that, let's,
let's say that instead of the, the
person drove by and they looked at
your storefront and they saw that you
have an auction coming next Tuesday,
and so they pre-bid on an item.
That item had an inspection on it
with 30 photos and the two videos
and, uh, the loadout information that
person put a pre-bid on because they
were able to go to your storefront.
They decided to bid more because
you had an inspection report
that had a lot of details instead
of a very basic description.
They were able to register, they were able
to do everything they needed right there.
That to me, you, that's a multiplier.
That is a compound effect.
We, we improved in that
scenario several times.
We improved 'cause we have a
storefront with inventory on it.
We improved because our
customer could engage.
Without having to talk to a
human, we improved because we
had a better quality inspection.
So if we can do everything just a little
bit better, we could be 50% better, 50%
better, hopefully means more revenue.
Uh, 50% better means less
arbitration, maybe a hundred
percent better than where we were.
So the other side of that is that we
can start measuring what that looks
like and that's, that's the part
that gets addicting is, is seeing the
results and measuring the success.
Or even the failure and going,
okay, how do we do better there?
Brandon Giella: Uh, I want to take
this a step further as you're talking.
I'm thinking that is one, um, uh,
collection of small improvements
at one snapshot in time.
And then you mentioned the data where
you can start to improve that over time.
The longitudinal effect over time, where
these things not just compound effect
again in that one snapshot, but then
you start adding that one snapshot up a
hundred times, a thousand times over a
year, five years, 10 years, you start to
get exponential orders of magnitude more
Jodi Amaya: Mm-hmm.
Brandon Giella: Is that a fair summary?
Jodi Amaya: very fair.
Um, it's, it's fun for me.
Like, um, it makes me, uh, not like
a fortune teller, but I don't know
how to express it when I'm doing,
you know, when see people think, like
when I say, I promise you, you know,
just give it a chance and it's gonna
change your life like that sounds.
Gimmicky, you know, and so, but whenever
I have customers say to me like,
Jody, you make me look like a hero.
My boss thinks I'm wonderful.
We've grown our auction company five
times, what we were last year, and
it's easier and like it's five o'clock
and let's get, like, I'm at his office
and he's like, it's five o'clock.
Let's go to dinner like the night before
an auction that used to never happen.
Their descriptions are better.
They're making more money.
Than they were before.
They don't have any more
employees than they had before.
So all of those little
percentages added up.
Where at first they were like,
I'm not sure that I can believe
that logic can do what I can do.
You know, like I, I'm the king, or I'm
the person who I've gotta do everything
because that's how they feel at the time.
Almost helpless in saying, I feel like
I have to do everything right now.
How can that ever change?
Brandon Giella: Would you say for,
for folks that are feeling like, you
know, I'm the king of this castle.
Would you, would you say, well, if you
implement this and you start building
really robust processes, good logic,
you get that multiplication effect,
you're more efficient, more clear,
more standardized, you can be even
more of a king of a bigger castle.
Is
Jodi Amaya: I would say to
that person, there is no more
of a control freak than me.
And that I had my spreadsheets and,
uh, for title tracking or expense
tracking or inventory tracking.
I had 'em all.
And if you were to touch 'em, you were
probably gonna get slapped with a ruler.
Um, or if they disappeared because it,
it was my bible, it was the only way.
That I felt like I could sort and re-sort
and, and, and keep up with things.
And then I still wasn't even certain
after doing all that hard work and
long hours, I still wasn't certain.
So I was not a believer in, in what
Innovate has created, but I am now,
and I really do think that it can
have a big impact on people's lives.
I don't think it, I know it, like I,
I'm seeing it happen with my customers.
Um, so I'm excited that we've started.
Um, as much as I'm thrilled, you know,
to be on camera talking and all of
those things, I am excited to get the
message out about what Innovate does,
um, because we, we really haven't
started doing that until recently.
So I'm excited to help more people and
share, um, how automation and logic
and multiplication and all those things
can actually really help your business.
