What everybody ought to know…… About The Fundraising Auction & Consulting Business

WHY WE ARE PUBLISHING THIS INFORMATION

A little while ago we were talking with the Executive Director of a big nonprofit organization, a well-informed woman.  She said that she had never done business with a professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant because she was afraid she wouldn’t see the return from hiring a professional vs. using a volunteer.
Since we are professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants you can imagine that was something of a shock… made us think.

The fundraising auction business does use a lot of specialized techniques, but there really isn’t anything complicated or mysterious about what those techniques accomplish for your nonprofit or school.  Because we’ve used them so long and so frequently, we’ve just assumed that everybody understood them...That has been our mistake.  And a big mistake.  For if nonprofits and schools don’t understand what professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants do, they aren’t likely to invest their money in them.
“So what?” you ask.  Well, here’s “what”.

If nonprofits and schools don’t invest their funds in professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants, they won’t have the capital they need for growth which ultimately affects the people they help.  That capital can come from primarily from one place; People at your fundraising auction event.  Not just a few people with great fortunes, but from many people who have the means to support your cause. 

Or look at it from a different point of view.  Nonprofits or schools who don’t understand the value of a professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant are easy prey for a wide variety of mistakes often made at benefit auction events that ultimately result in mediocre returns.

Or look at it from the purely personal points of view.  A lot of nonprofits and schools might like to invest in a professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant where they could increase their fundraising event revenue.  But if they are unfamiliar with the techniques and value provided by a professional, they aren’t likely to invest their money in them.

For all these reasons, it is important that nonprofits and schools know as much as they can about the fundraising auction event business.

But where do you start?

Well, it would seem that a good place to start would be with the “techniques” used by professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants that our friend, the Executive Director, was concerned about.  And we might as well go back to the most common techniques in the business.  You may find a lot of this explanation pretty elementary, but the next person may not be completely clear about the exact differences between the various techniques.  So we’ll start right there, in the belief that you’ll be kind enough to skip what you already know.

Click Here to Keep Reading!

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

What Most People Don’t Know about Working with a Great Benefit Auctioneer

A great benefit auctioneer is involved in the planning months in advance.

Most people that attend fundraising events see an auctioneer up on stage chanting away to raise funds for a great cause, and it appears to be seamless for a good benefit auctioneer. What they don’t see are the countless hours in consultation and setup that it took to get to the fabulous auction. The day of the fundraising auction event is just a tiny piece of the pie. 

I like to compare a good fundraising auctioneer’s job to an iceberg, 90% of it is underwater and only 10% (the part you see) is above water. If you have an auctioneer that is simply showing up the night of the event and getting on stage (the 10% of the iceberg above the water) then you are probably leaving a ton of money on the table. In order to maximize your event’s revenue you must diligently work for several months leading up the event (the 90% of the iceberg below water). 

Click here to see what we include in our consulting and auction package. Remember, a great benefit auctioneer will be part of your planning process as well. Be very careful with having an auctioneer just show up the day of your event with no prior engagement in your planning process. Always use a professional benefit auctioneer versus a volunteer! 

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

VIDEO: Planning Your Fundraising Auction Event

VIDEO:  Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services discusses the importance of planning ahead when putting on a fundraising auction event.  Speak to your top donors from the previous event about procurement, book your professional benefit auctioneer, and that Fall and Spring are the most popular season for charity auction events.

By Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services

13 Tips for Your Live Auction Fundraiser

1.  Always have your professional auctioneer help you with putting the live auction items in the best order.

2.  Live auction should be no longer than 45 minutes, but preferably 30 minutes.  It takes approximately 2-3 minutes to sell each item.

3.  It is very important to schedule the live auction early in your program. You want the bidders awake and energetic

4.  We recommend having the live auction during dinner.

5.  At events where there is little to no seating for the bidders it is very difficult to get the best results from your live auction.
 
6.  Make sure you have recorders in place to write down the winning bidder numbers and amounts (We recommend having 3 recorders, pre-designing the recorder sheets, and allowing us to meet with the recorders prior to the beginning of the event).

7.  Find out if any of the items can be sold twice and let us know.
 
8.  Inform us if any of the items have reserve/consignment amounts.
 
9.  We recommend utilizing professional bid spotters (ringmen) during your live auction (1 ringman per 100-150 guests is optimal).

10.  Allow your professional auctioneer to set starting bids and control the increments of the auction.

11.  Make sure that the house lights are brought up and spot lights down so that your auctioneer can see the bidders.

12.  Be careful with consignment items in your live auction.   

13.  Consult with us before choosing consignment items as they can many times take a lot of revenue out of your auction.  We can recommend good consignment companies that we trust.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of 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