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You are here: Home / Auctioneers / One tip in hiring a benefit auctioneer, and the critical descriptions you’ve shared about past auctioneers
May 28

One tip in hiring a benefit auctioneer, and the critical descriptions you’ve shared about past auctioneers

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

Team of people working together

My company’s 34th onsite auction of 2013 was earlier this month in Michigan.

The client was a spirited nonprofit that competes aggressively in their town, as over 20 other organizations in their area offer similar services. 

As you might imagine, it’s heavy competition for clients and donations.  Trying to “differentiate” is important.

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

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

I like hearing that. Being incredibly articulate about the nonprofit is something I strive for.  There are times I’m better at it than others, but it’s a talent I seek to cultivate.

And personally, if I was hiring a benefit auctioneer, it would be a skill I’d seek.  It allows for the gala to be run professionally, yet still feel highly intimate.

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

There’s an impact there …

Smart Auction Chairs know the benefit auctioneer is onstage longer than the Executive Director, the Development Director, the Auction Co-Chairs, any volunteer, or any beneficiary / client … combined.

That’s right. The auctioneer – a CONTRACTOR – is often onstage longer than ANY OTHER PERSON.

And if I – as the Auction Chair – am graciously giving that auctioneer a stage, he darn well better return the favor by sharing the story I want my guests to hear, which is the story of my beloved nonprofit.

But I have to tell you that I’ve heard otherwise!

Here are some of the comments you’ve shared about your auctioneers:

Woman questioning decision

  • “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 it’s not an energetic performance.”

How about this one (paraphrased), which was told to me by a respected fellow auctioneer who was helping another auctioneer (whom I don’t know) at a gala:

  • “We couldn’t find him.  Everybody was looking for him because the live auction needed to start.  So I’m thinking maybe he’s up in our room.  And 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.”

(Ahem, nothing like a mutually agreeable tryst while working for the client….)

Seriously, let’s break your gala minutes down. 

By comparison, you’ll see your auctioneer is onstage much longer than anyone else. 

And if your auctioneer doesn’t know your mission … or can’t articulate your items … or doesn’t have a personality that resonates with your crowd … or is in any way demeaning to your event … friends, YOUR EVENT SUCKS.

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 – intentionally or not — “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 will hurt you not only in donations, but in 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 decision count.

 

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Copyright © 2013 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.

Reader Interactions

Should you really give that guy a microphone? (Or “How to lose your corporate job.”)
Can you cancel the silent auction for a Fund a Need auction instead?

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    May 28, 2013 at 1:28 PM

    These are great tips! Any advice on how to mend the fences with attendees after you’ve had a “bad auctioneer?”

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      May 28, 2013 at 8:48 PM

      Sarah, that’s a good question.

      One suggestion is to announce the changes in all your pre-marketing of the event the next year. E.G. Announce in the invitation that you’ll be using AUCTIONEER for the event.

      One group did something like, “To accommodate our event’s growing needs, we’ll welcome AUCTIONEER to our stage as auctioneer.” I’ve also seen “We heard you! We’re making several changes to the event to make our bash even better. These include blah, blah, blah.”

      I wouldn’t re-hash what went wrong, but instead focus on what is being changed.

      Good luck!

      Reply

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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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