Brandon Giella: Hmm.
Can you, can we dive into more of a,
like a, a real example, like something
that you've seen in, in your work?
You, you talked a little bit about this
and you talked, you've mentioned some,
like this, you know, client that you had
that like kind of five x their business.
They're saying like, walk us through,
take, take a few more minutes to
kind of walk through like a story of.
Where that really happened with
a, a client or, or even for you
guys, you know, like your journey.
You, and you've talked about this a little
bit, but I wanna, I, what I'm, what I'm
hoping to do with this question is I want
folks to really like, see it tangibly,
'cause we talked, you know, theoretically
sometimes, or about principles of
like, technology can really help.
Here's how.
Um, but I want to hear like
more of the practical, like
kind of what you were just.
I'm talking about here a minute ago,
but just like, walk me through a longer
story of, of how that has really,
really transformed someone's business.
Jodi Amaya: Um, so some of the
examples are, um, like real time.
Inventory updates.
Um, that seems like a small thing, but
if you go look at an auctioneer's, uh,
auction company's storefront website, a
lot of times there's not inventory there.
They, their inventory is over
at the marketplace and so.
Imagine, you know, going out, taking
a picture of whatever it is that
you're gonna sell at auction and it's
on your shore front within minutes,
and that buyers, potential buyers
are able to see that within minutes.
That
Brandon Giella: Where, where it
was, but so it is not minutes,
but before it was hours.
Days.
Jodi Amaya: Weeks, weeks, minutes
at, I mean like however long it
took that person to complete the
description, make sure that the title
came in, do a lien verification.
Has it arrived at location?
Has it been washed?
Have I charged for that wash?
All of these things are automated.
Many of them are automated.
I look at it like who does what and when.
And the data is how.
And so the, the inventory, for example,
is a very long process from the,
the consignor giving you permission
to sell the item, to taking photos
of it, getting its listing, making
sure it's description is correct.
Um, so each one of those, um, we've
reduced the steps by around 60%.
Um.
A title person there.
Sometimes I, I promise you, if you ask
a title person how many pending titles
they have or whatever, they may cuss
at you because it's very hard for them
to keep track of all of this paper.
We'll innovate.
We found a way to track all of that.
Not only have you received the title, have
you received an original of the title?
All of these delays in
inventory management cost money.
So I would say some auctioneers, um,
would agree with me that it takes
them, you know, 20, 30 days to get
an item listed completely online, and
they're still not a hundred percent.
Positive if it's listed correctly with,
verify the description, uh, verify
the title, verify the lien, did all,
everything that they were supposed to do
before it goes online to the world to see.
So with Innovate, we've built
in processes to make each person
who's in that role more effective
and the inventory is online.
So it, it greatly reduces the workload.
It increases the impact that
it has to your team and and
making them more effective.
So now your team can actually manage
twice the amount of inventory and
do a better job at managing it.
Brandon Giella: Hmm.
How much would you say, okay, let's say an
an auction owner's listening and they've
got a $20 million operation, 50 million.
$100 million, what percentage
of their team's time.
Would you say you could automate out?
Is that I'm, I'm trying to see like, like
imagine 20 per, I get 20% more capacity
or 50% more capacity, or 5X more capacity.
I'm just trying to like frame
what this could really look like.
Jodi Amaya: You know, that's a
great question and I really should
survey all of my customers, but, um.
The one customer that I told you
earlier said that we've multiplied
his company by 5X and he has
not added any more employees.
So in that scenario, that's
like, you know, 500%, you know,
each one of them, you know?
So, um, other.
Customers have told me that,
um, they feel like they are
doing 100 more, if not 50% more.
Um, it really depends upon the
role, but it is, it is a large
number that I'm afraid people won't
believe, um, until they see it.
You know, another customer said
to me, um, you know, Jody, I think
you're like 15 years ahead of us.
You know, like, I couldn't see.
What you were seeing when we
first started this, you know?
