Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:

An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.

If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.

Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.

After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:

Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.

A Case Study

Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.

Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.

Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.

I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.

There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.

According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?

As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.

When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.

While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.

So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:

The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.

Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.

If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.

When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.

And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.

Okay, let’s talk about the reality of being a small business owner in 2013 and all of the chatter regarding the disasters of running a small business. There are so many voices out there that it’s becoming more difficult knowing who to listen to, who to trust and what you should do! I want to share what I think are three important things to do for success in this economy.Running a Small Business-Why Businesses DieDid you know that a report from FOX news stated that from 2008-2010 over 200,000 small businesses have gone under? And the news continues to sound very bleak as this year continues. Let me share some of my observations with you; they are my observations mind you so just bear with me because there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel and isn’t a train. Often the first sign that a business has started its death walk is the cutting back on the quality of services and goods; if it’s a restaurant for instance, they start to cut back on the quality of their food products in order to save some money, then they start to serve smaller portions and keep the price the same and last but not least, they never engage their customers for feedback. The death of a business!Running a Small Business-Knowledge Is PowerListen, we all know the importance of marketing; well, it’s also important to know what you want and need for your business. Sounds real simple but, most small business owners really don’t have a clue what they need to reach their ideal customers. Unfortunately, most marketing companies just want to make money off of you and they tend to promise you the world even when they know that they can’t honestly deliver the goods. Here are some things that you need to keep in mind when it comes to marketing:

Have a marketing plan or strategy for your business. Running a small business means you have to make the time to know what you need to invest into your business; you have to identify what or who your ideal customer looks like and then market to them.

No quick rich marketing! Please! And here’s the trap; you go with the guys who tell you that they have a new and creative way that gets you instant results and fill your head with visions of dollar signs and then-burned! Now, you don’t trust anyone and that leads you towards the death walk. The right marketing will get you results but, it can take some time depending what tools are used.

Time is money. We have heard that so many times and it is a true statement but we have to look at it from a different point of view; if you don’t take or make the time to step back and look at your business as a whole you’re a goner, game over, it’s a wrap! Please, don’t own your job, scale your business. Taking time to honestly evaluate your business will pay awesome dividends! Even if it means having someone help you in the process. Oftentimes, when running a small business, you’ll find that things aren’t as bad as they look.
Running a Small Business-What CompetitionHere’s a major trap most business owners get caught in; they market with their competition in mind instead of with their customers in mind. You are not trying to win your competition over; you want to get the attention of your customers. Listen; identify your ideal customer and market to them. Don’t start cutting back on the quality of your services or your products. The best way to solicit feedback from your customers is by using review sites. Running a small business can still be profitable in this economy if you follow these suggestions.

With the advancement of technology, having a home based business is very doable.The internet can help you have the ability to sell any product or service you want to share with people in other countries. Those that have access to an internet would be able to see for themselves what you are selling and the benefits of such into their lives. This would also allow you to meet different types of people who will turn into your clients, business partners or financial advisers. Marketing your product or service is not that expensive and because it can be done in your own house with personal supervision at any time, you would be able to sustain it for a longer period.The advantage of a home based business includes being able to give employment to jobless people. If you are one of those unfortunate ones who do not have work, once you start your own home based business, you will have the ability to make money of your own. What is required of you is time, effort and a marketing strategy for your business to expand and become successful. You will no longer be afraid of being laid off or fired because you will be the boss of your own company. It is an unfortunate fact that there are many corporations that are closing due to a global economic crisis.With a home based business you would be able to experience the freedom that ordinary jobs do not give. There are many websites that offer tips on how to start your venture and the ways of advertising your own company. It does not have to take a huge amount of money to start your home based business. You just have to know what you are selling, the time, effort and patience you pour, and the marketing strategy you want to employ. It pays to have your own company because it can be so rewarding and liberating.Success is not your only goal when you have a home based business but you should also consider sustainability. Your business must stretch for a longer period of time so as to get your heart’s desires and needs. Know your business well by knowing its history and background. You must also love what you are selling so that you will not experience burnout along the way. You must be attached personally to it because this will inspire you more to protect and care for it.It is also important to get the advice of those who were successful in their own home based business. Get to know what their strategy was and the business plan they implemented that resulted into the success they are now experiencing. They are very much willing to share their expertise and tips they too applied because they understand what you dream your future to be. Coordinate with them regularly and they will be happy to show you the way. With their guidance, it is not impossible for you to be an owner of a thriving home based business.