Less is more in your silent auction

The tendency for many silent auction committees is to accept as many items as they can get and make the silent auction as big as possible. “Bigger is better” after all, right? Actually, no. The reality is that you can do less work and make the same amount of money, possibly even more.

Putting too many items in your silent auction could be costing you money at your event. It is most certainly taking an unnecessary toll on the staff and volunteers who work on your silent auction considering that it takes an average of three hours to solicit, inventory, write the description, create the display, set up, break down, and then redeem each and every silent auction item.

A massive silent auction can be a detriment to bidding, evidenced by the lack of activity on this huge table.

One indicator that you have too many items in your silent auction is if you have more items than bidding units (ie: couples) at your event. Most attendees have a budget for how much they intend to spend at your event before they arrive. If they show up and realize that there are three auction items for every couple they quickly start bargain hunting.

The maximum ratio for silent lots to bidding units is 0.75 to 1, three quarters as many silent lots as couples. That is a good number to aim for when paring down a massive silent auction. If you are just starting an event of 400 people or less, you’ll do well to aim for no more than 75 – 125 silent lots.

Less silent lots makes a committee become more selective, and means you wind up with a higher caliber of lot (or at least groupings of silent lots that are worth more money). It also increases competition among your bidders. Once a bidder realizes that every item is going to get a bid and sell they tend to focus on the key items they really want.

This all sounds nice in theory, but I’ve seen first-hand data to back it up; and at my son’s school, no less. It is one thing to make recommendations as a consultant who then doesn’t have to live with the results on a daily basis. But volunteering for my son’s school auction committee was a gut-check because the repercussions if my advice didn’t work were going to be huge on a personal and parental level.

In the first year we reduced the silent auction by 57% and revenue stayed level. Over the course of three years we cut the number of silent auction items by another 30% and saw the bid to fair market value ratio increase by 15%. They went from 825 to 281 items in their silent auction, but the money stayed the same because people were bidding higher on each individual item. Sure this is an extreme example, but it should empower you to reduce your 100 lot silent auction to 80 or even 70 auction items.

The results were in line with myriad other eventswe’ve done, and drove home the point: in the silent auction, less is more.Or actually, less is equal. So do right by your staff and volunteers, and start looking for ways to reduce your silent auction this year.

Top 10 most exciting auction lots of 2014

Last year’s compendium of the 10 charity auction lots that stood out the most was so well-received, that this year’s list goes to 11. These weren’t always the lots that sold for the most money, but they were the most unique, the most exciting and the best examples of their category.

The goal of sharing these isn’t to get you to go out and contact Joe Lacob or Stuart Brioza to do see if they’ll do a lot for you: the goal is to get you thinking about creative lots you could create with a celebrity in your community.

So without further ado, here are my top 10 11 most exciting charity auction lots of 2014, presented in no particular order:

Join Elizabeth Banks Behind the Scenes of Pitch Perfect 2

Two guests get V.I.P. access to the set of Pitch Perfect 2 in Baton Rouge, LA. with A.C.T. alumna Elizabeth Banks. You'll spend the day on the set, experience behind-the-scenes filming, meet cast members, and have lunch on set.

Spending a day onset at the filming of Pitch Perfect 2 was one of the most exciting auction lots of 2014.

A.C.T. Alumna Elizabeth Banks has turned her time at A.C.T. into an incredibly successful career. She starred on 30 Rock, Zack & Miri, and the Hunger Games. Elizabeth has also expanded her career, producing the acapella hit Pitch Perfect. She now is producing and directing the follow-up: Pitch Perfect 2.

Elizabeth is offering two people behind the scenes access to the set of Pitch Perfect 2. Make your way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You’ll have roundtrip airfare for the both of you. A luxurious hotel in which to spend 2N & 3D. But the real treat: You’ll be Elizabeth’s personal guests. Get to spend a day on set, meet cast members, experience behind-the-scenes filming. You’ll even be in the background of one of the 2 main a-capella groups songs! A-ca-awesome!

