Auction Listings Are Vital to the Success of Fundraising Auctions

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.

10 Useful Books for Small Business Owners

Reading good management books enables small business owners think and act wisely. It helps them improve their ability to carry out business in the right way, by successfully resolving issues that a business is likely to face.There are thousands of books available in the market. It can be very confusing for a small business owner on what to pick and read. We have listed 10 books that every small business owner should read to succeed in business.1. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey:This is a book useful to everyone in general and small business owners in particular. It explains seven habits that are essential to be able to influence others. The seven habits discussed in this book are ‘be proactive’, ‘begin with the end in mind’, ‘put first things first’, ‘think win-win’, ‘seek first to understand, then to be understood’, ‘synergize’ and ‘sharpen the saw’.These principles will help you in shaping and strengthening your personality to tackle the issues at stake. They would help you develop a positive and pragmatic attitude without making you go over board under a given situation.2. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath:Using case studies, the authors claim that for any business, certain ideas are universal. The ideas may look simple, but are critical to make your business survive in the face of distress to business.3. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie:No business can run without the cooperation of customers. To survive competition, you have to win people. For this, you should have the skills to influence people. These people can be your customers, clientele, vendors, retailers or creditors.You can nurture skills to influence them all by reading this book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Lucid, and self explanatory, the book expounds the points with empirical examples and sound practical common sense.4. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill:This book is an inspiration and is the result of more than two decades of research by the author Napoleon Hill. Hill gives thirteen principles, which can help you to reach your goal. This book is an excellent source of information for beginners.5. Getting Things Done by David Alien:This book helps you to improve the productivity of your business. It points to various hindrances and dangers to your business. Further, it enables you to delegate responsibilities efficiently.6. Good to Great by Jim Collins:Jim Collins and team have examined the proposition whether a good company can become great. Collins says that the transition is possible if certain conditions are fulfilled, for instance, by removing redundant labor and fostering an ideal corporate culture. He also says that the personnel at the top management should be honest.The book would help you to realize and discover new knowledge, techniques of managing people and business, dealing with different groups such as clientele, vendors and the like.7. The E-Myth Revisited by Micheal Gerber:This book explains reasons for failure of a business within a few years of inception. The author provides supportive examples with empirical data. He finds that most small businesses become defunct because of lack of certain attributes on part of the owners. He says the business owner needs to be a technician, a manager as well as an entrepreneur; only then the business will survive.8. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau:Chris Guillebeau focuses on the affairs of a tiny enterprise with one, two persons in the operation. Beginners and those who are planning a new start-up should read this book.9. Rework by Jason Fried:This book contains common sense ideas. If applied practically, they help you build qualities that are indispensable for a business owner.10. Built to Sell by John Warrillow and Bo Burlingham:This book will help those who want to sell their business. Others will also, find it useful. The authors have explained in detail the points to observe initially, and how to get profits from the business, sustain growth momentum of the business and finally sell the business.As a small business owner, reading these books will benefit you largely. You will improve knowledge on how to do things in business, and thus will be able to do your business better.

Free help by SBA for Small Business Loans

Why should anyone be interested in helping you for free?

The government benefits if it gives small business start up loans and that is why it helps.

o Statistics show that small businesses number more than the big businesses.

o Small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the work force.

o Small businesses contribute to more than 50 percent of the nation’s GDP-Gross Domestic Product.

o Small businesses are the principal source of new jobs.

Starting a small business or expanding your small business is not easy. Expert guidance and help is given to you for free by SBA. The US Small Business Administration was established in 1953 and has business offices in every state. SBA works with thousands of lending, educational and training institutions nationwide. It does not provide grants but offers counseling. Government small business loans are offered to many entrepreneurs. Look up the web sites of the state economic development agencies to know if it is available in your state.

SBA is only a guarantor of loans offered by banks and other private financial institutions. The lending institutions that agree to terms of the SBA provide loans to small businesses through SBA. In case of inability of repayment of loan within the stipulated time; the SBA pays the lender the agreed upon guarantee amount, and the borrower has to pay the SBA the entire amount.

Can the SBA help you?

Small business is one that is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field of operation. SBA has regulations to determine whether your business qualifies as a small business. You could look up the SBA website or federal government regulations to find out if your small business startup loan or small business loan for expansion qualifies. Your business has qualified then the next question that any lender would ask you, is: Do you have a business plan?