The Trick You MUST Know About Benefit Auction Timing

Today I got an e-mail from a client stating,

“we will be advertising the event as starting at 7pm and ending at 10pm”

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,” my brain screams, as I scramble to hit the “Reply” button before I read even one word further.

This is one of the MOST important tidbits I share with Benefit Auction clients:  the 30-1 Rule.

Here’s my hastily typed plea:

Ooh, ooh, ooh, this is one of those things I must speak up about 🙂

 

If you want people to be engaged in the event between the hours of 7:00-10:00, then you must must must advertise as 6:30-11:00, because people never arrive right when doors open, but 15-20 minutes after, and then have to park, walk, register, etc., so the earliest folks are beginning to engage in the event just before 7, with the majority trickling in AFTER that.

 

And then at the end, people mentally check out of an event when they believe they have experienced all that was included in their ticket price. If we say it runs until 11:00 BUT we internally plan to have all money raised and everything wrapped up by 10:00, then they feel they are getting home “early” and leave with a good impression that we were efficient.

 

If you advertise that the event ends at 10:00, people will be looking to leave by 9:00-9:15, hoping to let the babysitter go early or perhaps to beat the line at valet, and those departures before our event goals are wrapped up can really create a bunch of problems for checkout and put a damper on the evening.

 

Please please please add the 30-minute cushion to the front and 1-hour cushion to the end 🙂 I promise you that doing this will allow us to have guests engaged and content to be in attendance during the “action” hours of 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

 

Jenelle