Choice Voice
By: Sarah Gulberg

From a very early age, Dennis Biliske knew exactly what he wanted to do, and began doing it professionally at only seventeen. Dennis has made a name for himself through his former company, Dennis Biliske Auctioneers, and now through Biliske & Merrill Land Sales and Biliske – Schuster Auctioneers, which are all marketed under the title “Biliske Group”.

Dennis was born and raised near Hensel, ND, his father was a farmer and took him to auctions every chance he could, and that is when Dennis knew this was the career for him. Dennis’ wife Sue is from nearby Oklee, Minnesota.  Sue worked for a another auctioneer, and a rodeo promotion company in Park Rapids. She was invited by her colleagues to attend the Minnesota Auctioneer Convention in 1999, where she and Dennis were introduced by mutual friends. They were married in Grand Forks in 2001.

Dennis Biliske Auctioneers was formed in 1985, before he was even out of high school. As the years went on, auctions were conducted in 8 states, 3 Canadian provinces and a total of 5 countries.  In 2006, after 20 years in business, Dennis sold out to Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers which is the largest auction company in the world.  Shortly thereafter, he began working full time for Titan Machinery in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. He very much enjoyed working at Titan, as coming from the auction side of life, he learned a greater appreciation for the retail aspect of the equipment industry.

Dennis and his partner, Allen Merrill started the land sales business in 2005. Al is a retired farmer from the Fisher, MN area.  He has great knowledge of farming, drainage & irrigation practices.  After Dennis and Al had attended land sales of all sorts throughout the region, they felt that there was an opportunity to bring a new resource for sellers to an old and largely unabridged game, and have done so successfully ever since.  They work hard to find buyers for the farms they sell, and pride themselves in linking investor buyers with local operators that can forge long term relationships, keeping local people farming land that they may not necessarily be able to buy.

After three years of watching others do auctions, Dennis threw his hat back in the ring, and Biliske – Schuster Auctioneers was founded January 1st of this year.  Dennis’ partner, Scott Schuster who is a Grafton native, had owned a small auction company in Grand Forks since 2005. He has 30 years of experience in the equipment and transportation industries, and has been an acquaintance of Dennis’ for many years. They are very excited to hold their first auction at the end of this month, March 31st at the Alerus Center here in Grand Forks.  There will be over 400 lots of farm equipment and trucks to be sold.

Biliske – Schuster will hold three regularly scheduled equipment and truck consignment auctions in the area each year, and will conduct “on site” auctions for farmers and businesses at their own locations. The typical auction in which a seller will call the auctioneer and ask them to come sell their equipment, can be for various reasons- retirement, health, crop specialty transitions, etc. and those auctions are usually held at the seller’s location. The consignment auctions are held to capitalize on numerous farmers and businesses pooling their equipment together for a larger draw, and the auction is then held in a local spot hosted by the auctioneers.

The auctions attract buyers from throughout the region, and Canada as well.  The Biliske Group is no stranger to huge promotions, large mailings, active websites and numerous specialty trade publications which are used to attract buyers’ attention.

Their biggest accomplishment thus far, according to Sue was the construction, operation and management of their former facility at Buxton, ND.  That facility thrived under their ownership & management, and put their business and abilities on the map. Dennis said that for him personally, his biggest accomplishment in addition to helping people through times of transition in close to 2000 auctions, was that for 9 years he was the lead auctioneer for Asia International Auctioneers in the Philippines, conducting auctions there, in Japan and Indonesia.

Sue said that when speaking of the pros and cons of owning your own business that, “there are definitely more pros, but that what first comes to mind is that it’s your name on the line, therefore you take great pride in it.  You go above and beyond because it is your reputation, your seller’s reputation, investments, assets and livelihood that they’ve entrusted to you.  Earning the trust of a seller is the greatest pro of all”.

The only downside mentioned was the long hours, which as a business owner, you must commit to.  Dennis said “there are very few successful 9-5’ers that are business owners.  Starting at the top and working your way down is not an option for me. You work 24-7 if that’s what it takes and lucky for me, that’s what I like.  We have been blessed with the fruits of those labors”

When asking Dennis and Sue what they liked most about Choice Financial, Dennis said “we’re treated the way you’d want to be treated by your banker. These people know us, they know where we come from, and they know what we’ve been through to get here.  I can’t deal with a lender, or any business, for that matter that can’t or won’t make solid decisions with quick turn around times.  Local decisions from local people, that’s what I like!”

When asking Dennis where he hopes to see his businesses in the future he said, “I want to keep these businesses at a level where we don’t lose personal touch. I want to be able to continue to have large auctions and land sales, but to still remain very hands on, nimble and competitive.  I’m only 42, but I drive by countless farms where I’ve conducted auctions, I remember those people, their families, their hardships & their joys.  With us, that will never change”.

If you would like any information regarding Biliske & Merrill Land Sales or Biliske -  Schuster Auctioneers you can visit their office in Grand Forks at 1425 S. Columbia Rd. Ste 2, call them at 701-757-4015 or visit their website at www.biliskegroup.com