Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS)
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Here’s an example of a Live Auction Poster: the photo(s) are large and sharp, it’s easy to guess at a glance what it is (a trip) and all parts of the package are listed. With the added bonus of having the org logos at the bottom. Shout out to United Way and L3Harris for doing it right!
Just a reminder that every live auction should have a Live Auction Display Area with posters on easels, in a high-traffic location where people can linger.
Don’t put them down the hallway walking to Registration.
Don’t put them just past Registration – no one will linger there.
Do create a special place where your auctioneer (me!) can stand and have conversations with your guests, answer questions about the live auction items and build rapport ahead of time. Your auctioneer should never be invisible! A great fundraising auctioneer will be working during the socialization time before everyone is seated.
Ahh, here we are, approaching the Fall fundraising season, and we’re not quite where we thought we’d be. Or at least where we hoped we’d be.
So many of my nonprofit clients have carefully, hopefully, even joyfully been planning in-person galas…and yet in city after city in Florida (and in some parts of the country) the biggest galas with the largest audiences are stepping back to 100% virtual.
If you’re moving forward with a hybrid event – maybe you’ve limited your in-person attendance, switched to satellite parties, or changed your seating arrangements – I understand your desire to ease your annual event back to (what used to be) normal.
I’ve done the hybrid thing, complete with one camera on a zipline across the tent! If you’ve got questions, let’s chat.
Consignment.
You know, the companies that spam you, flood your Inbox trying to sound appealing and not pleading (but often failing), cold-calling, name-dropping (“we just worked with ________ auctioneer/organization”).
I’m not saying there aren’t trustworthy consignment partners out there, it’s just…there.are.so.many. Somehow – in a field that was already crowded with companies with basically identical trips and price points – lately even more wannabes have sprung up. Or maybe they’ve just gotten more aggressive.
So, how do you decide? First off, do you need to pay for an auction item? or multiple items? To keep the most money that your guests spend (ideally, 100%) then the auction items you offer must either be 100% donated or fully underwritten (paid for in advance) by a benefactor.
If you’re having trouble securing 100% donated items, ask your fundraising auctioneer what they’ve seen other groups do successfully. I typically share 8-10 ideas for 100% donated auction packages that sell for thousands of dollars.
If you decide you need more or flashier auction items, then make sure you’re checking out at least 3 consignment providers, and you’re asking questions, not of them, but asking others about them: success stories, horror stories, customer service wins and fails, ease of or problems with booking desired dates, alternate destination options, blackout dates, extensions and more.
Since most of the consignment companies seem so similar, put them on the spot and ask, “What is true about your company that can’t also be said by one of your competitors?”
Consignment can add money to your proceeds, but, let’s keep ’em honest.
One thing we’ve learned in the past 18 months (and I hope you didn’t have to learn the hard way) is that your production team is EVERYTHING. Sure, there are fundraisers over Zoom. In some cases, bidding happens in the chat box. But all of these events rely on tech.
I’ve seen costs for event production this year from $3000 to $50,000. Crazy range, right? That means you need to get at least 3 quotes, and you need to learn enough to communicate what you’re asking for, what you envision. Will your speakers need a TelePrompTer? Will you need an afternoon in advance to pre-record some segments or speakers? Will you need a dress rehearsal? What about editing for your videos? Planning to film on-site or in their studio? (Do they even have a studio??)
Conversations with multiple vendors will help you learn the tech speak you need to get an accurate proposal and cost estimate. If you’re still not clear, reach out to a nonprofit whose online program you like to find out what it took to get that result.
Or, you can call me. I’ve got a list of specs compiled from the various streaming events I’ve done.
When we started pushing events online 5+ months ago, the “2-screen” experience was typical: view the live streaming program on one screen while bidding/donating on another. This approach has been used successfully (in some cases very successfully), yet questions arose. Were we losing any bidders due to 2-screen viewing?
So the scramble was on…all of the sudden, “1-screen solutions” were being feverishly promoted and created. The thought was, if viewers could bid on the same screen as the livestream program, well, that would just solve everything, right? I mean, it would be *just like an in-person gala, wouldn’t it? What could go wrong?
Curiously, (but – in hindsight – to be expected) new challenges arise with 1-screen online event software. “Latency” emerges as a buzzword. During an in-person bidding experience – say, in a ballroom – every audience member receives the auction bidding info at the same time and anyone can raise a bid paddle. However, for online virtual galas, numerous inequalities arise. Are viewers on laptops, smart TVs, tablets or phones? How fast is their internet connection? Which cable or phone provider?
And, perhaps we really can’t replicate the in-person bidding experience virtually for other reasons.
