Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:

An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.

If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.

Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.

After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:

Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.

A Case Study

Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.

Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.

Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.

I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.

There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.

According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?

As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.

When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.

While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.

So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:

The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.

Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.

If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.

When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.

And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.

When I Was looking to start-up my business I was looking around at many opportunity’s to see what suited me best so I did my research into different franchises and business opportunity’s to suit my budget. What I found in my research shocked me and I wanted to share my experience with you.I knew I had to invest money and time and I was prepared for that so after a lot of thinking I thought to myself I could maybe get into the Subway Franchise, Well there are loads of them around so they are popular and successful and we didn’t have one in our town of Cobham, Surrey so let me share with you my findings.Subway FranchiseI spoke to a few people and they sent me the breakdown of the cost on how much it will cost to set a Subway and when I looked at it I nearly choked on my sandwich ( no it wasn’t a subway sandwich ha) I had some savings that I was willing to invest but I wasn’t ready to see what I saw so let me share with you how much I needed to get started.I needed at least £70,900 to get started and I’m telling you now I did not have that and not even close to it I was thinking to myself how am I going to do this and I knew it would take around three years to see any profit and I wasn’t prepared to get a massive loan out. So my search continued……What was a passion of mine and it was Fitness as being a personal trainer so I thought let’s get into a gym franchise so again began my research.So after a bit of research and meetings about starting up a energy fitness club the finance part came up and I was dreading how much it would all be and was hoping it was not as much as the Subway Franchise but again how wrong was I the minimum investment to get started was£95,000There was no way I could afford that again so this idea was out the window.Then a lightbulb moment happened for me and I sat down and went through what I wanted out of life and that was…
A good Income
Time Freedom to see friends and family
No Boss
So these franchises was not going to give me that first of all the investment was well out of my range, I would have to work my butt off giving me no time freedom at all to see friends and family and I would have more stress then it was worth and wouldn’t see profit for at least 3 years it just didn’t match my goals in life so I knew there was only one opportunity for me and that was Start my own home based business.Home based business opportunityBut where would I start as there was so much hype and BS on the Internet we all know that but there is also some quality opportunity’s. I was sitting down and talking to a friend who started his own Video Production company and I was telling him about my ideas and he gave me one piece of advice that I will never forget and that was ” Find someone who has done it and been successful and work closely with them”That’s exactly what I did I met up with 2 awesome guys who have been very successful within the industry and starting working with them closely,They helped me get set up and then having ongoing support which is vital and the rest is history.OK but how much does this cost well I’m telling you now it is no where near £75,000 so I am going to break it down for you in a very simple wayThis is an industry that you need to learn so time and investment is needed.Serious entrepreneur- £1000-£3,000On a budget- £80 per monthThe great thing about the home based business industry is that it can suit people on all different kind of budgets that is why so many people are turning to the Internet. If you are really serious about building a home based business and going on to your way to a six figure income then I am going to be very HONEST I would say you would need to invest between the £1,000 to £3,000 mark this will get you all the training and support you need and more of a fast track way to get your business up and running ( I’m not saying it will happen overnight)BUT DO NOT FEAR…If you can not afford that it does not matter as you can start on a budget of just £80 per month to get up and running this will require more work and will take a bit longer to get it all running but people do it this way and go on and make a six figure income and we teach you how to advertise for FREE so you do not need to worry about that. If you are sitting there thinking I cant afford or don’t want to spend £80 per month then I am going to be very honest and would say starting a home based business may not be for you now.As you can see a home based business is more affordable than a franchise opportunity that’s why so many people are starting them because you can see results within months not years and again it gives you.
Time freedom to do the things you want to
your the boss you decide when you want to work
you decide how much you want to earn the more work you put in the more you will earn.
I wanted to give you an honest view on the franchise side of things and the home based business industry and I have been completely honest I could sit here and say earn £30,000 in your first 30 days and by the way I’m not saying you can not earn £30,000 within a month you sure can but it wont happen in the first month I just don’t want to give you any BS that you see on many websites I want to give you the truth so you know what it takes to run a home based business.

When looking at any home based business opportunities, try and stay away from the no work get rich quick merchants.The best home business are those that don’t tell you that there is no work to be done, get rich making money from home advertisements are a dead give away be careful.Making money from home is possible however it all depends on the opportunity that you elect to go for. The Internet is full of MLM or home based direct selling companies out there, that will get you making money from home, however finding the best home business that suite your needs can be difficult.I have put together a small list of thing to check out before you decide to jump in to any home business opportunity.1) Firstly don’t get caught up in all the hype when deciding what type of home businesses you should be getting involved with, leave your emotions at the door.2) Pick the best home business that interests you, as well as something that excites you. May be something you like doing because that’s the whole point of working from home and for yourself.3) Your home based business is a proper business, So treat it like one. Act like you you have just invested $100,000 into your business opportunity. How would you organize yourself? How would you spend your time? what would your thought process be?4) When you start making money from home, don’t forget the tax benefits however always put some money to one side, so you don’t get stung with a big tax bill and no cash to pay it with.5) Although you can set up a home based businesses for little money your initial investment will not be the only money you will need to invest. So allocate a percentage of your money for investment back in to your business venture.6) The most important thing in your business is you, so invest in you Inc.7) When you get to grips with the way the Internet works, then home based business opportunities will start to open up to you. Network-marketing, Internet Marketing, Click Bank, Ad sends and the list goes on and on and it is ever changing.Just pick one Skill master that, and then pick the next one.The idea is auto pilot home based business that pay you money all year round.8) So you have picked your business opportunity and you are ready to get going. The first skill you will need to master is traffic generation, no traffic no business. There are lots of products out there that will teach you how and lots of courses that are designed just for lead generation.9) Do your market research. Find out what your customers want from you and give it to them.10) The best recommendation I can give anyone who is deciding about starting a home based businesses venture is to do your due diligent.Talk to the people who you are going to join if it is an MLM or Direct sales business. Go onto forums and find out about the Internet home based businesses arena before you get involved or invest any money. If the whole thing check out then go for it with all you passion and energy and make it work for you.