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You are here: Home / Administration / How smart planners get more done before 9 AM than the Army does all day
Jul 18

How smart planners get more done before 9 AM than the Army does all day

Sherry Truhlar 3 Comments

With this headline and my physical proximity to the Pentagon, a bunch of men in uniform could be knocking on my door later today.  (If I could only be so lucky…)

But knowing auction planners, my provocative headline is only a tad tongue-in-cheek.

(If you’re scratching your head, watch the Army commercial.)

When you’re organizing an auction with thousands of details, time is precious.  Despite the pressure, some of the most fun people I know plan benefits. They are creative, interactive, and high-energy.  It’s a blessing and a curse.

It’s a blessing, because it helps them secure help.  They are so darn fun, they have a knack at getting people on board.

But it’s a curse in that everybody wants to hang out with them.  Their phone rings off the hook.  Others seek to find them, even when they’ve gone out of their way to find a secret place to work.  (One of my clients escapes to her car to make phone calls uninterrupted.)

It means these planners are more time-strapped than your average worker.

So this week, I’m sharing six of my free (or nearly free) time management tips – all technology tools – to help new planners get up to speed.

1.  Timedriver – online appointment scheduling tool

Assume Caterer Cathy wants to talk with you.  Send Cathy your unique Weblink (generated from Timedriver) and she’ll see the days/hours you’re available.  She has visual access to the times you’ve pegged as “available.”

Cathy can select the time that fits her schedule and Timedriver automatically schedules the meeting.  You’ll get an email … Cathy will get an email … and Outlook (if you use it) will show your meeting with Cathy.

2.  No Cost Conference – free conference call system

You need to meet regularly with your auction committee, but you don’t always need to meet in person.

This is one service (of several available) which provides a free system to easily accommodate 100+ people.  No need to “reserve” the system because the line you’re assigned is yours to use 24 hours a day.

3.  VolunteerSpot – online scheduler for volunteers

I’ve written about Doodle, but competitor VolunteerSpot has caught my eye.  I’m still learning about this tool, but like what I see.

The heart of the technology was to simplify volunteer coordination.  Whether it’s signing up as a classroom parent, bringing food to a picnic, or setting up for the benefit auction, it’s covered.

4.  GoogleDocs – free document sharing

Imagine you’ve got an Excel spreadsheet listing potential advertisers.  Instead of maintaining the document on your individual computer, load it into GoogleDocs.

When a committee member needs to update it, she’ll log into GoogleDocs and type her notes directly into the spreadsheet.  As other members log in, they’ll see the most current version.

Say goodbye to the inevitable confusion of finding the most current version from “Reply All” emails.

5.  SlyDial – free direct-to-voicemail connection

When you want to be polite and return a call —  but you don’t have 30-minutes to talk with the chatty Sponsorship Chair — use SlyDial.

Call SlyDial, listen to a brief ad, punch in her cell number, and SlyDial directly connects you with her voicemail.  She’ll think she missed the call.

6.  Facebook Private Group – free online community tool

If it makes sense for your committee, set up a private group page on Facebook.  Page members can update everyone at once, schedule group events, ask questions, and it will all be shared with members of the group.

The caveat is that everyone on the committee needs to be using Facebook for this to be useful.  If you have Facebook resistors, this likely isn’t your tool.

Use one; use ’em all.  In any case, these tools are great in extracting value from limited time.

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Copyright © 2011 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. Hannah says

    July 30, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    Found this post through the nonprofit blog carnival. You have some great advice, and I know I’ll use some of these tools. I’m going to link this from my blog.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      July 30, 2011 at 2:07 PM

      Hannah, welcome to the blog!

      Last month I was in Scottsdale and Sedona at auctions. Had we found each other earlier, it would have been fun to meet “in person.”

      At any rate, thanks for the link and feel free to peruse past posts. I’d also encourage you to join our community at Benefit Auction Ideas. That’s where I announce free teleclasses. The most recent was a 6-week series covering technology you can use in your benefit auction. Oh – almost forgot – I also did one on making your auction environmentally friendly.

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

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What auction planners say

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!

Krystal Fenwick

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
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

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)

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)

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)

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

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

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)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, 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!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= 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.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou 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, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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.” 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 The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

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… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

Cynthia Steele Vance_150X180As 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.… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

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

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