Okay…so it’s Monday morning and you just had the best auction gala ever this past Saturday evening…GOOD FOR YOU!   Now, you’ve got to sort things out and start planning for next year’s gala….call your Auctioneer first!! That’s right, find out your Auctioneer’s available dates, get “first refusal” rights (meaning that he/she won’t book another auction without calling you first) then call the venue.   A good benefit auctioneer will be booked up 1-2 years in advance, especially during the busy season for gala events from February through April and October-November.  If your auctioneer was a large part of your success, then call him/her first and find out the availability,  then call the venue, then call back your auctioneer and get them under a written agreement.  Most auctioneers work on a “first come, first serve” basis.

Dave Henderson and Ernie Rogers at a benefit auction.

Sell the front of the podium!

As benefit auctioneer, I like to have a podium to use during the live portion of my benefit auctions.  I use it to set my live auction list on and I also bang down the gavel for the theatrical portion after I sell the item.  I have found it profitable for non-profit organizations to sell the front of of the podium.  Here is my tip:

AUCTION TIP

The podium is a “focal point” as everyone is looking at the auctioneer during the live auction.  You’ve seen the front of podiums before that say something like, “Sheraton – Richmond” or “Hyatt”, etc.  Well, why not seek out someone who is attending your event and see if they’d like to have their name on the front of the podium?  This works well for anyone who is selling personal services to the public such as insurance agents, Realtors, financial planners, etc.   You may find that this individual is willing to spend $750 to $1,000 or more just to have their name on a sign that is temporarily attached to the front of the podium for the evening.  You can get a sign made at a local sign shop for less than $100 and it can help to offset your expenses!

Have questions?  Call Ernie Rogers at 804-327-9090.

I recently did an auction where the organization had about 5-6 really cool vacation homes, but the available times were either in the off-season or maybe the home was only available for a week-end instead of the traditional full week.  They had several laptops on the silent auction tables and the laptops were running a “looped” PowerPoint which included may 10-15 slides of some really great photos (interior and exterior) of the homes.  This short PowerPoint helped to showcase the home and as a result, the bidding was substantially higher than if it had just been a photo and a description.