Warriors fans who can play basketball, this one’s for you!

Have a fantasy to play with the Warriors? Not that good? Well how about a game of Horse with Klay Thompson at the Warriors Practice Facility in downtown Oakland?

Just the two of you, one on one. And we’ll be happy to pinch you to show you’re not dreaming. To remember your great day, take home a signed Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson Splash Brothers jersey.

The Ultimate Sonoma Coast Food & Wine Experience for Eight

Up to four couples will experience the ultimate, personal wine and food experience at one of the most beautiful vineyards on the planet. Arrive at Peay Vineyards as early as you'd like to swim in the pond or to bike the hilly coastal ridges.

As the sun sets, Andy Peay from Peay Vineyards will take you on a walk of the vineyard followed by cheese, oysters and a wine tasting on the porch. In the meantime, Stuart Brioza, owner and chef of quite possibly the hottest SF restaurant and James Beard Award winning, State Bird Provisions, will be in the kitchen preparing your dinner. If weather permits, the big sky full of stars will be your dining room.

Each course will be paired with wines from Peay Vineyards’ cellar. That evening you will stay at the Peay's newly constructed barn house built from remnants of the old tractor barn that rested on that spot for the previous 100 years. The next morning you can take the coastal route home, perhaps picking up some oysters at Hog Island on the way. Oh, and don't forget to take home your magnum of the not-yet released 2012 Peay Vineyards Estate Chardonnay tonight.

Speedracer: Formula 3 Racing School

This package includes two days of progressive instruction from classroom to racetrack, culminating in open lapping of the world-famous Sonoma Raceway in cars capable of incredible performance. After an exhilarating day of driving, retire to your suite at the fabulous Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, where you will be pampered for two nights with a 60-minute spa treatment for two people and dinner at Santé restaurant for two.

There are driving schools, and then there is Lola Simraceway & their RACING SCHOOL. These are the cars that Formula 3 drivers train on: 300 HorsePower, 273 torque, 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds, Top speeds of 181 Miles Per Hour and capable of pulling over 3 Gs.

This is serious racing, in cars designed to hug the track like nothing you’ve ever seen before. You’ll get two days of progressive instruction: start in the classroom on driving simulators. Work your way to Sonoma Raceway’s track and the REAL DEAL. Get a chance to take on Sonoma Raceway’s corners and elevation changes in a car that will scare you, long before you scare it. Plus: 2N & 3D at the Sonoma Mission Inn and dinner for 2 at Sante Restaurant.

Dip, Duck, Dive, Dodge!

Back because YOU demanded it: Buy-in Dodgeball. Dodgeball! Eight Teams Enter, One Team Leaves!! Buy-In Tournament for 8 teams of 10 players each Friday, May 2nd, 2014: Make your way to The Burlingamer.

There will be chow.

There will be a keg.

Best of all: there will be DODGEBALL! Compete in a Round-Robin tournament. Filled with spills, chills, shagging, suicide plays, block attacks, body deflections and laughs. Come in your best dodgeball costume. Or simply come prepared to kick ass and take names. And earn the title: Burlingame Dodgeball Champions

…We’ll Have A Barrel of Dunn!

This is the chance of a lifetime…to make and own a barrel of Dunn Vineyards sourced wine…that’s approximately 23 cases of wine! Join Mike Dunn as your consulting winemaker for an extraordinary winemaking experience and produce your own Dunn Vineyards sourced 2014 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon in a Treuil French Oak barrel with commemorative “Taste of Howell Mountain” plaque.

You can get your hands dirty and learn how to do it, or drop in just for the blending, or sit back and let Mother Nature and Mike Dunn work their magic and VOILA, you have approximately 23 cases of your own unique Dunn Vineyards sourced 2014 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon! A truly one-of-a-kind addition to your cellar! Note: Wine is not for resale

Hunger Games Survival School

Unleash your inner Katniss Everdeen at Pura Vida’s Hunger Games Survival School. You and five friends will learn from your experienced survival guide, Joe Moerschbaecher as he teaches you the survival skills necessary to survive the Hunger Games.

