What’s the perfect number of live auction items for your charity auction?
Usually the question goes like this, “Sherry, how many live auction items do you recommend we sell in our charity auction?”
We contemplate that question in the same way we think about prunes: “Will three get the job done? Is eight too many?” 
Here’s what I’ve learned: If the gala’s timeline has already been determined, my recommendation doesn’t matter.
A specific amount of time … 20 minutes … 45 minutes … 70 minutes … has been allotted. Now I need to work with the client to choose the items because we must match a timeframe.
So now I respond to that question with, “How much time have you set aside for the live auction?” If they haven’t yet set the timeline, we’ve got flexibility. We look at other factors (like those below). 
I know how long it takes on average to sell different items. Front-row seats at a high-school graduation will take a different length of time than a private concert with Grammy award-winner Emmanuel Ax. By knowing what they have to sell and how much time they’ve allotted, I can tell whether we need to cut the number of auction items — or find more time in the program.
I’ve sold anywhere from two items to 40 items. But what’s the perfect number for your charity auction?
There is no exact number which works for everyone, but here are five points to keep in mind.
1. Are you using a professional charity auctioneer?
A professional charity auctioneer will be able to sell more items in any given timeframe than someone who is not a professional.
We’re in front of people asking for money all the time. We can read faces, and know when to push.
Second, the entire reason “the chant” (the fast talk) was developed was to sell items quickly. Although your charity auctioneer will not chant as quickly at your gala as would be heard at, say, a livestock sale, it does speed the sale along.
A good charity auctioneer will want to say a few brief remarks on stage. She’ll introduce her team; he’ll thank the committee. Trust me, you want this, even though it might take 2 or 3 minutes. This might be the first time the audience gets to experience your auctioneer’s personality. Later, when the bidding is underway, people will give more money to someone they like over someone who only asks them for money.
Isn’t the same true for you? If a development officer cold calls someone to ask for $10,000, what are the odds she’ll get the donation? Isn’t it nicer to have a warm lead? The same is true for an auctioneer, and opening remarks help.
When I was less experienced, I let a client dictate my performance on stage. Because she had scheduled the event too tightly, she didn’t want me to say anything – not even my name. “Just go on stage and say, “The first item is X” and sell it,” she said.
Ugh! That auction was such a disaster. I eliminated all of my opening remarks, had no audience rapport, and (because there were so few items to sell) had a hard time building rapport through the sale itself. NEVER again.
In short, your charity auctioneer’s experience and chant will pay dividends when determining how many items you can sell and secure top dollar for your items!
2. Do you have good / exciting auction items?
If you’re selling exciting items with a wide-appeal, you can sell more items in the live auction.
If you are selling run-of-the-mill items … ordinary baskets, most gift certificates, generic items … you will lose your audience unless you can structure the event to keep them in their seats. (This type of challenge gets into a charity auction’s “bells & whistles“.)
3. Is the crowd standing or sitting?
This is a pretty simple concept. Seated guests will be more comfortable than standing guests, and you can sell more items in the live auction. You can even take this a step further and analyze the comfort of the chairs. 
I used to do some marketing work for a church. When planning workshops, we would take into consideration the uncomfortable chairs the church had. An all-day workshop was a harder sell because those familiar with the chairs wouldn’t pay for a full-day of learning if they had to sit in those chairs.
4. What else will the crowd enjoy (or endure)?
In addition to the live auction, will your guests be seated through 30 minutes of presentations? Or a 45-minute choral concert?
Maybe you’ve heard this phrase: The mind can stand only what the butt can endure. At some point, we humans need to stand up and walk.
In my work, I’ll talk with clients about their schedule. We might move the live auction to a different part of the program once I know the other elements of the gala. I might recommend that the live auction might be the first activity of the program … the last … or somewhere in the middle.
5. What’s your financial goal for the live auction?
Whatever I sell in the live auction will bring in more money than if that same item is sold in the silent auction. It’s a fact.
So if there is a specific financial goal to hit in the live auction — and we don’t have the right items or enough items to hit that goal — we need to add auction items. Your “perfect” number may be adjusted to reach your financial goal.
Whether you sell five auction items or forty items, it might be right for your group. Your charity auctioneer will have the perfect number for you.
Our Auction Item Guide is the most requested item on our site. It lists the top100 items selling over value. Use it at your next charity auction meeting.
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