But now after having all the time
savers and the output and the
decisions that we're now able to make
that we weren't able to make before
because they were so blinded by.
The, the lack of reporting and the lack of
data and the lack of intelligence that was
in their former software solutions, they
didn't expect anything greater than that.
And so now they, they
couldn't even imagine that.
So now she's like, I am able
to do so much more with my time
and we're making more money.
Brandon Giella: If you told
me that you could grow my
business 50% without adding any,
Jodi Amaya: I know.
Brandon Giella: I, I, I
a may not believe you.
And BIII would love that.
That sounds
Jodi Amaya: Yeah.
Brandon Giella: Um, but yeah, but that,
but that is hard to believe and I, and
I like, so, okay, so you mentioned, so
this, there's customer told you that maybe
you're, you're 15, 20 years ahead of us.
I think it's very rare that somebody
gets that opportunity to, to.
Be in that kind of position
or have somebody say that.
And I can imagine many characters through
history that, uh, you know, were, had
this kind of prophetic role, if you will.
Um, I'm thinking of like some
of these dystopian novelists
or, you know, the iPhone when it
came out or something like that.
Not, not saying that Innova is
the iPhone, but the point is,
um, is uh, that sounds like.
A challenging position to be in to
some res in some respects like that.
It's, it's, it's like,
uh, you're a Cassandra.
You're saying like, Hey, this thing
is happening, this thing is happening,
and I want you guys to believe
it and you're not maybe believed.
What would, what do you wish
you could tell someone right now
that's listening that's like,
I, you're 15 years ahead of me.
I don't believe what you're saying.
50% increase, 100 increase.
A 5X increase.
That sounds too good to be
true.
Jodi Amaya: it sounds drastic.
Yeah.
Brandon Giella: Yeah.
What would you say to them?
Jodi Amaya: Call my customers.
Brandon Giella: Okay.
Jodi Amaya: Yep.
Um, every one of my customers says
they're willing to be on a billboard.
We should, we should do billboards,
Brandon Giella: Really?
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay.
I'm in.
Jodi Amaya: and the way I get
new customers is referrals.
Um, so as you, as the world can tell,
InnovA has not done a lot of marketing.
Um, so I think that
speaks some truth as well.
Um, we are a young company, but
we're a very experienced company.
Um, we have a strong backing behind us.
Um, I know it feels like risk,
but I also think you're at more
risk if you don't make a change
in, in your company's future.
If your team is exhausted and not
proud of the work that they're putting
out, or you're not happy with the
work that they're putting out, what
are you gonna do to change that?
Um, I believe Innova has that solution.
I, I strongly believe that,
um, I've seen it in action.
Um, I want to share it with more people.
That is our goal, especially in
2026, um, is to bring on a lot more
clients and, and have more voices
out there advertising for Innova.
Brandon Giella: I love
that challenge accepted.
So if you, if you're hearing this
right now, call up the team at Nno
a to call their customers and hear
it straight from the horse's mouth.
Is this real 'cause?
Jodi Amaya: Yep,
Brandon Giella: You can prove that it
has dramatically helped a lot of people.
Yeah,
Jodi Amaya: that is so true.
Brandon Giella: Yeah.
And it's helping the, the
auction industry as a whole.
And I wanna, I wanna highlight too that
what I've gathered from our conversations,
and, and even you mentioned it a few
times, is these folks that own these
businesses or heavily involved in the
operations of an an auction business,
they actually get their life back.
So you could say like there's,
they're not as grinding as much.
And they're able to go to dinner on time
and they're able to like actually enjoy
their work and enjoy their business,
which I think may not always have a
monetary value, but is extremely valuable
for somebody's quality of life, and
that that's an important component.
Jodi Amaya: And I, I mean, it's
not anything that I expected.
Whenever, you know, I, I hoped, you
know, I remember, you know, talking
to my investors and, and saying, you
know, my, my passion for technology
and my passion for the auction industry
and the people in the industry, uh,
'cause I grew up with them, I hoped
to make an impact on their business.
