hiring auctioneer

Sep 26

Pet peeve of fundraising auctions: Pointing

One of the first lessons I learned at the Missouri Auction School was on the subject of pointing.“When inviting bidders to bid,” the instructor said, “use an open palm. It’s an invitation for the bidder to give you more money.”“Don’t point!” he emphasized, “It’s rude.”A quick way to separate the professional fundraising auctioneers from the amateurs is to watch their fingers.Get the full story in today’s video.To me, pointing is obnoxious.Am I overreacting?If ... Read On >

Nov 24

[VIDEO] How to make your fundraiser unique? Be exclusive with your benefit auctioneer.

The concept of exclusivity is often tied to commercial products. A company might have the exclusive right to sell a particular style or color of shoes. An airline might be the exclusive carrier of a sports team. In the nonprofit space, we may see the term used in conjunction with sponsorship. One client with a large food and wine event offers opportunities for vendors to be the exclusive provider of certain products, like vodka or beer. I know of one corporation that served as the exclusive ... Read On >

Jan 20

What’s the BEST number of auction items? (Live auction)

Enjoy this series on determining the best number of auction items for your event.How many silent auction items are best. Today's post on how many live auction items are ideal. How many online auction items are good. The influence of mobile bidding on terminology.Back in 2009 I wrote a post about how many live auction items you should sell. I'm making some updates. What's the best number of auction items for our live auction? The two biggest factors affecting your ideal number of ... Read On >

Oct 28

BAS: The letters after an auctioneer’s name

My email signature is as such: Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAIIf I was so inclined, there are other initials I could use after my name, too. I've got a couple of bachelors degrees, a masters degree, and other certifications in addition to those three listed.Yet these three are only the designations I write with any regularity. I think it's because I must pay a fee to use them each year. I feel compelled to "get my money's worth" out of them.As it turns out, one of the questions ... Read On >

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

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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

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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

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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)

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Sherry, 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! Some of the tidbits: You added EXCITEMENT and ENTERTAINMENT… You added EXPERTISE and FUN… You helped the evening FLOW, in a wonderful and positive direction… You were FUN,… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? 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.”

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You 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, … she got the bidders to bid without being rude/pushing, … I loved observing her, I just watched her, … she did a great job.’ It was… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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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.” The following year, she herself ‘stepped up’ and became one of the gala… Read The Rest “Geri”

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Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal with people in a way that isn’t intimidating — men, women,… Read The Rest “Irene”

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

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As 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. She is skillful at managing an audience and keeping them focused on the task at hand – which is… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance

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

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