What is your professional background or experience prior to joining Kraft?
Auctions are my life, and I was born with a Kraft Auction Service hat on. Growing up I did every aspect of an auction from cleaning out houses, working the ring, clerking, cashiering and even working the hot dog stand with my mom. Being a family business, you just have to do whatever needs to be done to get the job done.
In 2005 I graduated high school for Hobart, and that summer I then attended the World Wide College of Auctioneering in Mason City, Iowa. Then that fall I started my college career at Purdue University majoring in accounting and marketing in the Krannert Business School. Over the next few years at Purdue, I worked on growing the Kraft Auction brand and excelling in the classroom. In my junior year at Purdue I was offered the opportunity to forgo my senior year and enter into the 3+2 program at Purdue where I would stay for a fifth year at Purdue and earn my Masters in Business Administration. Only the top 10 students in their class were given this opportunity, and I took the opportunity to further my business education. I completed my MBA and graduated from Purdue in 2010.
What are your primary responsibilities in your current role?
As of the owner of Kraft Auction Service LLC and Kraft Real Estate Services LLC it is my job and responsibility to oversee all operations of the business, continue to keep the business cutting edge for both buyers and sellers, and to continue to grow the business for everyone involved. I spend a lot of my timing meeting with sellers and working through with them to value their collection, discuss the market, and strategize the best way to sell their items. I also really enjoy working with the team that catalogs and sets up the sale to make sure that we have a best in class set up, high quality photos and descriptions that accurately reflect the item. Lastly, I spend quite a bit of time working with buyers to help them find items they are looking to purchase, making them aware of items that are in our upcoming sales and networking at trade shows and auctions.
Have you held any other positions at Kraft prior to your current role?
I have had them all… even use to move the port-a-potty from auction to auction.
What do you enjoy most about working at Kraft Auction/Kraft Real Estate?
The people. It never gets old meeting new people and seeing customers that have known me since I was in diapers. Walking into someone’s lifetime collection and understanding the passion they had, and now you have the opportunity to represent them and get it to the next caretaker for them. It is a honor to represent the sellers we do.
What do you believe sets Kraft apart from other auction and/or real estate services?
The service to go above and beyond for both the seller and the buyer.
For our sellers, it is our goal to maximize the prices achieved for your real estate or personal property we are selling. So to do that, we are going to do everything it takes to present them in the best manner we can if that be from doing a full house cleaning and professional photos or getting a tractor running that has not been running for 40 years. We are going to do what it takes to maximize your return in the end.
For our buyers, we are going to do everything we can to make sure you have a smooth buying process. Items are going to be represented properly, good photos will be given so if you are buying online you are making decisions based on the right information, and when you show up to the load-out we are going to make it quick and easy for you.
We are Kraft Auction Service, and we take the Service part seriously.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
This is a second generation auction company founded by my father, Col. Conrad Kraft, in 1976. Today my two sons, Jack (10) and Hardee (9), are going to be the third generation of Kraft auctioneers. Already active in the business, Jack and Hardee work our live auctions and truly enjoy the auction business.
