Complaints about your auctioneers

PART I

Over the years clients have shared some frank remarks about their past benefit auctioneers.

• “When he said, “‘Give some money so they don’t have to sleep in a railroad car,’ it just felt like he wasn’t honoring our youths’ experiences.”
•  “I honestly don’t think he took the time to understand what we do.  He kept talking about kids, but we help more adults than children.”
• “He’s one of these good ole boys.  I can’t say he fits in with our crowd.”
• “Our group is loud, and she just never gained control of them. It’s like they didn’t even know she was there.”
• “He clearly had been drinking by the time he got onstage.”
• “He’s what I’d call a cattle auctioneer; a little rough around the edges. A lot of our crowd can’t  understand him.”
• “He and his wife like to attend our event. They are such nice people. But I can’t say it’s an energetic performance.”

How about this one (paraphrased), which was told to me by a respected fellow auctioneer who was helping another auctioneer at a gala.

• “We couldn’t find him. Everybody was looking for him because the live auction needed to start.  I’m thinking maybe he’s up in our room.  As I’m walking down the hall, I see him with some gal, all flustered, fixing her hair and rushing out the door.  He’s right behind her, shoving his shirt back in his pants.”

Or how about this one. 

• SHE: “I was on maternity leave this year so I didn’t attend the gala. But all I’ve heard from others was that they could never find him! Every time they needed him to make an announcement, they’d find him in the bathroom.” ME: “I don’t understand. Was he ill?” SHE: “No, people think he had a drug problem.”

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PART 2

In 2013 I was working with a new client in Michigan.  The client was a spirited nonprofit that aggressively competed for clients and donations locally because over 20 other area organizations offered similar services as they did.

Trying to “differentiate” their nonprofit was important.

After the auction, the Executive Director told me that about half of his Board approached him to ask questions about his new employee, meaning me. 

Because I was so well-versed in the history, mission, and even the buildings owned by the nonprofit, they assumed I was one of the team, working for the nonprofit.

What a nice compliment! There are times I’m more articulate about a nonprofit than other times, but it’s always a skill I seek to cultivate because it allows for the gala to be run professionally, yet feel highly intimate.

“She’s one of us,” the perception goes, “She gets us.”

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PART 3

Consider this.

Your benefit auctioneer is onstage longer than the Executive Director, the Development Director, the Auction Co-Chairs, and any beneficiary or client, combined.

That’s right. The auctioneer (a contractor; an outsider to your cause) is often onstage representing your nonprofit longer than ANY OTHER PERSON.

If your auctioneer doesn’t know your mission, can’t articulate your items, doesn’t have a personality that resonates with your crowd, or is in any way demeaning to your cause, YOUR EVENT BOMBED.

Not only will you not raise the money you should, but you won’t generate the “good feelings” that come from thoughtfully produced events.

When you give a microphone to someone and let them ascend your stage, you have “blessed them” as an official representative of your nonprofit.

If he or she isn’t representing your organization in the best possible way, they are hurting you.

A mismatched auctioneer doesn’t just impact the donations received, but impacts your reputation.

So here’s my heartfelt advice: BE UBER PICKY when hiring a benefit auctioneer.

• Your biggest donors are in the room.
• You’ve spent countless hours preparing.
• You’ve got 3-5 hours to make an impact.
• And you’re relying primarily on your benefit auctioneer to formally represent your charity.

Make your hiring decision count.