This tour focuses primarily on the non-violent survival skills including fire and shelter building, knot tying, snares, off trail travel, and navigation. After the skills are taught, tributes will be paired in groups of two to practice the skills on their own, and be evaluated for their power rankings in these survival areas. During this school, tributes will visit two areas where major filming was done, as well as gain insight into the filming process.

This package is for six adventurous participants, ages 12 and up. Hello, World!

Two Stars and Beyond — Dinner for Four at Two- and Three-Starred Michelin Restaurants

Tourists flock to the Bay Area year-round to see the natural and architectural wonders of San Francisco along the 49-Mile Scenic Drive, cruise the cliffs along Highway One, and meander along the byways of Napa and Sonoma, but this road trip is tailor-made just for locals.

Take your time traversing our spectacular region, with spectacular culinary destinations from South Park to the South Bay, Napa Valley to North Beach on the itinerary. Your party of four will experience simply out-of-this-world wine-paired chef’s menus at Bay Area restaurants boasting two and three Michelin stars, including:

• Atelier Crenn — Chef Dominique Crenn
• Benu — Chef Corey Lee
• Coi — Chef Daniel Patterson
• The French Laundry — Chef Thomas Keller
• Manresa — Chef David Kinch
• The Restaurant at Meadowood — Chef Christopher Kostow
• Quince — Chef Michael Tusk
• Saison — Chef Joshua Skenes

Get out your calendars — you’ll want to start picking out your special dates now because this is destination dining at its most Michelin-starred magnificent!

2014 Kentucky Derby/Kentucky Oaks Package for Six

Sip mint juleps with the stars, join in a rousing chorus of “My Old Kentucky Home,” and become part of the most exciting horse race in the world. With this experience for six guests, you’ll see it all from your premium third floor Clubhouse seats for both The Kentucky Derby (May 3, 2014) and The Kentucky Oaks (May 2, 2014).

During your stay, the group will be treated to a private, behind-the-scenes tour of the Churchill Downs barns and stables, and a tour of a nearby thoroughbred farm and training facility. Dinner one night will be at the storied 610 Magnolia, where Chef Edward Lee draws on fresh local ingredients to create contemporary southern cuisine. Transportation to and from Churchill Downs on race days, as well as to and from other activities, is included in this package, as are personal concierge services to help with restaurant reservations, shopping, and other activities during the stay.

Your concierge will even help with the creation of the perfect Kentucky Derby hat!

Take home six bottles of 2010 Post Parade Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Created by three friends from the Bluegrass State and made by Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, this debut vintage of Post Parade Cabernet Sauvignon combines grapes from Soda Canyon and Oakville for deep fruit and classic structure. Accommodations for three couples for three nights at the Marriott Courtyard Louisville Downtown Hotel are included. Airfare and transportation other than noted is not included.

Master the Masters!

There are golf tournaments, there are majors, and then there is The Masters. Of the four majors, three are open to the public, and the Masters is one of the most difficult tickets to get in all of sport. Two people journey to Augusta, Georgia to take in the splendor, pageantry and history of the Masters 2015 with veteran Masters attendee and school dad, Bryan O. You and a friend will be hosted and fed for four nights in a large, shared southern home.

Ready to play? Enjoy a round of golf for two on Friday, April 10 at Augusta Country Club (not to be confused with Augusta National).

Then, the main event: two badges for the final two days of the tournament at Augusta National. Saturday is moving day, your chance to see who can make the move up the scoreboard to put themselves in position to win. Sunday, the grand finale. The day the Masters is won (and often lost). Never been? Don't worry! Your host will be your personal guide to the course. Fore!

