Here's a clever way to ensure guests keep their auction bid card as they mingle during the silent auction reception. One of my client's included key information on the back of each paddle. The guest's name Guest's table number Schematic diagram of the ballroom, with highlighting on the table at which the guest would be seated. (Notice that the guest's table is highlighted in yellow to make it easy for the guest to locate.) An introduction of the auctioneer Information about ... Read On >
Registration & Check-out
Transforming a mundane auction checkout receipt into a mission-driven missive
There was a problem at one of my spring fundraising auctions. The event was new, designed to take the place of a more traditional fundraising dinner. For many years the dinner reliably drew 400- 500 guests. The hope was that this new event would attract a similarly sized crowd. It didn't. At first the planner dropped the guest count estimate to 300. Five days prior to the auction, the count wasn't yet 100. It didn't climb much higher than that. (Not all events are stellar out ... Read On >
The magic words that get bidders to hand over their credit card at auction registration
One key to running a fast auction checkout process is to collect credit card information as guests arrive. A long line at checkout is virtually guaranteed if a nonprofit decides to wait until the end of the event to collect a guest's credit card information. Instead, the secret to smooth auction checkout to swipe the credit card at the registration desk. However, some Gala Chairs have found it hard to convince guests to hand over their credit cards upon arrival. "Our team says that ... Read On >
[VIDEO] You can’t open auction checkout in 20 minutes
Last week I led a webinar on how to run a manual auction checkout process. During the webinar, one participant asked a question about timing.She wanted a 20 minute window between the time the silent auction closed and guests collected their items. Though admirable, I said that I didn't think her timeframe was realistic. To be fair, I don't know the particulars of her auction. The webinar system didn't allow us to have a free flowing conversation to explore details around her timeline, layout, ... Read On >
[VIDEO] Four styles of bid stickers for silent auction bid sheets
A couple of months ago I posted a video tip about how you can read bad handwriting on silent auction bid sheets. Spoiler alert: It's the use of bid stickers. I explained that auction chairs shouldn't require guests to write their name, address, email, phone number, or any other information on the bid sheets. To generate the highest bids, the only information required should only be the bid number. If the idea of only asking for a bid number troubles you (perhaps because you are concerned ... Read On >