A few years ago, one of my onsite clients utilized her entire consultation time with me by having me write all of her marketing emails leading up to the gala. Sometimes I’m asked to re-work sponsorship programs. And sometimes I am asked to revert to my old role at General Electric and be the event planner. None of these are traditional “benefit auctioneer” roles, but they all impact your auction. And though I can do them all well, I really don’t like one of them. Event planning. Planning ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
Use lemon scent to boost charitable giving at your gala auction
Before the live auction begins at your next gala, consider running through the ballroom spritzing a lemon-scented air freshener. Worst case, ask the hotel housekeeping for a clean-smelling window cleaner and do the same thing. Some 2009 research proved that smelling citrus dramatically increases our charitable nature. The study found a big improvement in ethical behavior with just a few spritzes of citrus-scented Windex. Katie Liljenquist of Brigham Young University, Chen-Bo Zhong of The ... Read On >
Too good to be true? Playing it smart with unsolicited auction items.
When I first started my business, I prospected for business by cold calling. (Cold calling means reaching out to someone who doesn’t know you and to whom you have no connection.) At the time I was living in Miami, FL, so I Googled lists of area private schools and nonprofits. I’d visit each group’s Website, researching it to see if they held an auction. If they did, I’d call them to tell them about my services. I share this because if you’ve posted anything about your benefit auction on your ... Read On >
How to get auction guests to notice your fabulous benefit auction items
The last time I visited my parents, I did a lot of work outside. But before I could mow, trim, dig, rake, and haul, I needed to remove about 30 orange and yellow flags from the yard. The city had cross-crossed my parents lawn with small flags identifying various cable and utility lines in preparation for some work that had been completed a couple of months earlier. When I asked Dad why he wanted me to store the flags versus just throwing them away, he said, “You never know when they might come ... Read On >
5 ways to keep your benefit auction’s sex appeal
February is synonymous with Valentine's Day, so this month I've committed to writing every blog post with a tie-in to love, romance, sex and even lust. We've covered auctioneer one-night stands, training your auction volunteers to flirt in the silent auction, and showing the love to your guests. Today, it's about sex appeal. (You know, keeping your benefit auction fresh and attractive.) +++++ Has your gala auction lost its sex appeal? Earlier this month I talked with a long-time auction ... Read On >