Tick Tock

The clock starts now. We're already a month into the new year. Time is ticking away for the upcoming 2016 fundraising season. This year is already turning out to be even better and busier than it was in 2015! I'm proud to say that each one of our clients saw an increase in attendance and in dollars raised at every event at which we auctioneered last year.

I would encourage anyone who is thinking of holding an elaborate auction gala or just a simple event with a special appeal, to start planning as soon as possible. If you haven't booked a venue or an auctioneer yet; at this point in the game, you may not get your first pick. Those choice weekends book up fast, so make sure you have your favorite ballroom and professional auctioneer lined up ASAP!

You can never be over-prepared for success.

#Hurry!

Strike the match

Too many organizations look at the paddle raise or special appeal as a separate item of the auction. I prefer to look at the paddle raise as the central part of the evening. Typically, no single auction item will ever sell for as much as you could raise through the appeal. Using your pre-committed dollars as a match creates an exciting and interactive way for donors, patrons and the auctioneer to grow the appeal by as little as 25% from the year before to a whopping 100%.

These kind of increases are entirely possible to obtain. With some good preplanning, this could be a reality at your next auction.  It's what I call the Magic of the Match.  What is more exciting than announcing to your audience that you have a $10,000 gift waiting in the wings? Maybe challenging everyone in the room to try matching it his own donation? I think most would agree that the second scenario is just a little or a lot more exciting. Instead of a simple ask, we have created a bit of excitement by whipping up a little bit of a competitive frenzy. There's nothing wrong in a little bit of friendly competition in a crowd that's working together towards a common goal.

While corporate and personal matches at the higher levels grab most of the headlines, it is the donors in the room who are giving at the $250, $100 and $50 dollar levels who we really want to engage in the matching process. Recently, at a smaller event, we used a $1,000 donation as a match at the $100 level and ended up raising another $3,000. We did the same with a $500 gift which brought in another $1,500 via 30 separate donors at $50 a piece.

Raise more of those bid cards high up in the air at your next auction!

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Re-ignite the fire

Have you been watching as the attendance to your annual benefit drops year after year? Are you resorting to comping tickets just to put bums in chairs? Does anyone laugh at your MC's jokes anymore? Is the crowd tired of listening to the live auction drag on and on?

Maybe your event is suffering from BAS, the boring auction syndrome. Typically, the first call to action is to get rid of the MC and the auctioneer you've been using forever and replace them with professionals who have proven results. You will notice the difference immediately on the stage, in your event revenues, and even on your invoice from your auctioneer. As they say, "You get what you pay for." Someone who can turn your event around or grow your fundraising revenues year after year is worth his weight in gold. I've been on both ends of the stick and typically; if you've done your homework, you'll notice improvements in your event right away, whether big or small. Though if the core components of your benefit remain unchanged, so will your results. Auction prizes are typically the same at most fundraising events: art, wine, trips, special dinner and hotel packages or maybe even a one-on-one meeting with a B-list celebrity. While auction prizes make up some of the building blocks of your benefit, they are never going to be the components that bring your special event to that next level.

So how do you make the leap? While not a new concept, it's the people who make the event. Whether it's the tireless dynamos who sit on your fundraising board, or the generous patrons in the audience, or even the best audio-visual techs in town; it all comes down to the people. Brainstorming, event-planning, ticket-selling - every component it takes to put together a successful event, requires the person who best fits the job! Have you ever been successful at putting a square peg into a round hole? Shaking things up on your planning committee and on your stage may be just the changes your event needs. Heck, move the stage and change the venue while you're at it! This may be just what it takes to get your auction rocking again. Ask the members of your board, the loyal guests people who have been coming to your event year in and year out, maybe even some of your event volunteers. A cross-group brainstorming session may reveal the answer or answers you need to reconnect with your audience or to re-energize your planning committee. There is no end to the resources or ideas that can re-ignite your auction's fire. Give one or all of these ideas a try as you begin planning for your next benefit auction.

Beware of the man in the tuxedo

I'm always curious to know more when I hear or read about someone who says he 'specializes as a fundraising auctioneer'.

Why have I not heard his or her name before? Who is this person? Is he or she professionally trained? What kind of auction experience did he or she have before becoming a benefit specialist or expert?

Fundraisers are a collaborative event. A professional auctioneer will make sure that all the behind the scenes work is properly and completely done. This is the first of many important steps that it takes to produce an evening of giving that is both seamless and successful.   

I have been an auctioneer working in the Pacific Northwest for over twenty-five years. I have auctioned off date nights with Hollywood stars. children's art, school teachers' homemade baking, tens of thousands of wholesale and collector cars, as well as California real estate. I have worked with hundreds of other auctioneers. Among the lot of us, we have a few thousand years of experience combined and have easily seen hundreds of billions of dollars change hands. Boy, that makes me sound old!

Like any other profession, it takes years of learning and doing to master one's craft. A proficient auctioneer is not as easy to find as it seems. What you can expect of him or her when you find one is this:

A great auctioneer connects with your audience.
He or she establishes the tone and momentum of the auction.
An auctioneer never misses a guest with his bid card in the air.
He communicates and carries on with everyone with ease and finesse.
After he sells the crowd every single live auction lot, he is still able to draw more money out of your guests during the special appeal!

