6 Traits To Look For In A Great Charity Auctioneer

Whether you’ve hosted a dozen fundraising events or are embarking on your very first, choosing the right auctioneer will either make or break your day of revenue stream.  If you’ve never worked with an auctioneer, you might not know what characteristics to look for.

The best auctioneers are:

1. Committed To Raising as Much Money as Possible  

Your objective is to hit your fundraising goals for the night. His objective should be the same.  A great auctioneer works closely to develop a smart day of revenue strategy including the live auction and pledge moment.   

A professional auctioneer cares about more than just showing up for a few hours to facilitate. He wants to be involved in the planning process, to understand your organization and your fundraising goals, and to help you achieve them. He has strategies for extracting out more money from each guest and getting them to smile while handing it over.

2. Passionate About Engaging the Audience with Your Cause

This event is all about your organization and the great works you’re doing or plan to do. If you don’t like to toot your own horn, you want the auctioneer to help people better connect with your brand on your behalf.

The auctioneer is your brand ambassador at your event. Feed him interesting facts and tidbits he can share throughout the night to help your audience feel a bond with your brand.

The auctioneer you choose should act as an extension of your brand. He should work diligently to entertain and delight your audience, while getting them to willingly open up their checkbooks (or hand over their credit cards!).

3. Dedicated to Working the Room Before the Auction Begins

An auctioneer’s job doesn’t start when the auction begins. It starts before. A talented auctioneer has charisma and knows how to warm up a room full of potential donors prior to the auction, as well as during and after. He knows he’s not there as himself (though if he’s a personality in and of himself, he can be the star attraction), but as an ambassador for your organization or nonprofit.

4. Informed on Auction Technology

You may not know anything about auction technology, but auctions aren’t your field of expertise. Hiring an experienced auctioneer can connect you to tools that help you get registrations before the event, accept mobile bids to get the auction rolling, and assist with the checkout process at the end. Good auction technology can send push notifications before and during the event, as well as create visual excitement as guests see the numbers growing on the screen.  

Even if your auctioneer doesn’t offer these services himself, he should be able to refer you to a reputable brand that he can vouch for.

5. Knowledgeable About Your Auction Items

A solid auctioneer will ask to see the list of items up for auction ahead of time, order them, and spend some time coming up with clever stories that will make people create a bidding war on them. He will know the auction list inside and out, increasing the end results.

6. Free

Did you know that some auctioneers will find a way for you to not have to pay for their services out of pocket? I myself donate a wine tasting event to be auctioned off to offset my auctioneer fee. I never want my clients to have to stress about paying me on top of worrying that they need to meet their fundraising goals.

Be cautious of anyone who charges a fee that makes your eyes cross. Ask what you’re getting for that price. Unless he’s a mega celebrity, it’s likely not worth the expense and won’t help you generate additional revenue.

Spend time getting to know the auctioneer you want to hire. He should impress you from the moment you meet him, and give you confidence that he’s the man (or she’s the woman) for the job.

The Most Underutilized Day-of-Revenue Stream: The Pledge

- The Most Underutilized Day-of-Revenue Stream: The Pledge

In all my years of being a consultant and auctioneer to charity and non profit organizations, I have consistently seen organizations make the same mistake over and over. After putting all their attention into silent auctions, live auctions, and raffles, they overlook what I consider to be the best — and yet most underutilized — day-of-revenue moneymaker.

I’m not sure why, but a lot of organizations toss pledges aside like a red-headed stepchild, relegating it to (bad) email marketing. But I would argue that securing pledges at a charity event is one of the best ways to boost fundraising with minimal effort. In just ten minutes, you can effectively boost what you brought in through those other fundraising methods.

- The Benefits of Event Pledges

Sure, email pledges can work, but when you have an audience of 50, 300, or 1,000 people directly in front of you, you have a captive audience. Why wouldn’t you leverage that?

You already know this audience is committed to your cause. They’re willing to bid on a wine tasting, golf outing, or gift basket, so why wouldn’t they also pledge a donation? You don’t know if you don’t ask.

There’s a sense of urgency and involvement at these events that you lose the second they walk outside. Sure, you can send an email the next day, but the magic is gone. You’ve got to capture it in the moment.

- Tips for Successful Pledge Generation

All this being said about the importance of pledges, there are still strategies that will make you more successful than others.

- Be Specific

When I work with clients, I ask them: “what would you do with an additional $50k? or $200k?"

I like it when they have specific answer, and this is essential to make pledge generation successful. It’s imperative that you are specific about how much you’re working to raise, as well as what your plans are for that money. Your audience is more likely to pledge if they know that their money will help build another classroom, buy 100 computers, or build a well in a developing country. People like to know where their money is going.

- Use Humor and Pull Those Heartstrings

You’ve got to make a connection to people to get them to give you money. I suggest doing that by developing a fantastic story around your fundraising. Get them in the trenches. Make them cry about those starving children or those people who can’t afford medical treatment. Then make them laugh. After all, with their pledge, you can turn the situation around.

- Start High, Then Go Down

Treat your pledge raising like a reverse auction. Start high. No takers at $10,000? Try $5,000. You’ll find the sweet spot where people want to pledge donations, and a few takers will attract more.  

Adding a pledge donation period to your event takes little effort, but the results can be tremendous.

5 Ways To Retain Your Donors

1. Give them impact & success stories after their donation

Keeping donors invested in your mission is key. Providing donors with real results and the emotional fulfillment that comes with it will not only increase retention but create evangelists.

2. Be transparent and responsive

Supporters don’t need to know every detail but opening up about operations, finances and set-backs can build trust and propel donors to act.

3. Accept donor input so they feel like their voice matters

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and input, give your donors the opportunity to easily get in touch with you. Social media can be a great way to start the conversation.

4. Go the extra mile to appreciate and delight

Experiences are always remembered, go the extra mile to thank your donors by hosting them at occasional donor appreciation events. Inviting your donors to special events will make them feel like they play an important role and are a part of your inner circle. Another way to delight can be as simple as a handwritten thank you letter.

5. Personalize communications at every level of involvement

In an automated world, a personal touch goes a very long way. Every communication should be personalized from a donors level of contribution and come from a staff member with contact information.