The description overlooked providing a date OR day for this activity. We wrote it on the left-hand side.

This is Part 2 of a series examining how missing information on silent auction descriptions costs you revenue in your auction fundraiser.

My floor team are outstanding sales support in any auction.  They find an item and work it until it has bids … or until they have outright sold it to a guest.

But if a silent auction description is lacking key information, my sales reps must leave their post to find someone in the marketing department who knows about this item and can provide the missing details.

Here are some additional common omissions on silent auction donation descriptions.

Guests want to know if the gift cards for chain restaurants are good for ANY of the restaurants in the chain, or only ONE of the restaurants in the chain.

If a guest sees that Morton’s Georgetown has donated a $100 gift card, the first question they ask is, “Excuse me, but could you tell me if this $100 gift card will work at the Morton’s in Tyson’s Corner? Or what about in Boca Raton … I’ve got a sister in Boca who loves Morton’s.  But I just don’t want to drive into Georgetown to use this …. so I’ll bid on it if it works anywhere. Do you know if it works at any Mortons?”

Argh!

If it was in the description, we would have immediately got her to bid on or buy the item.  Instead, we’re chasing down information. Now she might walk off elsewhere, we’ll never find her, and she’ll never come back to bid.

Guests want to know the day of the event, as well as the date.

Tickets to sporting events and theater performances often list the date, but they don’t always mention the day. Yet many of us schedule our lives around days more than dates.

“I take the kids to dance class on Monday afternoons,” remembers the Mom.

“I have my computer class on Thursday nights,” remembers the Dad.

If you provide a day as well as a date, it helps guests decide on whether they are interested in bidding. If they have any doubt about it, they won‘t bid, so it’s important to provide the information upfront.

Guests want to know what is included.

At one auction, my team was scrambling to uncover information on a salon donation. It was being sold in a school’s silent auction and the description was vague.

“A $150 gift card for salon services.”

At first glance, it sounds great.  But two guests were inquiring as to whether the salon focused on cutting hair or esthetician services. What kind of a salon was it?

There was no “menu of services” on display and we had no idea. So during the course of the silent auction, we are researching this item, instead of focusing on the more important task of sales.

On the positive side, at least these guests were asking questions. Often guests won’t even bother to ask … they just won’t bid. This is why complete descriptions are important.

Note: This is the second blog post on this subject.

(c) 2005-2010 Red Apple Auctions, LLC

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Earlier this month on Twitter, I caught a link to the Chicago Business Journal. Shia Kapos wrote on this very subject. “Chef dinners on the charity auction block: a behind-the-scenes look” visits with some local chefs about their popular donations and the redemption process.

Most interesting to me was that the article confirmed one of my own observations:  Many of an auction’s winning top bidders never redeem the item.

One of the chef’s in the article estimated that more than 50% of his donations are never used.  Did you catch that?  More than half of his donated dinners are never consumed.

I’ve noticed this with other items, too.  As I work with clients, inevitably we’ll talk about the top-selling items from the previous year.  “How did that couple enjoy the trip to Mexico?” I’ll ask.

“They never took it,” my contact will reply, “They became too consumed with the planning of their daughter’s wedding.”

I hear this more often than you might think.  A wine tasting excursion in Napa never used because work gets in the way of a couple’s vacation.  The Mediterranean cruise – for which a couple fought fiercely in the auction – is never taken.  Gift cards which are misplaced.  Dinners which are never scheduled due to any number of personal conflicts.

I can’t blame the winning bidders.  I myself have been close to pulling similar stunts.  More than one gift card has been forgotten in my wallet, only to be found months later while searching for my insurance card.  An Ethiopian dinner which I purchased at a silent auction was redeemed days … nay, HOURS … before it expired.  And I won’t even write about the clothes in my closet which might still have a price tag hanging from the sleeve.

The auction method encourages bidding and buying, but it doesn’t force you to consume (i.e. take the trip, eat the dinner, wear the clothes).

Although I don’t advocate it as an acquisition strategy and wouldn’t suggest mentioning during your procurement pitch, it is tempting to mention to a prospective donor that, “in addition to all these great reasons as to why you should make this donation, there’s a good chance your outstanding gift of service will never be used.”

That becomes a triple win for the donor:  1) Feel good about making a donation.  2) Enjoy a tax deduction.  3) Never be troubled with someone wanting to fulfill on your promise!

I wonder what percentage of items in a charity auction are never redeemed?

Individual donors of items (like our chef above) would know their individual record, but it’s unlikely that even the charity would know this figure because their involvement ends once the certificate or item has been delivered to the winning bidder.

So, bid high, take it home, and just fuhgeddaboutit.

(c) 2005-2010 Red Apple Auctions LLC

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Although the item is usually displayed nicely and the photographer often has a lovely image of their work available to view, it rarely sells for top dollar.

I’ve been seeking a way to improve this donation.  Recently I read something that offers a fresh twist on this traditional (but tired) silent auction item.

Christopher Duggan is a photographer in New York, NY.  His company is Threshold Visions and he shoots a lot of weddings.  The post that caught my eye talked about a family photo party.  The gist is that he reunited with some friends via Facebook, and one of them asked if he would do a Photo Party at her house.

She offered to organize the get-together, inviting 10 to 15 families over so he could take family portraits for everybody.  He thought it sounded like fun and his finished work shows families and kids.

What if you asked a photographer for this type of silent auction item donation?

Here’s the $64,000 question:  If a sitting is usually a 3-hour or 4-hour process in the studio, would a photographer be willing to visit a home and have the opportunity to shoot several families, albeit in a more candid way?  Personally, I think families would enjoy this.

