I recorded this video a few minutes after getting off the phone with a potential client. She and her committee weren't fond of their previous auctioneer. "She started with a high opening bid," she said. "Too high. And then in order to get anyone interested in bidding she had to drop it down. Way down. It was so embarrassing to our donor." The subject of where to start the opening bids on your live auction items can be a divisive topic. I've observed a discrepancy between what many ... Read On >
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[VIDEO] Four styles of bid stickers for silent auction bid sheets
A couple of months ago I posted a video tip about how you can read bad handwriting on silent auction bid sheets. Spoiler alert: It's the use of bid stickers. I explained that auction chairs shouldn't require guests to write their name, address, email, phone number, or any other information on the bid sheets. To generate the highest bids, the only information required should only be the bid number. If the idea of only asking for a bid number troubles you (perhaps because you are ... Read On >
Bruce or Caitlyn? What (if any) differences are between an auction catalog, preview catalog, ad book, addendum & program
A few years ago, a school development director started to vent. Her volunteer Auction Chair was insistent on calling the catalog an "ad book." "She's driving me nuts!" my client confided, "She keeps calling our catalog an ad book, and she's confusing our other volunteers. I don't know where she picked that name up." =========== As I work with benefit auction committees across the USA, I see remarkable diversity in the names we use to describe identical activities. What we call a ... Read On >
[VIDEO] 5 popular items for charity auction gift bags
If you've got a hankering to hand out gifts to your guests, you might be stumped on what to give. Sometimes a sponsor dictates what will be given, but other times the ball is in your court. I prefer gifts which are unique and mission-specific in some way. And for sponsor-dictated gifts, I'd hope that the item is useful or memorable; ideally something that drives business to the sponsor. I can't say that all the items in today's video fit that criteria, but these are popular ... Read On >
Use bid stickers on paper silent auction bid sheets vs handwriting
If you've been struggling to read your bidders' handwriting as you look at each silent auction bid sheet, today's video tip will solve your pain. This is an option for you if you're running a silent auction using a single bid sheet. If you're running a traditional manual checkout process that relies on NCR / triplicate bid sheets, this isn't practical. Nor is it relevant if you're using mobile bidding. That's one of the trickier aspects of giving advice on the auction checkout process. ... Read On >