About four years ago, silent auction electronic bidding devices hit land in the USA. It's been a race for promotion ever since. Nearly once a month I entertain a phone call from a new vendor, eager to show me his new state-of-the-art service. Interestingly, the technology was pioneered by European companies.1 Event-services company IML was the first to actively promote its offering to US-based charities. It didn't take long before their competition followed suit. With the US charity ... Read On >
Blog Post
Better Benefit Auction Ideas hit Chicago & Cincinnati next week!
Today’s question is: What do you do that makes your auction different from every other benefit auction in your city? Is that chirping crickets I hear? If you're stumped by the question, I'm not surprised. We planners get into ruts, doing the same thing all the time. Unless you’re traveling the world attending auction galas, it’s almost impossible to get exposed to fresh concepts. (Let alone the time it takes to learn about properly implementing something, once seen.) This leads me to why ... Read On >
How to choose a benefit auctioneer by understanding one of their marketing tactics
In a couple of weeks, you can learn how to negotiate with an auctioneer in this live Easy First Auctions course. But before starting your negotiation, you've got to select an auctioneer. This article examines one marketing tactic an auctioneer may use to sway your opinion. ++++++++++++++++ Have you ever heard of any of the hubbub over truth-in-advertising cases? There’s no shortage of stories. Taylor Swift’s Cover Girl ad was pulled when it became known that the mascara she was wearing ... Read On >
Back to school: 5 Places to Learn New Benefit Auction Ideas
In Kansas, we returned to school in mid August. Here along the East Coast, many schools start in late August or even after Labor Day. Some kids will be excited. Others are already counting down the days until summer or graduation. Which were you? Here's what I know: Whether you enjoyed school or not, learning is ongoing. I'm a fan of education, but I'm not one who believes you have to go to college to get advanced training. Sure, I've got some degrees (three, actually), but I've learned ... Read On >
How many clerks spoil the benefit auction broth?
Ever heard the phrase, “Too many cooks spoil the broth?” At a benefit auction, you need someone to record the sale prices. That person is called a clerk, secretary, or recorder. Although an auctioneer could clerk his own benefit auction, it slows the sales process and isn’t a best practice. The auction clerk stands or sits near the auctioneer at the front of the stage. Oftentimes the clerk sits right next to me, while I stand at the podium. This is not a stressful job, but many ... Read On >