The Ultimate Fundraising Auctioneer

Check out this new "movie trailer" video showcasing Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services.  We are so proud to be in this exciting business and LOVE our nonprofits and schools for the good they bring into each community we serve.  If you need a professional benefit auctioneer and consultant we would be honored if you considered us!

 

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

What Food Should You Serve at Your Next Fundraising Auction Event?

Just about all of us love to eat and what you serve can have a definite impact on what you raise when it comes to fundraising auction events.  If you are wanting to raise a substantial amount of funds then serve your donors high quality food like steak, lobster, prawns, etc.  It definitely sets a subconscious message to your guests for the auction and fund a need giving.  This all depends on the style of event you have of course, but I'm speaking in more of a general sense. We always recommend a plated dinner versus a buffet which you can read more about HERE.  The picture to the left (from gorare.com) screams high class and high value, which is the mindset you want your bidders in when they are about to donate to your important cause.

Another piece of advice is to stay away from desserts that involve ice cream for the simple fact that ice cream can easily melt, and you never know the exact amount of time dessert may be put on hold to finish fundraising efforts.

Overall, if you are having a classy event that you are expecting large donor participation at high levels then serve them a great meal so they know you appreciate their generosity and count on them to return the generosity when they give.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

What Should Your Nonprofit Organization be doing in the "Off-Season"?

We all know that the Fall fundraising season just came to a close and everyone is in holiday mode now.  All I can say is DO NOT wait to start planning, procuring and cultivating your donor list until the last 2 months prior to your next benefit auction event!  Here are three simple things you can do in the "off-season" to start planning for your next charity auction event:

1.  Cultivate your donor list - Start making those important phone calls and contacts to your donors that generously gave at your last event.  You don't have to start asking for more at this point, just thank them for their donation and start to develop a relationship with them.  Don't just call them when your next event is approaching and ask for money or items; this looks like you only care about them when you need something!  Really try to get to know them and take some notes as you talk to them to remind you for future calls.

2.  Hire your professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant - Good auctioneers book up extremely quickly, many times 8 months to a year in advance!  DO NOT WAIT TO BOOK THEM OR YOU MIGHT NOT GET TO WORK WITH YOUR FAVORITE AUCTIONEER!  I recommend booking your benefit auctioneer immediately following your last event if you were happy with the service they provided.

3.  Start to procure for items - It's never too early to start procuring items for your next event.  In fact, you have a great opportunity to ask for items or help getting items for your next event as you stay in touch with your donors and build those relationships (not necessarily the first phone call thanking them for their participation).

There are obviously many things you should be prepping for in regards to your next fundraising auction event, but these are three simple things that you absolutely should be doing well in advance to ease the panic when your event is right around the corner.  

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

Do Sign Up Boards at a Fundraising Event work?

Here at Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services we are always searching for alternative "revenue enhancing" ideas at our fundraising auction events other than the live auction, silent auction and fund a need or ask.  We have compiled a book of several revenue enhancers to use at your event and share this with all of our clients.  Well, here is one of those enhancers that works well if executed properly... Sign Up Boards.  When your organization has an over abundance of 8-20 person parties, like a bourbon and cigar tasting party for the guys or a fiesta and salsa dancing party for the girls, then a sign up board may just be the thing you're organization is looking for.

Here's how it works.

Step 1:  Design a poster board with the amount of lines matching the amount of people the party is for and number them 1-8, 1-10, etc. and set a fixed price for each participant (i.e. $50, $100, etc.)

Step 2:  Have a reveal time when the board(s) are uncovered and open for sign ups (Hint: Have your professional auctioneer make a big deal about it on the sound system).

Step 3:  When guests come over to the boards have volunteers explain each party to them and have the guests put their name/bidder number on the open lines.  Once the board(s) are full then your parties are sold out!

Simple, fun and effective!!  This is one of many ways to add a revenue enhancer into your fundraising auction event.  Good luck with your fundraising auction event!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS with Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services

How to Raise More Money from Your Donation Web Pages

When it comes to raising money from your donation pages I think every bit of advice can help.  Here are some suggestions from the blog of John Haydon's: "19 Ways to Raise More Money From Your Donation Pages."