It's true that we all have to start somewhere. The question is, do you want an auctioneer who's wet behind the ears to use your event as his guinea pig? Before you hire someone; ask for his or her credentials, have a look at his portfolio, watch her in action. Best to see it before you believe it. You know what they say, “If it sounds too good to be true..."

Happy new year!

Happy new year!

The holidays are behind us. The kids are back to school. The auction business is back in full swing.

In the month of January, there are no less than five auction houses, which will sell over $200million worth of classic cars in the matter of a week. If you happen to be in the vicinity of Scottsdale Arizona between January 10th through till the 18th, that's where the first big auction events of 2015 will take place.

If you are a fan of vintage motorcycles, Las Vegas Nevada is the place to be. With Bonhams and Mid-American offering up close to a thousand bikes starting January 8th and ending on the 11th. I'll be at Bonhams checking out some of the rare bikes that will be crossing the auction block into the garage of some lucky collectors.

Then by February, fundraising season starts up again. Most not-for-profits have their spring events booked. Now is the time when autumn fundraising committees are securing their dates for venues, entertainers and caterers.

Reinvent and resize

In my last blog post, I talked about rethinking how to go about planning your next fundraising auction. One of the main points I covered was the size of the event. It really comes down to the ROI, return on investment. What if I told you that in the following year, you should only invite half the people AND double your ticket price? Your first thought would probably be an emphatic NO. I'll let you in on a not-so-secret secret. As with most other sales transactions, the 80/20 rule applies. This is true for most things in the world of business, auctions included. What is the 80/20 rule? Also known as the Pareto Principle, it is the rule of thumb that 80% of your output is determined by 20% of your input. For example, in business it works out that 20% of your customers represent 80% of your sales. Or in our case, 20% of your event's patrons are bidding for your auction items 80% of the time. That means, in a crowd of 300, there are really only 30 actual serious bidders!

Let's do the math: starting with 300 people, divide that by 2 because most people come as part of a couple, apply the Pareto Principle by calculating 20% of 150, you are then left with only 30 true bidders in the room. What if, instead of trying to accommodate a lukewarm crowd of 300 at $250 a head, you double the ticket price and halve the number of guests? That translates into $75,000 in ticket sales right off the bat! Plus your fundraiser is left with only your most committed of patrons. Isn't it likely that the guy/gal who already spent $1,000 to attend your fundraiser with his wife/her husband, be the same guy/gal who takes home the grand auction prize?

Do your own little study at your next fundraising event and then give me a call.

Size doesn't matter. Really

We live in a world where if it's bigger, it must be better.

In the fundraising world, that axiom is not always true. Sure, it's exciting to be in a room filled with hundreds of other well-dressed and like-minded people thrown together to raise money for a shared cause, while also being entertained by the theatrics of the auctioneer. But the reality of large fundraising events is that only a small portion of those in attendance are actually active participants in the live auction. In my experience, I would venture to guess that only about 20% of the room is doing 80% of the bidding and buying. Yes, it does seem that more people tend to join in on the bidding for a special appeal. Though often, that may be the single occasion of the evening when that specific bid card saw any action.

So my question to event planners out there is, "How much thought and effort do you put into the process of guest selection?" Like most not-for-profit organizations, do you simply send out invites to the masses hoping to fill the huge ballroom that you have rented for the night? Or do you pick and choose those patrons who have potential in their pocketbooks and the ones with proven buying power to contribute to your night's cause? What if you could cut the cost of producing your event in half and at the same time, double your audience participation? Wouldn't you be interested in knowing how? Stay tuned for some hints in my next blog. 

School fundraisers

School fundraising auctions are some of my favorites amongst the variety of events that I do. They give parents and teachers an opportunity to socialize outside of the school environment. You have a highly motivated captive audience. Everyone in attendance has a student who benefits from the proceeds of the evening. It's a winning combination.

With smaller budgets and fewer subsidies, more and more schools are required to do their own fundraising - from kindergarten to high school, private and public school. Academic institutions are raising money for sports fields and equipment, international exchange trips, scholarships. The list goes on.

I'm a part of the fundraising team at a local private school's annual gala. For the past few years, a table of desserts made with love by the school's teachers goes to auction after the dinner portion of the night. The parents get pretty competitive. Little Lisa wants to hear how her dad made the highest bid for everyone's favorite teacher's triple-layered chocolate cake. I've seen bids go as high as $1,000 for a homemade cake. This year, the dessert auction raised $7,500 for the school's foundation!

Something to think about as yet another school year comes to a close. Have a fun and safe summer out there.

Big or small, we can help

Last weekend, one of our fundraising auction patrons told me how pleased he was with the results of the evening. Then he asked whether or not I did small auctions. "Of course!" I said. Actually, I love the small grassroots auctions when they are just getting started. All fundraisers or benefit auctions have to start somewhere, and it's exciting be there from the start to watch them grow and develop into major events. Most of the charity work I've done through the past twenty years has been working with groups who are just starting out. So if you've been thinking about putting together your first auction, or maybe hiring a professional auctioneer for an established event; give me a call or drop a line.