Most benefit auctioneers would tell you that it takes an average of 3 minutes per item when selling from the stage. While other types of auctioneering calls for liquidation and efficiency (selling 1-2 items per minute), charity fundraising auctions necessitate entertainment and mission reminders along with the selling.
And one of the main reasons fundraising auctioneers like myself get hired is audience engagement/stage presence. While we are highlighting the best features of that item and asking for bids, we are doing 2 other CRITICAL things: scanning the faces and reading body language. Based on our observations of the audience, we decide when to ask for a different dollar amount, add more package details, or mention how another bid helps the NPO do their mission. All while staying mindful of our tight timeline, looking out for distractions in the room, etc.
Now, in the Virtual Gala world of today, all of those critical audience cues are gone. People are either bidding exactly at the moment we’re asking – or they’re not. And we can’t know why. Is it a technology issue? Viewers aren’t interested in the item? Or some are interested, but got distracted just this minute? Or the auctioneer isn’t compelling?
Thus, it’s *Much harder to know when to call an end to the bidding. And, for viewers isolated in their own homes versus watching the action with friends at a gala table, non-bidders are even more disconnected from the auction. Doesn’t that make their attention span even shorter?
So do we close each “live” auction item after 2-3 minutes of real-time bidding, or “check in on the bidding” and leave it open?
Discuss and decide with your fundraising auctioneer. Your decision affects all viewers, and, very likely, your $ raised.
Previously published on LinkedIn.
See Part One for 3 things you can do to (hopefully) safeguard your gala and stop this from happening, but, if it happens, here’s what you can do:
(Excerpt from a recent conversation with a client:)
I would
-start by trying to address the exact issue: is the winning bidder just now realizing the blackout or expiration dates? If so, contact the donor to see if you have any wiggle room. Is the amount of the purchase too much at one time? Offer to break up their total into payments. Is the top bidder claiming, “It wasn’t me?” Show him or her your back-up confirmation system, whether clerk sheet, signature, video of the auction, or all 3. Did anyone from your team have a conversation with the winner immediately after the purchase? Your bidder may still back out, but make sure you’ve done all you can, because trying to sell an item after the event can be a headache.
If you’ve tried your best to be diplomatic and solve the issue to no avail, ask the person who no longer wants their live auction item if they’d like to donate the item back and instead make a 100% tax-deductible straight donation to your organization. I’ve seen this done multiple times.
If you still end up with the auction item, you now have to monetize it somehow.
If you don’t get any responses from that, you can put the item on your website or an online bidding platform to find a new offer (or two or three).
As I said to my client, “I’m sorry this happened. Sometimes people are…people.”
It happens.
Not very often, but it happens.
Sometimes it’s because the person drank too much. Beware of Open Bar combined with a too-late live auction. It’s an urban myth that you should get your guests drunk so they “bid more.” Drunk is NOT the goal, should never be the goal. The guideline fundraising professionals use is “Two drinks good, 3 drinks bad.” Get your fundraising FINISHED before your guests have finished a third drink. People who’ve had too much to drink (more than 2-3) tend to be louder, talkative, self-absorbed, unable to focus on the larger agenda of the whole room, and -in extreme cases -not thinking clearly. Oh they might bid, but they’re the first ones to cry “buyer’s remorse” and refuse to pay, leaving you with a multi-thousand dollar auction item and no crowd left (on Monday after the event) to sell it to.
There are other reasons people refuse to honor their auction bid, and there are a few ways you can minimize your risk, so start building these safeguards into your next event:
Despite all of your efforts, someone calls on Monday and backs out/won’t honor their bid. Now what?
Check out Part Two…
” Anyway, I just wanted to tell you, yet again, that you are a master beyond words. First was the way you pushed so successfully through a couple of “slowdowns” in the bidding on ended up gaining top dollar winning bids. Second, he thought your set-up with such energized and animated spotters/encouragers in the audience was amazing. Also, I think there were around 700 people in the audience…so know that’s a huge crowd to manage. Bottom line, I saw Jeanne at breakfast yesterday morning (was with our group of eight) and she asked us what we thought was the highlight of the event this year. I said it was YOU. Then, the rest of our group concurred. She shared that she had heard the same thing from others.” – Karen Davis, Brevard Zoo
Download the FREE Checklist!
I try to do a Venue Visit with clients at least 2 months before the event, so I can help determine stage position, traffic flow, sound system and lighting needs, etc.
You can download and print (or view on your phone) this 70-item Venue Checklist to help you either A.) narrow down your venue options, or B.) catch potential problems with the venue you chose.
It covers
I often repeat the mottos “Make it easy for people to spend money” and “Ambiance is bad for auctions” (meaning low light is fine for dinner, but make sure the lights can be brighter for silent and live auctions and appeals).
As always, if you’ve got a question, just call my cell at 407-791-1360 in Tampa!