How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

How To Generate Home Based Business Leads Offline

Having any type of business is all about marketing. Regardless of what anyone says having a profitable home based business is all about effective marketing. How do people know your in business if your not marketing your home business? People think that marketing is expensive and that you have to have a degree to be effective at profitable marketing. I want to dismiss this myth and share with you some cheap and effective ways to market your home based business and start generating leads starting today.

Guerilla Marketing 101

To make a lot of money with your home based business you don’t have need a marketing budget of a large corporation. Let me share some ideas and tips on how you can effectively market on a shoe string budget.

The first step with any marketing strategy is identifying your target market. With your home based business this is pretty easy. Your target market is anyone looking to earn extra income outside of their job. You can even narrow it down further then that and target stay at home mom’s,professionals, young people, etc. Second step is addressing a certain problem which is lack of money. Then you want to address how they can solve this problem through your home based business. And lastly having a call action whether it be calling a toll free number or even a online website. You can bring offline prospects online!

Offline Marketing

The best place to generate leads for your home based business is in your own back yard. Some people want to hide behind the computer to generate leads, but you need to get out there and start networking locally. Network marketing is all about meeting new people and creating relationships. Here are some easy ways to generate leads locally.

Sizzle Cards

Sizzle cards are business cards that are tiny billboards about your opportunity. An example of what one might say is this

“Do You Want To Earn More Money?
Earn $2000 to $5000/month without leaving your job!
Call 888-888-8888 (recorded info) to learn more!

See short and sweet, it addresses a problem which is earning more money, then it tells them how much they can make with your home based business, and lastly to call the number to get more info. Now you’ve generated a lead and for pennies! You can get these through your company or a 3rd party vendor with a generic message.

Yard Signs

You’ve seen these when your waiting at a light at a intersection. Those little signs with some sort of advertisement. This is a great way to generate home based business leads and they are a bigger version of the sizzle cards. These work 24/7 as long as someone doesn’t have them removed! It’s the same concept as the sizzle card and it’s really cheap as well.

Car Signs

Turn your cars back window into a mobile billboard for you home based business. Imagine someone sitting behind you in rush hour traffic coming from a job they hate and they see your sign. Think they might call? You bet they will! Turn your back window into a moving sizzle card! This works really well if you drive a nice car and you can even put a ad like this.

“Want To Drive A Car Like This?
Call 888-888-8888(recorded info) to learn how!

Newspaper Ads

Post a classified in any of your local papers. This is a really cheap and effective way to generate leads for your home based business locally.

Networking Groups

If you go online you can find all kinds of networking groups in your home town. This is a great way to meet people that are professionals and are looking to network with other people. Be cool here, don’t vomit all over people about your business keep it professional and ask for their business cards and exchange yours with them as well. If you make a good impression you can call them later and invite them to take a look at your home based business opportunity. One good site to network with people is YAP(young active professionals) They hold local networking events at local places like bars,restaurants, and other venues. Get out there and meet new people!

These are all examples of ways you can generate leads for your home based business and hopefully gave you some ideas and how to get started right away. You can become creative with this and might even come up with some new ideas of your own. Bottom line is that you always want to market,keep it consistent, and find out what works for you.

Road Map to a Home Based Business For Women

Whenever we think of a computer geek, we tend to imagine a young man in thick dark rimmed glasses peering into a computer. However, women have also made gigantic strides into the world of technology. Closer to home and keeping technology in mind, a home based business for women is probably the next emerging trend. The male dominated ranks of “Internet Gurus” is starting to fill up with women, with increasing numbers of women owning websites dedicated to providing the necessary tools that are conducive to online success. More than men, women are embracing the internet community and the numerous advantages of a home based business for women are especially enticing to women.* Stay at home practical benefits:The freedom of choice can become exhilarating, although a drawback can be complacency. Time management and fervent dedication to a goal are essential qualities that should be mastered early on. Being able to stay at home can sometimes be doubly beneficial to women over 50 since they can perform chores such as providing home day care for children (either for their family or for financial gain) and still have the time and stamina to manage a home based business for women. Since practically all fields of interest can be open to women in the online world, the initial step should be to review personal expertise in a specific field and stick with it once the decision is made.One of the biggest mistakes that beginning online marketers make is not to let a certain direction have the opportunity to take hold. Just flitting from one promising opportunity to the next can easily lead to wasted time and money. The emotional benefits of staying at home are not to be understated either. Brainstorming the merits of a certain home based business for women with loved ones can lead to enhanced closeness and helping others make money is a gratifying experience in itself. Not having to answer to a demanding boss is a dream finally come true.* Financial benefits:Beyond the obvious value of making money from a home based business for women, the immediate financial benefits come in the form of reduced travel expenses, dry cleaning or meal expenses associated with working outside the home, clothing, shoes or cosmetics expenses, to name a few. Having the extra time to peruse newspapers or the internet for special deals on needed items will also result in additional savings.* Tax advantages:Having a formal home based business for women will make you eligible to deduct a percentage of your home expenses, such as mortgage, utilities, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, repairs or improvements, and finally depreciation. For this purpose, having a tax professional, such as an accountant, conduct a formal evaluation would be money well spent since these types of tax deductions tend to raise your IRS audit score.* Skills enhancement:Running your own home based business for women will force you into learning new skills as you become the sole decision maker and will have to be knowledgeable about all the aspects of running a successful business. Remember, you are the CEO. Working from home typically involve low or very low overhead costs, thus budgeting for your business will be less stressful. Online work budgeting commonly consists of training course and marketing costs that are strictly controlled by you.Overall, a home based business for women can be of terrific value, just keep in mind that this is WORK; juxtaposed to the brick and mortar world, this work can sometimes be combined with pleasure.