On Auctioneers

I talk to a lot of auction teams when they are just starting to make decisions regarding their events. Usually, I'm talking to them because they are wondering whether using SchoolAuction.net makes any sense for their team, and whether spending money on that will pay off.

My position on that is probably predictable. But perhaps not completely. Because I will tell auction teams that the first, best place to spend some money on your auction is not with software - it's hiring a professional benefit auctioneer. I will tell my prospects that if it comes down to either hiring an auctioneer, or subscribing to SchoolAuction.net, that they should go with a benfit auction specialist this year, and then next year, come back and add the software.

Here's why: benefit auctioneers make your organization money. A lot of money. It may look like their job is to smile, talk kinda fast and call out bid numbers. But folks, that is just the frosting on the cake.

The professional benefit auctioneers I see working for our customers are, in the end, a lot like psychologists, with a specialty in crowds. The best of them spend time during the months before your event getting to know your organization - understanding why people would support it. Then on the night of the event, they spend the couple of hours between the time the doors open and the time they take the stage to sell the Live Auction items working the crowd who has shown up - listening, watching, and talking with your guests to get a sense for, and help shape, their mood.

Then, when they take the stage, they assume control. By that point, they know pretty well how each item needs to be presented, where they can look for bids, and how far they can push the bidding. And they sell.

Which is really an important thing to understand. The purpose of a live auction is to sell the items, and raise the most money possible for the school or organization. It is important for them to do so within certain parameters - respect the mission, have fun - but in the end? It's sales in real time, on a high-wire.

And this is why going with an amateur is a mistake. It's easy enough to find someone who is willing to stand on stage in a tux. It's possible to find someone who can mimic "the chant" of an auctioneer. It's really hard to find an amateur who is willing to take the fiscal success of your live auction in their hands and know which live-sales techniques are appropriate given the behavior of the crowd in front of them.

So, I am an advocate for Benefit Auction Specialists. They deliver the very biggest bang for the buck in your auction budget.

But software is a close second. More on that sometime later.

First things first

I've already made a few decisions, in consultation with the school foundation's chair.

We identified the need - replacing the 8-year old computers in the lab (they were installed 5 years ago, as used-and-refurbed machines; they were fine then, and really creaky now).

We decided to wait for the spring; I could probably force through an adequate event for November, but we'll do better with another 2-3 months of work.

We are going to hire a professional auctioneer, one who has earned the Benefit Auction Specialist designation. I know a bunch of them in the area, and will call around to check their availability for the spring. I'll probably write a post on this sometime in the next couple of months; I am solidly convinced that hiring a BAS is money very well spent.

We are going to hold the auction at a venue where we can serve wine and beer. I know school auction teams who are willing to forego serving alcohol if it means they can save money and use the school cafeteria; I'm not one of them.

We are not going to do a full dinner, but just serve appetizers. This will help us keep the ticket price down. This means I have to figure out a way to get all of the guests to sit down for the live auction, but I'm pretty sure a solution will present itself.

As for dates, we are going to look at Thursday nights; there's a much better chance we can book a venue and auctioneer of our choosing if we pick a Thursday.

And we are going to use SchoolAuction.net to help with the planning. (FULL DISCLOSURE: That's kind of a no-brainer for me; I'm a partner in the company.) I've already set that up this morning.