How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

Innovative Advertising Ideas: For the Success of Your Business

Be it a small scale entry level firm or a multinational company, advertising is an integral part of every business. Effective advertising is a useful tool that results in increase in product visibility and hence the sales. Besides making the marketing strategies successful, it increases the brand awareness among the consumers. If your business is currently using advertising that is not helpful in increasing your sales or profile, it is high time that you transition to innovative and effective Advertising Ideas.

Ineffective marketing or advertising is equivalent to burning money. It is important that your advertisement partner should be innovative enough to provide you with effective advertising options. Most of the businesses get swayed by the sweet talk of the advertising executives and some fall in for undue discounts. It is very important to find a company that can help you with an advertising plan that is not just affordable but also adds value.

If you are into food business, it is imperative that you have a perfectly designed marketing plan and innovative advertising ideas by your side that can help your products lapped off the market shelves. There are many companies involved in Food Advertising but one needs to make a wise choice amongst them. Your advertising partner reflects your brand’s image in the market. Your choice should be in sync with your business plans. Many tools such as video advertising, background advertising, roadblock advertising, and display advertising, form an important part of strategies of various Private Exchange advertising.

In order to make your advertising campaign a success, you can benefit from utilizing ideas like:

i) Whatever you advertise, provide the users a glimpse of how your product is different from others. Utilize all that you can, to paint a colorful picture of your product’s unique identity.
ii) Lay emphasis on how the other products around are usual stuff. Many advertisers use this tool. This helps distinguish your product from the pile of ordinary products in the category.
iii) Utilize motion to your benefit. Cheese oozing from the pizza, melting butter on the bread, creamy waffles from the coffee cream, and steam from the bowl of piping hot soup are a few examples of using motion where it is. This gives a tempting effect to the customers.
iv) Emphasize the utility of your product for an ordinary person. This is the sure-shot way to target the wide market. If your product or food connects to the usage of ordinary people, it will sound more real and desirable. You can use average-looking models for the video or picture advertising to comprehensively attain the goal.

Besides the above, more emphasis should be laid on benefits of the product rather than the product itself. Good advertising helps your marketing techniques achieve desired results without looking repetitive and redundant. With out-of-the box Advertising Ideas, you can boost your sales and can increase your profit many folds.

Home Based Business

Are you tired of the daily eight to twelve hours work shift? Is the every day rush in the morning, a hectic day in the office, pricking comments of the boss or dirty politics of colleagues pushing you in the sea of stress? Home based business opportunities will show you the light of a new earning scope apart from the dreary world. It is also suitable for the homemakers or women who have to stay back home for children. You can manage the home based business the way you want, invest time and resource as per your need. Therefore, you have freedom and control over your life that you do not get in normal official jobs.However, before starting any business you have to do a lot of research about your preference, scope, resources, time and capability. You have to be very clear of what you want to do. There are various types of employees in various home based businesses; you may opt to be a freelancer, take contract independently; work as telephone operator, a virtual assistant or even a consultant.Prepare your CV perfectly, emphasize your skills and experience, and select the most suitable time frame for you. Especially the time frame is very important as you have to be available to the clients on time and also attend your family responsibilities. As you are working from home so you must have plenty of time. Again, staying home is a drawback if the household chores take over your working hour.Investigate about what resources you have. A computer machine, a telephone, any software and even your special skill will be beneficial. There are various types of home based business and you are the mastermind to select the right one, design and develop your business. There are many alluring advertisements broadcasting lump some money, but be careful because a hefty income from business is not possible overnight. The advertisers invested years behind the business to make money.Some common home based business solutions are-

Website-based business: if you can design websites then this is for you. If you are not that skilled you can buy website or hire experts and run the business.
Freelance writer: if you do not have any special skill but knowledge of the basics of computer use, then you can write articles, do data entry work online.
Manage to buy and sell products online: become familiar with the auction sites, use your intelligence and sell the products online.
Virtual assistant: you can work as administrative assistant or office assistant without going office.
Other online jobs: these include online coaching, web-content management, consulting, transcription works etc.
All these were based on internet. However, you can do business without a computer also. If you have any hobby like painting, craftwork, music, knitting, cooking etc then you can sell your handwork or give training on them from home.As with all other jobs, home based business also have some shortcomings. You do not get any health or life insurance on the basis of home based work. Your income may not be steady and stable every month and affording all expense of the family may be impossible at times. As you are staying home, you have to be present in all family matters, distracting you from the job. Home based business is no less than regular jobs and it is very challenging. After all, you have to be confident enough that at the end you will succeed.