So you are planning a fundraising auction event for a
nonprofit or school and you need an auctioneer, but you are limited on budget
and one of your board members knows a guy that knows a guy that will come do
your auction for free. You agree to this
and the big night comes, with all the planning completed, all the money spent
on venue, food, décor, DJ, sound services and equipment, etc. and you have high
hopes for a record breaking year. The
free auctioneer gets on stage and barely knows what your nonprofit stands for,
was just handed a list of auction items an hour prior, and has had a few
cocktails because you told him if he came for free that you’d give him and a
guest a couple spots at a table. He is
more in a guest mentality than a worker mentality. Many times he doesn’t have any benefit
auction training or experience and you are entrusting this guy to raise you
thousands of dollars?
More than likely your fundraising efforts will be a flop,
you might have a great party, but your fundraising will fall short nine times
out of ten.
Professional benefit auctioneers are not only a part of your
event that night but far in advance of your event as well. This planning and consulting is what brings
your event to the next level. If you
hire a professional benefit auctioneer he or she will show you creative and
effective ways to bring in more funds than you would have ever imagined! The extra funds will far out way the cost of
doing business with that auctioneer and make your guests leave the event
wanting to attend the next one. A
professional fundraising auctioneer, in essence, will pay you to hire him/her so you are not only saving money, you are making money!
I leave you with one question: “If I could show you one technique that would
make you more money than my fee, would you hire me?”
Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services
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