WAYLAND, Mich. – Sarah Miller, general manager of America’s Auto Auction West Michigan, seemed pretty chill as leaders from the National Auto Auction Association visited the auction this summer. Although no sale was going on, the auction hosted NAAA officials as they met with media on one of several stops through Michigan.
Incoming President Eddie Lafferty, incoming President-elect Tommy Rogers, NAAA Executive Director Paul Lips and Director of Communications Max Cole visited the auction on July 31 as they trekked to auctions across the country. Miller, 39, chatted easily as she talked about her career as the industry prepares for NAAA World Remarketing Convention in Kansas City, Mo., this month. “I started over at Flint Auto Auction with John Luce and Bill Williams (in Michigan),” she said. “I’m actually from that area.” Flint Auto Auction later became ADESA Flint
Miller started as a receptionist as a summer job in 2007 as she prepared to attend Michigan State University. But the summer job soon became her full-time job as she moved to the regular office where she began working in fleet/lease. Eventually, she moved over to the Chrysler department at Fint. Miller said while the auction industry wasn’t on her original career bingo card, she loved what she called the “organized chaos” of the business. “Honestly, it was just to pay bills at the beginning,” she said. “But I couldn’t get away from it. I grew a passion for the auction business and the car industry.”
Miller called Luce and Williams “great mentors” in helping her develop that love for the business. She believes they saw her drive and that helped her advance. “You go above and beyond,” she said. “You just don’t do what your asked to do. You’re learning new things along the way.” Eventually, she was hired in 2011 as a sales rep by West Michigan Auto Auction, which was acquired by America’s in 2017. “I came here as a sales rep,” Miller said. “I loved sales. It was a great job. I got to meet customers and got to work with dealers.” Over the years, she advanced steadily, from sales rep to sales manager to assistant general manager.
It was working as a sales manager under then-General Manager Carl Miskotten that she started thinking about a bigger future here. “I started to watch how Carl handled things and, primarily, watch how the entire auction ran, listening in to different departments to learn how they ran.” Then when she was promoted to assistant general manager, he started to let her handle some different things and overseeing any problems that popped up.
In 2020, she became general manager. Of course, her new role came as COVID shut down Michigan, so navigating that was difficult. As they opened back up in 2021, it was good to have bidding both in-lane and online, offering more flexibility for buyers and sellers, Miller said. “I think we’re about 50/50 now,” she said. Even with COVID, Miller said the transition to GM wasn’t difficult. She credited the auction team and Brian Thomas, senior vice president at America’s, for making it easier.
America’s Auto Auction West Michigan, Wayland, MI.
Having great customers and team members have made the job easier, but working to make everything as efficient as a possible is the key challenge, Miller said. “I think efficiency may be the biggest pain point for me,” she said. Miller believes her ability to embrace all areas of the auction business also has helped her advance and succeed. “It’s not like there is this one thing that makes or breaks an auction, I think you need every piece to come together,” she said. Miller was thrilled to host the NAAA and the media at the auction July 31 and looks forward to the rest of the year. “I think we have a phenomenal team and a phenomenal corporate office here,” she said.
The mindset at Americas Auto Auction West Michigan is that “nothing’s going to hold you back.”
