How to Deal with Celebrities at Benefit Auctions

A-list celebrities and even local celebrities can add to the excitement of your event.  Celebrities make great emcees, but do not use them as your auctioneer.  They are not trained and do not call auctions for a living.  If you are going to have celebrities at your event try to market your event with their names in the advertisement if they are definitely booked.  This will add a whole new draw to your event.

Try to stay away from celebrity attendees coming on stage and auctioning items; simply let them come on stage to promote an item and pump up the crowd and let the auctioneer do the bid calling.  If you are going to have a celebrity as a guest speaker have the auction and fundraising first then the celebrity can speak after all the money is raised.  Remember, you are there to raise money first and entertain second.

Live Auctions vs. Silent Auctions

Most of your auction attendees have more fun with the live auction versus the silent auction at a charity event.  However, in order to sell a lot of low to mid-range valued items for a charity event in a short period of time and keep your audience captivated, a silent auction should be utilized. Charity auctions should have no more than 8-12 items or about 45 minutes max in the live auction portion.  These should only consist of your highest ticket items.  People are not attending a charity/benefit event to hear an auctioneer all night, however in order to capture their full attention for the big ticket items, a professional auctioneer is essential.  In some cases more items can be worked into the schedule, just ask your auctioneer what he or she recommends.   Silent auctions are ideal for charity events that have a strict time-frame and a lot of items to sell.  Attendees can enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres while they place silent bids on some of the lower to mid-range priced items, which can get them in the mood for the higher dollar items to be held later in the live auction. Silent auctions have their purpose during the cocktail hour, but in order to maximize the key items' values you must do a live auction as well.  Ask your fundraising consultant about some of the great techniques to maximize bidding during your silent auction because the average item brings about 60% of value.  Elite Auctions has a revenue enhancer to bring that number up to 80%!

If you are not holding a charity event and have more of a ballroom setting with many items to sell, then the most effective way is by live auction.  All-day events like prop auctions, memorabilia auctions, or any type of multi-item auction work best with a live auction event, because the silent auction format simply takes too long and does not keep the bidders' attention.

Should my Charity Auction Event do a Plated Dinner or Buffet?

For most charity events I highly recommend doing a plated dinner versus a buffet.  Mainly because with a plated dinner your guests are already in their seats and relaxed, ready to pay attention to the speakers and auctioneer.  A buffet takes a long time to before every table is served, which pushes the auction and fundraising way back to a time that people are exhausted and maybe a little too tipsy to give full attention to what you are there to accomplish… raise money!

The secondary reason for having a plated dinner is simple… it is more classy and makes your guests feel like they are at an event that demands respect and high dollar giving.  Remember, every small thing that you do to enhance your event has a positive impact on your bottom line.  You not only want your guests to leave your event giving every last dollar and then some, but also talk about how classy and fun your event was to their friends and peers.  This will result in higher attendance for your next event, which can result in making more money.