A Feast for Friends — Dinner for Eight with Staffan Terje and Stuart Brioza Together in Your Home

Chef Staffan Terje of long-time San Francisco favorite Perbacco and Chef Stuart Brioza of James Beard award-winning State Bird Provisions will bring their modern, original culinary sensibilities to the plate as they collaborate on a five-course feast for eight guests. The chefs will select five special, seasonal ingredients around which to build the evening’s menu.

Each course will feature one of these ingredients, and the two chefs will prepare dishes highlighting the chosen ingredient and reflecting their respective approaches in the kitchen. The chefs will present their dishes side-by-side, and each course will be paired with the California-grown, European-style wines of Failla.

Chef Terje and Chef Brioza’s unique and delicious dishes are sure to have your guests talking about Old World traditions and New World inventions as if they are natural companions and old friends — much like these talented chef-proprietors themselves!

All food and wine costs are included. Date to be mutually agreed upon.

Registration now open for January 28th workshop

Register now for our workshop Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful

Registration is now open for our upcoming workshop, Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful, taking place on January 28th at the David Brower Center in Berkeley. Click here to register now and reserve your space. Seats are limited and this workshop will fill up.

Presented in conjunction with Greater Giving, Beth Sandefur Events, and Sound Expressions, this highly interactive workshop will cover the top 10 approaches you can take to make your next auction more successful. Whether your event is in two weeks or twenty, learn proven strategies that will help you maximize the philanthropic potential of your crowd. Learn how to fine-tune your fund-a-need for maximum effect, enhance your existing auction lots, streamline your registration process, and more.

Session topics will include:

• Fine tuning your fund-a-need pitch
• Finding hidden lessons in your auction data
• Brainstorming ways to enhance your auction lots
• Messaging: sell the cause, not the party
• Streamlining check-in and check-out
• Making your auction sound great

Click here to register now; seats are limited!

January 28, 2015 – Berkeley, CA

9:00am - 3:00pm

Check-in begins at 8:30am

$50 registration fee includes continental breakfast and lunch

In addition, this workshop will include a hands-on mobile session for organizations looking for information about the most buzzed about trend in events: going mobile. This workshop session will include an overview of Greater Giving’s Mobile Bidding and Storefront functions. We’ll discuss how mobile bidding impacts your event and how you can incorporate raffle and other multi-item sales into your event using storefront.

The workshop will conclude with a 1-hour, small group session with each member of our expert panel. We will break into groups by organization type and spend an hour focusing on the topics that matter to you most. Ask questions and get answers that are relevant to the needs of your specific event with experts in the field of fundraising auction planning, implementation, and performance.

Held at the David Brower Center at 2150 Allston Way in Berkeley, this workshop is readily accessible by public transportation and boasts plenty of nearby parking lots.

Register now, and make your next auction an even bigger success!

The most creative sponsors "thank you" ever

Every fundraising gala has that moment, when someone takes the stage to thank the sponsors who support the organization and make the evening possible. That moment is always well-intentioned, and quite a few organizations make a sincere show of appreciation for their sponsors.

This year, however, we saw an approach that was so creative, so over the top and so well received that it serves as a shining example for any organization looking to thank their sponsors. The event was “Sparkle! Spotlight on the Stars” PHAME’s 2014 Celebration Gala that took place on Sunday, November 2nd. [Disclaimer: we are not directly involved with PHAME, our friend and colleague Kelly Russell is their auctioneer and shared the video with us].

PHAME executive director Stephen Marc Beaudoin took the stage to thank the sponsors, and then this happened…

The humor, creativity, and commitment of Stephen’s piece takes that moment and makes it PHAME’s moment. He brings the whole crowd along with him and lifts the entire event upward in the process. It is a beautiful moment and immediately changes the tenor of the event.

Stephen is obviously a gifted and practiced singer, you can tell within the first few notes that the man has training and can sing. He is an honors alumni of the New England Conservatory of Music with a degree in vocal performance, and he spent years working as a professional singer and actor in musical theatre and opera in Kansas City and Boston. All of this, before he decided to transition to executive arts management.

