Back in 2010 I wrote about how handheld bidding devices were trendy. Later, I wrote about my gripes with the technology. Today we're readin' the auction dictionary. One point of confusion voiced by my clients’ stems around the definitions of two features often discussed in mobile bidding devices: Max Bidding and Extended Bidding. Each feature impacts your auction in a different way, though some planners are led to believe that if you have one feature -- namely, Max Bidding -- then that is ... Read On >
Electronic bidding devices: A list of vendors
About four years ago, silent auction electronic bidding devices hit land in the USA. It's been a race for promotion ever since. Nearly once a month I entertain a phone call from a new vendor, eager to show me his new state-of-the-art service. Interestingly, the technology was pioneered by European companies.1 Event-services company IML was the first to actively promote its offering to US-based charities. It didn't take long before their competition followed suit. With the US charity ... Read On >
Better Benefit Auction Ideas hit Chicago & Cincinnati next week!
Today’s question is: What do you do that makes your auction different from every other benefit auction in your city? Is that chirping crickets I hear? If you're stumped by the question, I'm not surprised. We planners get into ruts, doing the same thing all the time. Unless you’re traveling the world attending auction galas, it’s almost impossible to get exposed to fresh concepts. (Let alone the time it takes to learn about properly implementing something, once seen.) This leads me to why ... Read On >
How to choose a benefit auctioneer by understanding one of their marketing tactics
In a couple of weeks, you can learn how to negotiate with an auctioneer in this live Easy First Auctions course. But before starting your negotiation, you've got to select an auctioneer. This article examines one marketing tactic an auctioneer may use to sway your opinion. ++++++++++++++++ Have you ever heard of any of the hubbub over truth-in-advertising cases? There’s no shortage of stories. Taylor Swift’s Cover Girl ad was pulled when it became known that the mascara she was wearing ... Read On >
Back to school: 5 Places to Learn New Benefit Auction Ideas
In Kansas, we returned to school in mid August. Here along the East Coast, many schools start in late August or even after Labor Day. Some kids will be excited. Others are already counting down the days until summer or graduation. Which were you? Here's what I know: Whether you enjoyed school or not, learning is ongoing. I'm a fan of education, but I'm not one who believes you have to go to college to get advanced training. Sure, I've got some degrees (three, actually), but I've learned ... Read On >