January 25th, 2012
Many events that I work do a heads and tails game as part of a live auction. It’s a great way to get folks energized after sitting for dinner, leading into the live auction.
Recently, one organization had a very successful heads and tails game. There were 300 in attendance. The group limited participation to 100, with a cost of $25 per person. The prize was an iPad valued at approximately $500.
100 participants at $25 per person grossed $2,500. After paying the cost of the prize, the organization netted around $2,000.
Just another revenue area that can make a great event even more profitable. If you have questions about holding a game such as heads and tails at your next fundraiser – give me a call.
Tags: Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Heads and Tails, Heads and Tails game, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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September 22nd, 2011
I like to get to the venue before guests arrive. That gives me time to check the sound system, get last minute instructions from the event manager, and address any last minute changes. I always state in new business proposals that I will be there half hour before guests arrive, and earlier if requested.
Another advantage of being on-site is that it gives you a chance to monitor the silent auction. If the bidding for the silent auction goes well, it’s usually a good indication that the live and special appeal will be successful. If it isn’t going well, I might suggest announcements highlighting certain items, or possibly leave the silent auction open for a longer period.
There’s no reason the MC should sell the first item because the benefit auctioneer arrives late. The development staff has enough to worry about the night of the event. Worrying about one of the key vendors for the event shouldn’t be one of them. Make sure to clearly indicate in your contract when the auctioneer should be onsite – and, as winter arrives, make sure you’ve built in enough time for inclement weather.
Tags: Auctioneer arrival time, Benefit auction special appeal, Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Fund-a Need, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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June 13th, 2011
A few weeks ago, I helped a local organization with a last minute live auction. This group had a silent auction planned, but felt that they could benefit from a live auction and enlisted our assistance.
We sold three items during the awards program. At the end of the live auction, we also asked for the guest’s support of the organization through special appeal. We asked at three levels, $25, $50 and $100. We generated three times the dollars in special appeal than the live auction. This proves that your supporters may not want to purchase anything through a silent or live auction, they just want to support the cause.
One of the keys to special appeal is to make sure you have a system to capture the bids. You’ll probably need at least two “grabbers” to make sure you can record and recognize each bid.
We always promote the benefits of a special appeal. This event shows how valuable the appeal can be.
Tags: Benefit auction special appeal, Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Fund-a Need, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Special appeal, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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June 2nd, 2011
One of the most important volunteer assignments in a live benefit auction is that of the “grabber.” Some may call this person a “clerk” or one of the spotters, but whatever the name, this is the person who identifies and records the high bidder and winning bid amount for each live auction item sold.
A couple of weeks ago, a local Development Director told me a story about an event that she was asked to assist with. On at least one item, the auctioneer, after announcing the sale, did not verbally state the selling price, or identify the winning bidder. Apparently, whoever was recording the winning bids did not get this information, and the volunteers had to attempt to re-create the end of the auction to identify the bidder and winning bid amount. Her comment was “wow Brent, he sure didn’t highlight the winning amount and bidder like you do.”
When I train volunteer spotters, the first question I ask is who will be recording the bids (winning bidder and bid amount)? I inform them that they have a very important job, explain that I will state the winning dollar amount twice, and the dollar amount should be recorded immediately. They then can record the bidder’s number (if they are using numbers), or proceed to get pertinent information from the winning bidder.
All of your volunteers play an important part in the success of your event. Proper training is important, and the “grabber” is key to ensuring that your live winners are identified.
Tags: Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Recording live auction bids, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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May 18th, 2011
Most benefit auctions accept credit cards. It’s one of the first questions I ask a new customer, because I believe that credit card acceptance will help to produce more dollars in silent and live auctions and special appeal.
One of the new methods of accepting credit cards was used successfully by one of my clients a few weeks ago. They used Square to accept credit cards with a smart phone or tablet. Square provides a free card reader and the app for iPhone, iPad and Android. The system from Square accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Square then makes a deposit directly into the organization’s bank account. The price per swipe is 2.75 percent.
The system worked well that evening. Training the volunteers took just a few minutes. They used four card readers, ensuring that all bidders could get through check-out quickly.
To learn more, visit Square’s website https://squareup.com/ .
Other credit card processing systems that you may want to consider is a similar smartphone/tablet system from Intuit, called GoPayment, http://payments.intuit.com/ . Many benefit auctions use the system from Greater Giving/Auctionpay, http://www.greatergiving.com/all-products/auctionpay.aspx . For the record, Lawrence Auctioneering is a marketing partner with Greater Giving.
Tags: Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Cardit cards at benefit auctions, Credit card processing, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer
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April 13th, 2011
In planning sessions with clients, we discuss contingency plans if something out of the ordinary were to happen at the event. Here’s one such situation that happened recently was handled very well at an event that I worked a few weeks ago.
Leading up to the live auction, the keynote speaker had just introduced a video as part of his presentation. We noticed commotion at one of the tables and someone shouted “we need a doctor.” A guest had slumped over and was passed out. Another attendee was on her cell phone calling paramedics. There were 500 attendees in the ballroom and some weren’t aware of the situation and continued to watch the video.
In a quick discussion with development staff, I suggested that after the video, the Executive Director announce that we had a medical situation. We took a brief break to allow the emergency workers access to this individual.
The break lasted about 10 minutes. Shortly after the ambulance left we got a quick report that the man was breathing and didn’t appear to have a life-threatening condition. The Executive Director returned to the stage, provided a brief update on the gentleman, and asked that we resume the program.
