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You are here: Home / Administration / The magic words that get bidders to hand over their credit card at auction registration
Nov 21

The magic words that get bidders to hand over their credit card at auction registration

Sherry Truhlar 7 Comments

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 our guests won’t do it,” they tell me, “Our crowd just won’t share their credit cards.  They insist on waiting until the end of the night.”

I disagree.  I’ve stood behind dozens of volunteers working registration and have identified the problem.

The reason your guests refuse to share a credit card at the registration desk is because the volunteer greeting the guest hasn’t been properly trained to say the magic words. 

(It’s not because your crowd is particularly stubborn or “different” than any other audience.)

The majority of your guests will swipe their credit cards upon arrival when you confidently greet your guest with the approach I share in today’s video.

Watch below.

You’re on your way to delivering a fast auction checkout once you incorporate these techniques.

 

 

 

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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. Lorene Dudley says

    March 1, 2018 at 10:40 PM

    HELP!!! I have been place in charge of check in and out. I have never done this before. We are using a very user friendly auction software but I need assistance with specific check-in/check out procedures. Do I assign bid number before/after, etc…..ANY help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      April 4, 2018 at 1:13 PM

      Lorene, I fear I overlooked your comment and am only now getting back to you. Hope it went well!

      Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      April 4, 2018 at 1:51 PM

      Lorene, I didn’t see your comment until today. I hope the event went well.

      Keep your eyes on a product I will re-introduced later this year. It’s on check-in and check-out procedures and addresses what you’re seeking.

      Reply
  2. Roger Devine says

    November 27, 2017 at 11:48 AM

    Excellent tip, Sherry.

    But it’s worth extending the script a bit – the most common follow-up question I’ve had from a guest is: “what will happen if I don’t buy anything?” Your greeters need to be prepared for this, and know the policies that the org has set – how soon the card numbers get deleted from the system that is storing them, primarily.

    Generally, the answer “If you don’t buy anything, we won’t charge your card at all” works pretty well; being able to add that “all card numbers will be deleted within three days of the auction, as soon as we have processed any late sales and post-event donations” helps a lot.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      November 27, 2017 at 1:08 PM

      Excellent advice as well. Thanks for the additional script, Roger!

      Reply
  3. Jon Bridenbaugh says

    November 22, 2017 at 1:38 AM

    Great video Sherry!

    At Streamline Support our best practice is to train the check in staff to say “What credit card will you be using tonight/auction etc?” This way it’s not a question, giving the guest to opt out. Of course, if they choose to opt out, remind them they can always come back and swipe (or pay by other means) later!

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      November 22, 2017 at 1:45 AM

      Same outcome, but slightly different words — love it! Greeters need to have the confidence to expect that they will get a credit card from the guest. How and what the greeter says in her/his opening sentence controls that brief interaction to either ensure a credit card will be offered, or the guest will slip through without handing one over.

      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”

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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.” PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PS8/Y29udGFpbmVyPWV2cC1CVk4xMFNDUTRXIj48L3NjcmlwdD48ZGl2IGlkPSJldnAtQlZOMTBTQ1E0VyIgZGF0YS1yb2xlPSJldnAtdmlkZW8iIGRhdGEtZXZwLWlkPSJSM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PSI+PC9kaXY+ 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”

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