This should get your donation page on track:

1. Ditch the vintage PayPal button
2. Write a powerful headline
3. Use fewer words - Only focus on your story and your call-to-action
4. Limit paragraphs to 2-3 sentences
5. Use pictures
6. Use white space to direct the eye
7. Remove the sidebars and navigation menue
8. Reduce steps to donate
9. Only ask for what's required
10. Write copy in second person narrative - The word "you"
11. Pick on call to action
12. Repeat the CTA three times
13. Use bullet points and numbered items
14. Use big fonts
15. Use big buttons
16. Keep it above the fold
17. Make it mobile
18. Optimize your donation pages for search engines
19. Create a seamless donor experience across all marketing channels

Written by Tracy Karbus of Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services with information from John Haydon.

What's in it for them... and you?

When it comes to creating outreach materials it is so easy to become overwhelmed by the pressure of meeting and exceeding goals that one can forget about the receiver of the solicitation.  Here are a few donor focused tips to ponder as you take a swim in the ocean this summer:

1.  Ask yourself, if this was sent to me how would I respond?

2.  Get into their heads, their hearts, and what makes their world spin (Yes, you have to do homework on this one).

3.  Make sure you're offering a solution to the problem as the donor understands it, not as you do.

4.  Make sure this applies to all of your outreach, not just the written word.

5.  Now, go for a swim, climb a mountain, read a good book, or just unplug at least once this summer.  You need to re-energize your batteries too.

Written by Tracy Karbus Fundraising Consultant with Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services

Why use an auctioneer that is a member of the National Auctioneers Association?

After attending the 65th annual National Auctioneers Association Conference and Show in Louisville, Kentucky from July 8-12 the professionalism and integrity of the industry really showed itself.  While attending, auctioneers are discovering the latest concepts in their industry through classes, educational opportunities and speaking with auctioneers from all over the country.  We learn what is working and what is not, what is legal and what is not, and new ideas that only a select handful of auctioneers even know about.  Several auctioneers compete in a bid calling contest that put them in front of other professional auctioneers that critique their skills and ultimately make them better bid callers.  

Not only are auctioneers willing to share their stories of success, but auctioneers have designation courses that they can take to better their knowledge of each category of the auction business (i.e. fundraising, real estate, livestock, automobiles, etc.).  Auctioneers that go the extra mile and spend their hard-earned dollars to attend conference and show really care about offering the best services to their clients and have a passion to promote the auction industry as a whole.  

I sure would be careful in selecting an auctioneer to run my auction.  Members of the National Auctioneers Association (NAA) are integrity driven and really do care about the auction profession.  Remember, when selecting an auctioneer for your next fundraiser make sure they are a member of the NAA and are well versed in fundraising auctions.  "You wouldn't want a volunteer doctor conducting your surgery, so why would you have a volunteer auctioneer in charge of your fundraising auction where every dollar matters."

To discover more about Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services visit our website at EliteFundraisingAuctions.com.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services

Hiring a Professional Fundraising Auctioneer & Consultant?

What you think you’re paying for: Someone who can call an auction

What you’re actually paying for: Someone who can get on stage and maximize your items’ values while promoting your cause Plus: Provide consulting throughout the year for your event Design and conduct a winning fund a need Answer any questions surrounding your fundraising efforts Provide professionally trained bid assistants Organize a timeline to maximize your event revenue Put your auction items in their most effective order Training on donor development Training on procurement How to set up your venue to maximize returns Auction event marketing techniques Access to several revenue enhancers to increase your event’s bottom line How to run the most successful silent auction Which items you should be obtaining for your audience How to effectively check-in and checkout attendees Committee consultations Volunteer training Access to exclusive auction items Licensed and bonded auctioneers Event follow-up meeting

Still think that hiring a professional auctioneer is expensive?

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR - So if you hire a cheap auctioneer or go with a volunteer, don't be surprised when your results aren't what you wanted!

Please share this and help spread the message so that non-profits and schools can raise the most revenue possible for their great causes.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services

Motivational Speakers at Your Fundraising Auction Event

Condoleezza Rice speaks at the Solutions for Change Auction

There are two very important segments of the event that a good motivational speaker is needed… before the live auction and before the fund-a-need.  The speaker prior to the start of the live auction should be someone that can somewhat educate the crowd about the cause and share a personal experience to get the crowd emotional.  Getting members of the crowd to “tear up” is always a good thing.  This speech should not exceed 2-3 minutes and the live auction should begin promptly following.  Videos are okay to utilize for this but they have to be great not good.  

The second speaker should come on following the live auction just prior to the fund-a-need.  This speaker needs to be extremely passionate, as the crowd is many times drained from the live auction that just took place.  The speaker must re-energize the crowd and talk about what specifically the fund-a-need dollars will represent (i.e. building a new structure for the organization to help kids, funding a specific cause, etc.).  I have found that younger teenagers or children that are good in front of people and have a personal impact experience to share are excellent for this speech.  Once again, a video can be used here but it must be great not good.  If you used a video for the first slot then try to have a live speaker for the second and vice versa. 