The key takeaway is that you have to look beyond the “everyday” talents of your team, and utilize whatever experience people have that can make a difference for your event. The vast majority of people working on any gala, be they staff, volunteers or board members, have a wealth of life experience beyond soliciting sponsorships or auction lots.

Moments like Stephen’s song obviously don’t just happen, they take months of planning. The theme for the 2014 PHAME gala was "30 years of Hollywood," which coincided with PHAME's 30th anniversary as an organization. “We knew early in planning the program,” said Stephen, “that we wanted it to riff on modern Hollywood awards shows, you know - echoes of Ellen Degeneres and Neil Patrick Harris. So we decided we needed a parody song.”

Given his background as a singer and a writer, Stephen took on the task with stunning results. What you can see and hear on the video is only the beginning of the goodwill Stephen’s performance has generated. “Most of our sponsors have raved and raved about the song and shared it with their fans on social media and by email,” said Stephen. Possibly best of all, “They're already asking if their sponsorship for the 2015 event will guarantee a spot in the 2015 sponsor song. So I suppose we have a new recurring element for the PHAME Sparkle! gala!”

This doesn’t mean that every gala should run out and produce a parody song to thank their sponsors for their next event. But it does show how creativity and commitment can create not just a moment at your gala but a movement. A poem or a re-write of Green Eggs and Ham would be more memorable than many of the “laundry lists” of sponsors I see at events. They key is to leverage the hidden talents of those closest to you in creative ways that show your sponsors just how much you truly do appreciate them.

Save the date for our upcoming workshop: Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful

Stellar Fundraising Auctions presents, in conjunction with Greater Giving, Beth Sandefur Events and Sound Expressions, Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful.   Auction 101 is interactive workshop is designed to give your auction team useful tools to help with your next fundraising event.

The workshop will take place from 9am – 3pm on Wednesday, January 28th, 2015 at the David Brower Center in Berkeley.  Online registration will be available through Greater Giving soon.

Whether your event is in two weeks or twenty, this highly interactive workshop will provide you with proven strategies that will help you maximize the philanthropic potential of your crowd.

Session topics will include:
Fine tuning your fund-a-need pitch
Finding hidden lessons in your auction data
Brainstorming ways to enhance your auction lots
Messaging: sell the cause, not the party
Streamlining check-in and check-out
Making your auction sound great

We will also offer a hands-on session for organizations looking for information about the most buzzed about trend in events: going mobile. This workshop session will include an overview of Greater Giving’s Mobile Bidding and Storefront functions. We’ll discuss how mobile bidding impacts your event and how you can incorporate raffle and other multi-item sales into your event using Storefront.

The day will conclude with expert roundtables: we'll break into groups by organization type, and then each of our experts will rotate through each group, focusing on the topics that matter to you most. This is the chance for you to ask questions and get answers that are relevant to the needs of your specific event with experts in the field of fundraising auction planning, implementation and performance.

Save the date for Wednesday, January 28th, 2015, and stay tuned for more information on registration.

Bell a ringer for Stellar Fundraising Auctions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  November 5, 2014

Jacquelyn Wells
Stellar Fundraising Auctions
(415) 682-4224
Jacquelyn@stellarsf.com

 Bell a Ringer for Stellar Fundraising Auctions

Devon Bell Joins Roster of Stellar Auctioneers

 San Francisco, CA: Today Stellar Fundraising Auctions, Inc. (http://stellarsf.com), a fundraising auction firm specializing in planning and implementing fundraising auctions, announced the addition of fundraising auctioneer Devon Bell to the Stellar roster. Mr. Bell has worked with Stellar as a spotter on a number of events over the years and now becomes the third auctioneer at the firm. His presence will help meet the rising demand for Stellar auctioneers in the Bay Area and beyond.

 “We’re thrilled to have Devon on board,” said Stellar CFO and co-founder, Ed Gold. “He’s a brilliant consultant and an excellent performer, and he is wholeheartedly committed to helping make the world a better place one bid at a time. And besides,” added Gold, “we’re tired of turning work down because we’re booked.”