The advantage of shooting in a studio is that the photographer can control the light and weather is irrelevant.  It is more challenging for a photographer to work outside.  But on the flip side, if the photographer is willing to shoot on location at someone’s large home and yard, he or she might be able to sell more finished prints because there are more customers in one place.  Furthermore, these are people with children, who are more likely to use photography packages in the coming years.

That’s a win-win prospect.

You just need to ensure someone with the right home is willing to host the Photo Party.  And the right photographer who wants to give it a shot.

Seeking another original silent auction item idea?  There are over 100 listed in my FREE Auction Item Guide.

© 2009 Red Apple Auctions LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

A gorgeous printer's plate from an uplifting day in history for Cal Ripken and his fans made a great silent auction item at this benefit in Annapolis, MD.

A few months ago, I shared what a printer’s plate is and how to get it. 

These plates make for nice silent auction items because they are unusual.

At a recent benefit auction, I was walking the silent auction with my client before guests arrived.  As we approached these plates (see photos), she said, “We’re really excited about these.”

“Wow!,” I said, “I wrote about how to get these donated a few months ago, but I don’t often see them in auctions.”

“I know you wrote about it,” she said, “That’s how I got the idea.”

Turns out, this ambitious auction chair read every one of my blog posts and subscribed to my FREE e-zine (you can sign-up on the right) to prepare for her auction. 

When she read my blog post about printer’s plates, she asked one of her auction team members to follow-up with a local newspaper.

The newspaper sent this group — wow! — two beautiful historical plates with copies of the front page framed.

She was so excited to have them in the auction.  And now I was excited, too.  I couldn’t believe how nice these were.

The newspaper donated two sports-related printer's plates.

These plates were different than what I’d seen donated from The Wall Street Journal.  These were clearly more contemporary-looking.  They were printed on a slick surface that seemed to be a plastic but almost looked like a metal.

Final numbers are still out, but early results indicate that the auction-related activities raised twice as much as in year’s past. They also hit a new attendance record.

(Let’s not forget that at the time of this writing, we’re still in a recession.)

Friends, making money at a benefit auction is simply a matter of using a proven system.  Sign-up for my e-zine on the right where I share more info, twice a month.

Copyright (c) 2009 Red Apple Auctions LLC

Yes, yes .. I know they are fruits. But you could just as easily put vegetables in the display glass to make a (healthy) centerpiece.

Say what?  Auction item ideas … for vegetables?

A group asked me about vegetables recently, so I thought some of you others might be wondering, too.

It’s not that crazy of an idea.  I already broached the topic (sort of) this past summer in my post Four Ideas for Farm-to-Table Donations.

Here are some fundraising auction ideas for those not-so-lowly, rich-in-antioxidants vegetables.

* Centerpieces

Colorful veggies in a clear vase.  See the photos for ideas.

* Graphics

If you’re hosting an event that focuses on the “feast” portion of the night, incorporate a pretty vegetable into your logo for the year.  The graphic can be used on all your printed and Web material.

* Decor

Use them as display when showcasing auction packages, both in the silent auction and the live auction.  For instance, if you’re selling cooking lessons, or the opportunity for a chef to visit your home and prepare a meal, having a few potatoes and fresh green beans on a cutting board might get the idea across.

* Silent auction item

A fall-themed centerpiece used gourds. This could also work as simple decor in other parts of the auction.

Put veggies in a basket and sell it as “A Farmer’s Market Special, without the trip to the market.”

Or if you’ve got an auction donation such as a crock pot, juicer, cookbooks, or cooking pots, throw some veggies into the auction package to make the display look less sterile.

* Live auction item

CSA’s are hot!  It’s a growing trend.

If you can get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group to offer you an annual subscription, that might be sexy enough to become a live auction item in your benefit auction. I’ve got a couple of clients who could easily sell this donation in a live auction and bring good money.

Or another option … that CSA donation would also be an excellent raffle item. It’s not gender-specific, and it’s something many people wouldn’t necessarily think to buy, but would enjoy it.

Now it’s YOUR turn.  Any other ideas on how to use vegetables in an auction fundraiser?

© 2009 Red Apple Auctions LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

P.S.  For other clever auction items, your FREE Auction Item Guide is waiting.  You get the top 100 items I sold for over value at benefit auctions last year.  It’s a great resource for auction procurement meetings.

A silent auction item gets a little lift from a popular movie.

Using a popular movie title to draw attention to a silent auction item was a little tip (or trick?) I saw at one my auctions this past weekend.

Julie & Julia was released in August.  I liked the movie.  It’s generally received positive reviews.

This charity capitalized on the vibe and good feelings of the movie by writing “Julie & Julia, Part 1″ in the silent auction header description of a French cooking class.

In the Washington, D.C. area, L’Academie de Cuisine is a well-known culinary school.  Professional chefs and amateur cooks can take classes there.

Its founder, the elegant Chef Francois Dionot, is gracious with donations to area charities.  Sometimes I’ll see his cooking classes (like the one in the photo) for sale in the silent auction.  Other times Chef Dionot himself will donate a dinner prepared by him, which is always a live auction item.

Although this auction donation is always popular with the crowd anyway, I still liked the clever approach this non-profit took.  The organization is reminding bidders that they (like the actors in the movie) might also become inspired by a French Chef — if they just would give themselves the gift of bidding on this item.

What item are you including in your auction that is a repeat donation?  Maybe there’s a way to spice up the description with a popular movie title to attract some new eyeballs to the bid sheet.

Bonsoir, mes amis.

(c) 2009 Red Apple Auctions LLC