Motivational speakers are imperative to the success of your live auction and fund-a-need.  You can do without them but don’t expect incredible results.  As you can see so far, there are a lot of small elements that all add up to a big result.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS

EliteFundraisingAuctions.com

How should volunteers be utilized at my Fundraising Auction Event?

Volunteers are an extremely important part of your
fundraising event!!  Here are a list of "jobs" that your volunteers need to be placed in for optimal success from Mike Grigg at Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services:

• Live auction and fund a need recorders.  We recommend that you utilize three volunteers in this position to eliminate errors when recording winning bid amounts and donation amounts.  Make sure your professional auctioneer has a "pow-wow" with the recorders prior to the live auction and fund a need.
• Selling raffle tickets or entries to games.  Always put your volunteers in teams of two to maximize their efficiency.  If you have raffles or games going on at your event then send out 2-3 teams of two to sell those tickets or buy in opportunities.  You want aggressive volunteers that are going to sell not just stand in a corner and chat with friends.
• Check-in and check out.  You will need several volunteers to assist with checking in and out your guests.  This number varies dependent upon how many guests you have coming to your event.
• Silent Auction Assistants.  You will need about two volunteers per silent auction table to answer questions, assist with set up, and shutting down silent auction.  These volunteers will need to be able to get bid sheets off the table as soon as auctioneer closes the silent auction, and then move items (if needed) to the proper check out area.
• We recommend that you use professional ringmen rather than have volunteers as your bid spotters.  Professional ringmen are trained to get the best result from your bidders and leaving this up to volunteers simply causes more chaos than assistance.
• Obviously, you will need volunteers to help with setting up and taking down your entire event as well.

Volunteers that are not used or managed in the proper way can cause more problems than they help with, therefore make sure you have a manager in charge of training your volunteers.  Also, don't give each volunteer too much to do; If you overwhelm your volunteers they become less effective.  Good luck with your fundraising events and always make sure to hire a professional auctioneer/consultant to maximize your fundraising results!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS with Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services

How many items should we have in our live fundraising auction?

How many live auction items should we have?  This is one of the most popular questions asked when planning a fundraising auction event.

In a standard “Gala style” event with silent auction, welcome speech, live auction and fund a need there is what’s called a “Golden Hour”.  I would suggest that an hour for a live auction at a fundraiser is a bit too much, but it is a good rule of thumb to keep your live auction no more than one hour long.  I really like to be more in the range of 30-45 minutes if possible.  

Now, that brings up the question: “How many items does that mean we can sell?”  A good professional fundraising auctioneer will take around 3 minutes per item (including the item description).  If you do the math that means that 15 items are the most you should be selling, but ideally you want to stay between 8-10.  Be careful of filling the auction with lower quality items just to say you have ten items!  I would rather have quality, not quantity in the live auction; even if that means having an auction with 4-5 items.  You only have a short attention span with your guests, so make it count!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS

EliteFundraisingAuctions.com

Checking In and Out Guests at a Fundraising Auction Event & Where Guests should be Seated

When guests arrive at your event make the check in process simple by dividing them alphabetically by last name or company name in about five to seven different check in areas.  This will help cut down on long lines and crowd size.  

I highly recommend collecting credit card numbers upfront at check in and assigning bidder numbers to each person.  This will make check out much easier and more efficient.  If people are not willing to give credit card numbers upfront explain to them that their check out process may take a little longer.  You can even have VIP check out for those that submit credit cards upfront as an incentive.  Come up with a perk that VIP check out can offer your guests.  You could deliver their items to their tables or they could simply have a special checkout line.

In order to have the most successful fund-a-need, silent auction and live auction, assigning

bidder numbers is a must.  It will help tremendously to have everyone identifiable by bidder number rather than name, and it will dramatically cut down on the amount of runners and people having to collect information throughout the event.  The fund-a-need alone can almost not be done with a big group if bidder numbers are not assigned to each person.

Guests with the means to support your cause should be strategically placed at the front of a room or near the auctioneer.  These guests will more than likely bid several times and it helps to keep the flow of the auction if the auctioneer can easily find them.  Let the auctioneer know where the guests with the means to support will be sitting prior to the start of the auction, and don’t hesitate to introduce the auctioneer to the high rollers so he can build some rapport with them.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS

Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services 

EliteFundraisingAuctions.com