 Devon is excited to be joining the Stellar team. “I’ve spent years working auctions with Greg and Ed and am excited to learn this craft from two experts in the field,” he said. “They are renowned for their performances onstage, but their knowledge of consulting is staggering. I’m honored to join such luminaries.”

 Devon has already conducted two fundraising auctions under the Stellar banner, exceeding expectations in both cases. He already has a bevy of events booked for spring of 2015, and events looking to make the leap to hiring a fundraising auctioneer should act quickly to secure the newest Stellar auctioneer in San Francisco.  

 About Stellar Fundraising Auctions: Stellar Fundraising Auctions is a San Francisco-based fundraising auction firm. Stellar helps plan and implement over 100 fundraising auctions a year, raising tens of millions of dollars annually for non-profit organizations all over the United States, including schools, arts organizations, service organizations, and foundations.

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Identify the celebrity in your crowd

The best things to sell in a fundraising auction aren’t things at all, but experiences. Unique, one-of-a-kind packages that offer “insider’s access” always outsell any item that has a clear-cut retail value. And the truly most desirable type of access we can sell is access to a relationship.

Access to celebrity always sells well in a fundraising auction. But the definition of celebrity varies from event to event. Sure, it would be nice if everyone could get access to A-list Hollywood movie stars, but the truth is you probably don’t need it.

There are people in your community or event who have their own celebrity, who can be tapped to help make your auction more successful. You simply need to identify them, and find a way that they can help out.

For years I conducted both of the fundraising auctions for the National Pain Foundation. We did one event in San Francisco and one event in Philadelphia each year. At each auction every year the highest selling auction lot was dinner with Dr. Elliott Krames and his wife at their San Francisco home. The package consisted of a 3-course meal prepared by Mrs. Krames, paired with wines from Dr. Krames’ extensive cellar, all served in their lovely Victorian home.

And at this point you are thinking, “Who the heck is Dr. Elliott Krames?” along with everyone else who’s ever heard this story. Dr. Krames was the founder of the National Pain Foundation. At those events he was a celebrity. Outside of those events, he’s “just some doctor from San Francisco.” But in that room, he’s a best-seller.

Why is Greg onstage with a pirate and a woman with a crab for a crown? And why is the crowd bidding like mad on their auction lot? Chuck Huggins, CEO of Sees Candy for 54 years, was always a celebrity to those who knew him.

We see examples of this crowd-specific type of celebrity at a variety of events, crossing all types of organizations. At schools there is almost always the “principal for a day” auction lot, but we also see lots of buy-in parties leveraging the popularity of a few key parents. Other organizations utilize the celebrity of their leaders, be they the executive director or a well-known board member. Some people simply have a popular or well-liked home, that is its own sort of celebrity.

The key is to take a step back and look over your organization’s closest supporters with an objective eye. Ask yourself, “who could I sell in my auction?” (in the most loving of ways, of course). I guarantee that you have an extremely potential-filled auction lot within a degree of separation. All you have to do is identify the celebrity in your crowd and ask.

Use a chair to make your fund-a-need more successful

The fund-a-need is the single most important element of the majority of fundraising auctions we conduct. The fund-a-need usually makes as much as or more than the combined total of the rest of the auction lots. In many cases, the fund-a-need generates three to five times more than the rest of the auction as a whole.

Statistically speaking, more people participate in the fund-a-need than the rest of your auction combined.

An item this integral to the success of your event and your organization deserves its own committee chair.

Typically, the fund-a-need falls within the purview of the live auction chairs. However, these are the people who have been tasked with soliciting auction lots, creating packages out of them, writing up their descriptions and then marketing them. They have a lot on their plate, and often they simply want to know what the staff has decided to do the fund-a-need for, and where to put it in the auction.

