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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.

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Airplane Advertising – A Unique and Effective Form of Advertising

Advertisement is an important aspect of marketing. It plays an important role in attracting consumers. Marketers are thinking innovative and creative techniques to grasp the attention of the consumers. There is a competition going on between the organizations to win a large share of market and consumer. Recently, a new kind of advertising has been observed that is airplane advertising. It is considered to be the most effective advertising type in the modern era.

When advertising is concerned, the task is not only to create the seducing and memorable message, but to give a long-lasting impact on consumers. Today, it’s the utmost desire of any organization to create strong influence that will attract the people to the respect the organization, service or product against all other competitors. The aim of successful advertising is to make customer believe that it is impossible to live without the marketed product. Marketers persuade this in a tactical way so that customers feel incomplete without the product and purchase the product instantaneously. Keeping this strategy in mind, companies always need to be formulating creative and new methods to get its product and message in the market.

Benefits:
One should consider and formulate the benefits of advertising techniques for carrying out their latest campaign. Currently, large organizations have switched over to airplane advertising due to its immense benefits. This kind of advertising helps to approach large spectators in the chosen area which is expected to be highly populated. To carry out the advertising, a plane is hired to do the required job. The plane is then used to display the banner over the chosen area. This type of advertising can grasp the attention of a large number of people in one flight. Sometimes, these highly populated areas consist of thousands of people. Thus it is effective for mass audience and market.

The second important benefit is that in this method only one company’s advertisement is in the air. It is to be realized that only one advertisement in air means that all the people’s eyes and concentration will be on that one company’s product without any other competitor’s product in sight. This advertising may appear to be quite expensive but has long-lasting impact on a large number of consumers. Once the advertisement banner is made, the company has to pay for the flights.

The two kinds of Airplane Advertisement:
For the choice of marketer, a large number of different kinds of styles are available for airplane advertisement. The recognized and common form of advertisement is the text banner. Generally, it is a single layered banner comprising only numbers and letters in black. It is an excellent method to advertise about a sale or discounted offer at a store, to publicize a unique event or simply to display a company’s blog, email or website address.

The second technique is in the shape of usual advertisement but in a unique way. It is called as billboard advertisement. Usually it is in the form and size of a typical and common billboard encountered on the roads. This bill board will not be installed on the highway or road side but will be soaring in the sky. It can easily catch the attention of any person within that locality. It can be utilized in any way like simply displaying the logo of a company. This later suggestion is fruitful for those companies who have an established brand and have gained immense popularity among the consumers. There is a surety in this type of advertisement that can approach target audience in an original and unique way.

Three Things to Consider When Looking For a Legitimate Home Based Business

Countless scores of individuals are scouring the internet in search of a legitimate home based business. The current economic crisis has left many families dangling on the brink of financial ruin. Job losses are still mounting as the economy struggles to recover. One way that some people are finding financial relief and even financial freedom in some cases is through starting their own home based business. There are however things to be wary of and mindful of if you are considering a legitimate home based business.First let’s examine what things you should be wary of.1) If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Simply type “home based business” into your favorite search engine online and you will soon discover hundreds of thousands and well over a million links to what we’ll call the “promised land.” So plentiful are the offers that it will make someone who is new to the process want to give up before even trying. Keep in mind that the internet in many respects is not unlike any seedy alleyway with every scammer and slickster standing by awaiting your arrival. One good place to begin your search for a legitimate home based business is in the many internet forums. Forums like, Conquer your Niche, and Better Networker are full of posts and valuable content from people who have been in the their particular niche for some time. Often you will find information on which companies and opportunities to avoid.2) The second thing to consider is the area of “work” and how much you are going to have to do. Well, here the old saying “you get out what you put in”, truly does apply. Statistics show that nearly 97% of all home based businesses fail. When you dig deeper into the reasons why you will find that most simply did not put in the required amount of effort into making their business a success. Many of the failures are due to those who fell for the pie in the sky opportunities. Simply put, this is where the key legitimate home based business comes into play. If your home based business is not legitimate there is no way you will succeed. There is no magic potion or magic wand to wave over your business and success will come pouring out. You will have to develop successful strategies in order for your business to succeed.3) The last thing to consider is to find a business that you will enjoy doing. It makes absolutely no sense starting a home based business of walking dogs if you do not like dogs. On the other hand if you enjoy meeting new people and establishing relationships then you may find network marketing to be a rewarding endeavor. The same strategy spoken of in the previous example applies, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. There are many legitimate network marketing companies available. The forums mentioned previously are also a good resource to find the right one for you.All said, having your own legitimate home based business can be a rewarding undertaking. Incorporate these keys into your search process and you will do yourself well.

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