Should you hand out name badges in your benefit auction registration packets? I love them, but you might think name badges "cheapen" your fundraiser. Perhaps. Not everyone likes wearing name badges, and the dress codes might make it impossible to wear a badge. And I suppose if your event is filled with celebrities where everyone is expected to know one another, it might be awkward. (Or is it? Even celebrities goof, like Gwen Stefani confusing Jimmy Fallon for Jimmy Kimmel on his own show, The ... Read On >
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Video: Auction item donation from someone famous? How to play it safe when marketing it.
What happens when someone famous -- either famous in your community or to the wider world -- makes an auction item donation that involves a tour of their home? Do you want that known to the wider world? Could it be dangerous for the donor? Here's how I answered the question. ... Read On >
VIDEO: Chairing a school auction? Your marriage may suffer.
Last year I ran a course called Easy First Auctions. It was designed to help nonprofits launch an auction correctly so they avoid volunteer burnout. I could have just as honestly promoted it by writing, "Here are the elements your auction should include in the early years, so you don't get a divorce." (Intrigued? The DVD of that class is available here.) Auctions put enormous stress on school volunteer chairs. Though I've talked about this extensively in my Profitable Auction Blueprint™ ... Read On >
How Daymond John’s sales team talked me out of buying his program
Heads up: This isn't a benefit auction post. You can jump to another section of the blog for that. I was just so disappointed in a presentation I attended today that I typed up this post to clear my head and to remind myself of what not to do when I'm next giving a speak-to-sell presentation. A couple of months ago, I had lunch with my friend Suzanne. She had recently launched her own business and was commenting that she'd invested in a program from Daymond John Academy. She thought I'd get ... Read On >
Thanks, Dad
A couple of days ago -- at 8:17 PM on 01-04-14, to be exact -- my Dad died. He was surrounded by people he loved and who loved him. My brother, Mom, and I tried to make his transition to spirit peaceful. As he took his final breath, we shared with him our personal sentiments against the backdrop of Johnny Cash singing "Danny Boy" (one of Dad's favorite songs) from my iPhone1. Though I personally believe we are eternal, it's still a heavy loss. "And grieving will take longer than you think," ... Read On >