Auctions - What Works
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FEB 2012: This summer I'll be updating my Auction and Silent Auction pages to reflect these findings; but I couldn't wait to share with you these interesting results.
AUCTIONS:
WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T
In addition to PTO work, I also help a local nonprofit agency organize their annual fundraising auction. I've been working with them for the past 3 years and each year we've tried some minor changes to see what works best in our community.
Know Yor Audience: As you plan an auction, the most important thing to take into consideration is your audience. Many demographics call for a very formal affair with ticket prices in the hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Ours didn't happened to be one of them.
Our auction took place in a middle to upper-middle class community in the suburbs of Boston where the average household income ranges from $70,000 to $120,000 and each bid was under $1,000. This annual auction typically hosts 180-200 guests and raises between $30K-$40K. This is what did and didn't work well for our audience...
YEAR 1
In Year 1, the auction took place in the ballroom of a large hotel in town. We were able to use two very large rooms separated by a sliding wall. When the silent auction ended, we opened the wall to allow the guests to enter the dinner area and then closed it to break down the silent auction in private. This worked well because it allowed plenty of space for guests to move around and view the items.
The silent auction contained about 120-150 items at all price levels. It also contained everything from $25 gift certificates, sports equipment, and themed baskets to small furniture pieces, jewelry, and knick-knack collectors items.
Dinner didn't begin until 8:00pm. There were several complaints about the food being cold and there not being enough staff to serve all guests at the same time.
The Live auction took place throughout the dinner courses. It contained over 45 items and because it lasted late into the evening, guests began leaving before the Live auction ended.
Year 1 Summary:
- Venue: Large hotel ballroom
- Ticket Price: $40pp
- Attire: Semi-formal, business casual
- Dinner: Sit-down meal; Several complaints about the food quality
- Live Auction: Over 45 items; Lasted almost 1.5-2 hours, until almost 10pm
- Silent Auction: 120-150 items at all price levels; Contained several knick-knack collector's items, small furniture, and artwork.
YEAR 2
We evaluated the overall results from Year 1 and decided we needed to make some changes in Year 2 so that we didn't lose our audience. So in Year 2, we went with a smaller venue at a local country club where the locals knew they would always get a great meal.
We reduced the Live auction items to about 30 which kept that portion of the event to an hour. This worked much better, but we did make three major mistakes that evening.
First, the venue was far too small for our 200 guests. Tables were crowded together which meant that guests could not move around easily through the hall in order to socialize and continuously view the silent auction tables and raffle baskets. This resulted in guests staying seated at their tables for the majority of the evening – exactly what we didn't want them to do during a silent auction!
Our second mistake had to do with the location of the silent auction. It was in separate room that was only connected to the dining hall by a small doorway, making it inconvenient for guests to wander in and out.
If guests can't easily get to the silent auction tables, they will not bother to get out of their seat and bid up in order to win the item.
Our third mistake had to do with the items offered in the silent auction. Since space was limited, we set out fewer, larger, higher-priced silent auction items of quality rather than quantity. The average value of each item was about $300. As a result, several guests left that evening without a silent auction purchase primarily because we didn't offer enough of them and likely because the items did not fall within everyone's price point.
Year 2 Summary:
- Venue: Beautiful, local country club on a golf course, but much too small for the number of guests; Tables were crowded together. Guests could not easily move throughout the room to socialize or view auction & raffle items.
- Ticket Price: $40pp
- Attire: Semi-formal, business casual
- Dinner: Sit-down meal; Quality of food was very good
- Live Auction: 30 items; Lasted about 1 hour
- Silent Auction: About 50-70 large, higher-priced items; Average item value was $300. Several guests left without a purchase.
YEAR 3
Taking Years 1 and 2 into consideration, we made adjustments again for Year 3. We moved the venue back to a large banquet hall located in a neighboring town.
Instead of a semi-formal event, we hosted a casual, baseball-themed event called “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”. Everything from the promotions and decorations to the food and auction items related to our local, loved baseball team, the Boston Red Sox.
We opted for a buffet rather than a sit-down dinner as we had done in previous years. Most auctioneers will tell you this is a no-no, but we made sure we set out enough 10-person tables for everyone to be seated during the live auction.
The silent auction was set up on several tables along the perimeter of the dining room. The buffet was set up along the same walls and hors d'oeuvres were stationed throughout the room, so the guests had to pass by the silent auction tables several times throughout the evening. Guests were continuously walking around until it was time for the live auction when they sat. The flow worked perfectly.
The food was that which you'd find at Fenway Park (Fenway Franks, hamburger sliders, sausage sandwiches, salads, peanuts, popcorn, ice cream, etc.). Guests wore their baseball shirts and the DJ played the music you'd hear during a ballgame. We even included a “Heads or Tails” raffle game as our 7th Inning Stretch!
The auction tickets, catalog, advertisements, and other promotions all displayed a baseball theme. We decorated the hall with banners and signs you'd find at Fenway Park. We even displayed the highly recognized Citgo sign!
In Years 1 and 2 we sold ads to local business which where displayed in the auction book. In Year 3 we focussed a little more on this aspect and came up with a more aggressive ad pricing program. We offered combinations of ads plus tickets to the auction so that it only made sense for a business to advertise. This effort nearly doubled our ad sales.
Each year we obtain at least 1 major event sponsor and a few smaller (but still sizable) sponsors. One additional thing we did this year, was to create large 25"x 30" framed signs that were displayed throughout the function hall. These signs served two main purposes:
- To recognize and thank our sponsors
- To identify the 3 separate Silent Auction and the Live Auction sections and clearly inform guests as to what time each section would close; or in the case of the Live Auction, what time it would begin.
Year 3 Summary:
- Venue: Large banquet hall in neighboring town
- Ticket Price: $25pp
- Attire: Casual, sports-themed event
- Dinner: Buffet; Food you'd find at a ballpark; Food stationed throughout the room; Guests enjoyed the food.
- Live Auction: 30 items; Lasted 1 hour
- Silent Auction: 120+ items at all price levels; No furniture, pottery, or glassware as in Year 1
THE FINDINGS
- Host the event at the largest venue you can afford to allow plenty of room for guests to move around and plenty of space to spread out the aution items for viewing.
- Tickets were easy to sell at the lower price point and guests enjoyed the casual, themed event.
- A delicious, quality, food is critical since guests are basically paying for a ticket in exchange for dinner.
- Limit the Live auction portion of the night to 1 hour and do not allow it to run too late into the evening.
- Have enough quality silent auction items at all price points so that every guest is able to leave with a purchase.
- Of course, having a hardworking committee of volunteers that helps with all of the details including obtaining quality auction items, goes without saying!
Need help with the themed promotional material for your auction or event? This is something I love to do and am happy to help. Send me an email.
Scroll down to see additional images. I'm not the greatest photograher, but you'll get the idea. All images are samples only. The company names and logos have been changed and are intended to be ficticious.
AUCTION & RAFFLE TICKETS: Designed to look like the ticket to a baseball game.
AUCTION CATALOG COVER: Designed to look like the ticket to a baseball game.
CITGO SIGN: A 5' x 7' plexiglass sign resembling the famous Cigo sign that hangs near Fenway Park.
FENWAY PARK BANNERS: 9' X 2' banners resembling those that hang outside Fenway Park.
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