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You are here: Home / Auctioneers / 11 pointers to selecting a benefit auctioneer
May 13

11 pointers to selecting a benefit auctioneer

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

Photoexpress_Woman_complaining_optI’ve recently been hearing a string of complaints from auction planners dishing on their benefit auctioneers.

  1. How s/he read every word (or totally ignored) of item descriptions.  “And he doesn’t read well,” she added.
  2. How s/he was unfamiliar with the details of the packages, even though the auctioneer had the information in advance.  “We even went through each item,” the Development Director sputtered.
  3. How s/he sells too quickly. “We worked with him for three years, and he still doesn’t get it,” a planner said. (Hint: You shouldn’t have to train your auctioneer.)
  4. How the group had several items without winning bidders. “The bidders kept saying that they hadn’t bid that amount,” a Chairperson said. “Six items didn’t sell.”
  5. How s/he never really gained the crowd’s attention. “I’m kinda wondering if it’s because the auctioneer is petite,” a co-chair hypothesized.
  6. How the auction isn’t fun. “We need ENERGY,” one begged.
  7. How s/he isn’t sophisticated. “Fine for a farm auction,” she said, “but we need someone classier.

I could go on. Maybe you can relate to one of these or you have your own to add.

The good news is that each of these planners recognized that auctioneers are wildly different, and they wanted a good fit for their crowd. 

Those new to hiring an auctioneer may inaccurately assume auctioneers are the same.  If the auctioneer “talks fast,” he fits the bill.

Not quite.

Today you’re getting tips on vetting benefit auctioneers.
======================

Let me preface this with a story.

At a family reunion last year, my cousin from Kansas City told me a story that had happened to him a few months prior.  He’d been experiencing some throat problems.

“Schedule an appointment with Dr X,” his wife said.  “He’s excellent!  I go to him, your brother went to him, and the neighbor went to him.”

My cousin called, but Dr. X wasn’t available at a time that worked for my cousin.  He wanted to get an appointment booked, so my cousin opted to see a different ENT in the same practice.

“How much different can they be,” he thought, “They’re in the same practice.”

The doctor prescribed some medicine.  It didn’t help.  My cousin continued to suffer.

At his wife’s insistence, my cousin took another day off work.  This time, he went to Dr. X.

“In 20 minutes,” my cousin said, “Dr. X had the problem nailed!  He knew what to ask me.  He fixed the problem, and it didn’t involve medicine.”

(As I recall, my cousin was asked to stop eating certain foods near bedtime.)

Both were doctors.

Both were smart.

Both had diplomas hanging on the wall from prestigious universities.

Both were in the same practice.

But Dr. X was more in tune with his patient and had a masterful understanding of his specialty. 

It took him 20 minutes and no further outlay of my cousin’s money or time to resolve the problem.

Just as there is a quality variance between doctors, there is a quality variance among benefit auctioneers.
Photoxpress group of people in line

There’s a huge difference in auctioneers. Who works best for you?

======================

After working with a client in Michigan, the planner sent me a nice email. “We have been impressed by your customer service and attention to detail at every turn,” she wrote, “I’ve learned a lot from you about customer service and communications – not just auctions.”

Maybe customer service isn’t your hot button.  Or communications.

But something will matter to you, and just as it did with my cousin, it’s worth your time to get the right person upfront.

======================
As you’re comparing and interviewing benefit auctioneers, here are 11 points to keep in mind.
  1. Professionalism  Is the auctioneer trained to be an auctioneer?  Or are they a professional speaker / newscaster / comedian who will serve as your auctioneer?  What auction schools or courses have they attended?
  2. Credentials   In the benefit auction world, the only credential available is the Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS), issued by the National Auctioneers Association.  But perhaps the auctioneer has sought out other credentialing to support their profession.  For instance, I have a CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) by the Convention Industry Council.  Another relevant credential is the Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP).
  3. Commitment  Are they working as a benefit auctioneer full time or part time?  Is this how they primarily make their income? (Most auctioneers in this country work part-time.)
  4. Testimonials  Do their website testimonials end with suspect initials, like “D.P.” or “S.T.?”  Or do you see full names and organizations attached to the quotes?
  5. Clients  Who is on the client roster?  Call those clients.  Keep your questions open ended: “What did you like about working with him?”  “What do you wish she’d done differently?”
  6. Website  Use common sense when comparing websites. Is it a skeleton of a site with generic information?  Is it well-written and helpful?  Is it professional?  A weak website is indicative of how someone runs business.
  7. Consulting   If a benefit auctioneer is good, he should know innumerably more than you do about how to plan a successful benefit auction.  Find out his philosophy and teaching methods.  If you get the sense that you’re smarter, move on.
  8. Pay structure  Auctioneers can be paid in any number of ways.  At a high level, payment might be made via a flat fee, a percentage, or some variation of the two.  Learn what works for you and ensure there are no surprises.
  9. Videos  If you can’t watch an auctioneer in real life, watch his videos.  Ask to see raw footage.  You want to watch him introducing and selling a few items.  Why the raw footage?  If you make a decision based on any videos produced by a production company, you’re getting the ‘Hollywood version’ of the auctioneer.  It might be pretty to look at, but it’s not realistic.
  10. Style / Personality  Does the auctioneer limit his repertoire to selling your items?  Or does his personality lend itself to crowd banter?  Either can work; it depends on what you want.
  11. Engagement  Does the auctioneer interact with the crowd during your reception?  Or does he just work during the live auction? During the auction, does he move into the crowd or stay on the stage?
======================

Auctioneers are people, which means you should expect a big variance among them.

It’s up to you to decide the best fit for your group.

Let the buyer beware.

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Copyright © 2014 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. 'sheila Ryan says

    May 14, 2014 at 1:29 PM

    As a former client, I found these tips very succinct and helpful. I will use them as we move forward in hiring someone for 2014. I’m sorry our dates don’t work this year! I’d have you back in a minute!
    Sheila

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      May 14, 2014 at 6:54 PM

      Sheila, I am so very disappointed that we can’t work together this year. Thanks for checking in and let’s stay in touch. 🙂

      Reply

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

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Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
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Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)
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Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)
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I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)
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If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member
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The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee
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We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)
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Sherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year! Some of the tidbits: You added EXCITEMENT and ENTERTAINMENT… You added EXPERTISE and FUN… You helped the evening FLOW, in a wonderful and positive direction… You were FUN,… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

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You have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, … she got the bidders to bid without being rude/pushing, … I loved observing her, I just watched her, … she did a great job.’ It was… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” The following year, she herself ‘stepped up’ and became one of the gala… Read The Rest “Geri”

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Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal with people in a way that isn’t intimidating — men, women,… Read The Rest “Irene”

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Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went off… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business. She is skillful at managing an audience and keeping them focused on the task at hand – which is… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)
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