Um, and I knew that it, if, if they felt
good about the things that they did, that
I, it would make an impact on them, the,
their products, their lives, you know.
But some of the stories that I hear now
are, are like so amazing to me to know
that, you know, my father passed recently
and I had customers that traveled from
far away to come be supportive of me.
Um, you know, I'm invited to my customer's
weddings, like I'm introduced as family.
Like they, I, I, some of them, you
know, have told me I've saved their
marriage or, um, they, they're not on
cholesterol medicine anymore or whatever
it is, you know, and it, it's just that
they were able to take maternity leave
because of InnovA like crazy things
to me that are just is so awesome.
Um, it's not anything I expected,
but I, I definitely love the result.
Brandon Giella: Yes.
I so love that.
I think that's so important.
I, I think it is easy as, as business
owners to think like just in dollars
and cents, but there is this other
component that actually does have
a dollars and cents component.
It's just hard to see.
Um, but to have that such a profound
effect on the quality of their lives,
the dignity of their work, their, their
purpose, joy, you know, time with their
family, that kind of stuff is really huge.
Really
Jodi Amaya: It is it, it is huge.
And um, I don't know what your next
question is, but one thing that I
wanna say is that we're talking about
a lot of efficiencies and time savers.
Um, but I've been a business
owner, so I, I think, uh, you know,
showing the proof is in money.
Um, so I do have a way that
I measure results in ROI.
Um, I don't wanna share all the scoop
and all the details, um, here because
I, I would like the opportunity to talk.
To people and show them how, um,
and the, the time savers, um, do
make a huge impact on the business.
You know, each little savings adds up,
but I can show you in dollars, um, how,
um, converting some of your buyers over to
your brand, how it can, uh, build a legacy
in your company, how it can build your
brand independence, and how you will save
immediate dollars, and you will notice
the impact on your business within weeks.
Um, and then it'll continue
to grow from there.
Brandon Giella: We have a
podcast, uh, coming very soon
on this customer conversion,
customer lifetime value framework.
That is what you're getting at here.
Uh, and I.
I think we should just jump into
that next episode because I, I
do wanna talk about some of that.
Yes, please call Jody,
please go to innovate llc.com
and get in touch with the team
and, and look at the resources
there and understand this.
But I do wanna get into some
of those mechanics that I
think will be really useful.
Of course, not all the details,
you can't get away the secret
Jodi Amaya: I'm not gonna give all
the, the secret sauce, but today I was
talking about this, what, what seems
to be, you know, heard as dramatic.
And so I wanna say I can back it up by
Brandon Giella: Yeah, let's do it.
Jodi Amaya: the dollar signs
and I'll show you the formula.
With your own numbers and say,
what if this was your reality?
H how, and, and if you don't make change,
what is the impact of not making change?
So, um, if, if you'll just trust
me for that phone call and for
that meeting, and then try to tell
me no, um, then, then we'll see.
But, um, I, I would love to have that
conversation with many, many people.
Brandon Giella: Okay,
you heard it here first.
Jody said, I challenge you to call my
customers and then call me and look at
this, this framework that I'm putting
together and the dollar impact on your
business and see if I'm not serious.
Jodi Amaya: that's right.
I know it.
I know it can make a difference.
Brandon Giella: I love it.
I love it.
Strong, bold.
Awesome.
All right, Jody, well thank you very
much for running us through this.
We've, we've talked the last couple
episodes about technology and I just
wanted to double down on that point.
'cause I think it's hugely, hugely
important to understand the framework
or the kinds of thinking that
is going on behind in a, uh, and
the technology and the, and the
product that you guys are building.
But where does that lead, that
leads directly to the bottom line,
which we'll talk about next time.
Jodi Amaya: Yep.
Brandon Giella: All right,
well, thanks so much.
We'll
Jodi Amaya: Thank you, Brandon.
It was good talking to you.
Brandon Giella: Always.
Jodi Amaya: All right, bye.