Make one person the chair of the fund-a-need, and enable them to focus on all of the small details that will help make the appeal more successful. The fund-a-need chair can:

• Work directly with staff to determine and define the fund-a-need;
• Identify ways to quantify the need so that it maps to every pledging level;
• Write the description for the catalog;
• Coordinate the testimonial for the night-of the event, including either the creation of a video or working to identify appropriate speakers; and
• Identify and solicit lead donors for each level of the fund-a-need.

With or without a fund-a-need chair, each of these steps is integral to the ongoing success of your fund-a-need. Putting one person in charge of all of them ensures consistency across the myriad tasks' timeline to help make it successful. Creating a fund-a-need chair also elevates the importance of the fund-a-need among those planning your event and auction.

A successful fund-a-need takes work, it seldom “just happens.” Getting other committee members to recognize that will change the perspective of the fund-a-need within your community, all of which will help make it more successful

It is the single biggest moment of your event, work to make it so.

The scientific case for hiring a professional fundraising auctioneer

One of the challenges of being a fundraising auctioneer is the number of amateurs who think they could do my job – and number of seemingly otherwise intelligent event chairs willing to believe them. I don’t know what it is about being an auctioneer that makes so many people think they could simply jump onstage and do it. Maybe it’s the fact that we all learn how to say numbers in sequence in elementary school.

When the stage has been set for success, don't leave it up to an amateur to maximize the potential of your crowd.

We are professionals who have focused on fundraising auctions as a craft so that we can hone and perfect that craft. I’ve long argued that anyone can look brilliant when an auction is going swimmingly well, but it is a true professional who can handle an onstage challenge with aplomb. And now I have scientific proof to back me up.

A fundraising auction is a high-intensity affair, a continual stream of in-the-moment decisions being made that range from the mundane to the extraordinary, and sometimes extreme. Most of the obvious decisions seem easy enough to make, especially to the untrained eye. But when an extraordinary situation arises, the person onstage has microseconds to respond before the crowd starts forming an opinion – good or bad. And it is when the time pressure is greatest that the amateur is most likely to mess things up.

Law and Finance expert Frank Partnoy, in his book Wait: The Art and Science of Delay, uses chess as the example of how novices cannot cope with time-sensitive pressure. Most of us novice chess players can muddle through a game of chess well enough to present ourselves as competent. But add a timed element, such as in blitz chess where you only have 30 seconds per move, and the difference between novice and expert becomes profound.

“Expert chess players cope well with this kind of intense time pressure,” writes Partnoy. “When grand masters play blitz chess, the quality of their moves hardly deteriorates at all. They instinctively pick the best move, right away. But when novices play blitz chess, it is a disaster. Either they tap their conscious system and use up too much time thinking about the next move, or they make quick, bad moves. Either way, their systems overload and they lose.”

In the real world and on the chess board, Portnoy argues, “The message is clear: if you only have a few seconds to make a decision, you had better be an expert.”

Why then, with tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line, would anyone risk giving the reigns of their auction to an amateur who is, statistically speaking, prone to messing it up when it matters most? The amount of money one “saves” in such a situation is outweighed by the performance a professional will bring to your stage.

And this isn’t just me saying this, it’s science.

Marketing not charity

When you start on the solicitation trail for silent and live auction items, you can use the incentive of your attendees demographics to help you get a "yes" by having the person you're asking  take off their charity hat and put on their marketing hat!  Most of the businesses that you approach have gone through their "charity' budget long before you got there, but there's always marketing funds in reserve throughout the year.  Have a breakdown of your demographics handy and emphasize that the couple of hundred people who attend your event consist of those who are already customers and those who may be, after seeing your support for their organization.  I also suggest that "who" asks will certainly make the difference in how the ask is received.  If one of your solicitation team members has a personal or customer based relationship with a prospective donor they should be the one to ask.

It's also important that you try and target the ask by knowing what you actually would like from the donor, so that you don't get into the "what do you want"...."what do you got"  conversation. If you need the donor to contribute something that's part of a great auction lot, let them know that.  A well thought out ask shows a lot more respect for the donors time and resources than "gimme something"