Even with the distraction, the auction was a success. Communication was key to the event’s success. Having the top leader in the organization take charge provided the necessary assurance that everything was okay.
What about the gentleman who was transported? He didn’t get to go home that evening, but got a clean bill of health and was released from the ER. He and his wife had planned to enjoy the party and spend the evening at the hotel where the event was held. And that is just what they did later that evening.
Tags: Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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March 10th, 2011
Recently I worked a benefit auction with a very aggressive special appeal goal. Prior to the event, we considered various methods of how the appeal might work, and decided to use a two-fold approach to accomplish the goal.
First, the chair of the board secured contribution commitments from the board and others close to the organization. This gave us a dollar commitment of more than 25 percent of the goal.
At the event, a targeted video presented the initiative. After the video, I explained that we had a match of more than one-quarter of our goal, but we needed 100 percent participation of the guests to raise the remaining dollar amount.
Each board member had responsibility for three to four tables. Pledge cards and envelopes were passed out to their assigned tables, with the board member available to answer questions. We asked that everyone fill them out, and the person responsible for the table picked them up upon completion.
In all, the video, combined with the ask and completion of the pledge cards took less than 10 minutes. Instead of putting folks on the spot and asking them to make their contribution public, the combination of a board member distributing the cards and the peer pressure of others at the table filling out cards worked nicely.
The final result, we doubled what was generated by special appeal the previous year, and came very close to the overall goal.
Tags: Benefit auction special appeal, Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Fund-a Need, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Special appeal, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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January 31st, 2011
Recently, I attended an event that used BidPal ‘s electronic bidding device. If you have not seen these devices, it’s an iPod touch that attendees use to bid on silent auction items and make a special appeal pledge. BidPal claims that usage of their system makes a silent auction more profitable, by generating more bids per item and extending the time of the silent auction. They also claim the system, coupled with a live benefit auctioneer and their leaderboard / a real-time video image projected above the stage, benefits special appeal by showing instant donations, and how close a special appeal comes to the goal.
When you enter the event registration area, you receive the device. A bidder simply types in his or her bidder number and bids on silent auction items. The units seem simple to use. You can scroll through the various silent auction classifications or item numbers. You also can select just items that have no bids. The outbid alert shows when you have lost the leading bid on an item.
One of the selling features of the device is the ability check a bid anywhere in the facility. That was not my experience. Even with numerous wi-fi antenna units scattered through the facility, the unit was not responsive several times when it got out of range.
Because you may not see the item display when bidding, it’s possible to place a bid on the wrong item. This happened to me. When I noticed it and returned to the check-in area, the representative went into the computer to make the correction. By the time she returned, my incorrect bid had been raised, and I was thanked for providing a starting bid.
BidPal pricing is two parts: A booking fee set before the event and an event fee based on the dollars generated.
Is BidPal right for your organization’s silent auction? An organization can probably cost justify the system with an event with 500 or more attendees. Overall, I found the system easy to use and accepted by the attendees. Again as with any auction expense, ask the question, what need does it fulfill?
BidPal for the live auction? The leaderboard showing total dollars raised could be very effective, but the auctioneer’s role of encouraging bidding and recognizing the winning bidder would be difficult to do with a machine.
Tags: Benefit auction special appeal, BidPal, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Fund-a Need, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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December 1st, 2010
Recently, I conducted a benefit auction at a private residence. The owners open their home to a handful of private events each year. The home, on the National Register of Historic Places, certainly aided in getting a large turnout. Everything went perfectly. Here’s a list of things that really made a difference. Consider these ideas when staging an event in a private home:
- The home had a central gathering area, large enough for seating for all guests
- A small stage was provided for the auctioneer
- I supplied the sound system
- A valet parked cars and a doorman greeted guests as they arrived
- Coat check was available
- Restroom facilities were conveniently located
- The kitchen was away from the main traffic area, allowing the caterers room to do their job
A private home can offer an intimate and enjoyable venue for your guests and your organization’s benefit auction.
Tags: Benefit auction in a private home, Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Fund-a Need, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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November 17th, 2010
Occasionally benefit auction coordinators and auction chairs will ask about setting a reserve price for an item. Usually, the donor doesn’t want the item to sell for less than a certain price. Or, the not-for-profit has purchased an item or event and needs to recoup their investment. Consider these key points:
- The reserve has to be low enough so the item will sell. Our goal is to raise the most money possible. An item with an unreasonable reserve takes valuable live selling time. When an item does not sell, it breaks the momentum of the auction.
- Prior to selling the item, announce that there is a reserve that must be met as part of the terms and condition of the sale.
- There is no legal or ethical obligation that an auctioneer must reveal the amount of a reserve to bidders. Therefore, unless the auctioneer has the authority of the seller to reveal the amount of a reserve, it should not be disclosed.
- How many items in a live auction should be subject to reserve? I recommend the fewer the better. In an event with 10-15 live items, one sale with reserve would be acceptable.
The auctioneer serves as an agent for the seller. My goal is to not leave any money on the table. By limiting the number of items sold with reserve at a live benefit auction, you can increase the success of your event.
Tags: Best in fundraising, Brent Lawrence auctioneer, Lawrence Auctioneering, Lawrence Auctioneering | Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer, Minnesota Benefit Auctioneer / Lawrence Auctioneering, Reserve in a benefit auction, Specialist in Benefit Auctions, Twin Cities Benefit Auctioneer, Twin City charity auctioneer
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