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Auction Listings Are Vital to the Success of Fundraising Auctions

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.

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Home Sweet Home Based Business, or Not?

Is starting a home based business right for you?

Are you right for starting a home business?

Since you are reading this, I would be willing to bet you want to start your own home based business, or you have tried to start one a time or two. Maybe it didn’t work out and you would like to try again. Maybe it was a modest success, but you wonder why your home business is not more successful.

It is no secret that I believe at least half of all adults, and some teenagers, should start their own home based business. Even if they have a good job. Everyone knows, especially lately, that a good job can be gone in an instant. So, start your home business in your spare time. Build it into a successful sideline as insurance against loss of that good job. Or, build it into a business that could provide you with as much income as you make at your job, or more. Wouldn’t you like to tell your boss someday “Goodbye, I’m quitting this job to concentrate on my home business. I make more with my business than what you pay me”?

But, I’m getting off track. To be honest, a home business is not right for everyone. And, not everyone is right for a home based business.

A home business, or any business for that matter, takes some degree of skill and knowledge, hard work, persistence, dedication, and focus. And a home business is different in many ways compared to a corporate job or a traditional retail or manufacturing business.

Is a home based business right for you?

Almost every home business has tons of distractions; kids, pets, home maintenance, the “honey do” list. Distractions make it hard to focus. Will these distractions make it so hard for you to focus that you can’t get done what needs to get done in your business?

Running a business from your home makes it hard to separate personal time from business time. The two will overlap a lot and you will either find your personal time eating into your business time, or your business time will take over and you will have little if any personal time for yourself or your family.

Many home businesses will result in loss of face-to-face social interaction with people. Nice chats with coworkers over cubicle walls, or at the water cooler, or over shared lunch breaks are replaced with emails, tweets, or phone calls.

If your home or apartment is fairly small, you may not have the space to set up a separate “office” where you can do your “work”. Your kitchen table might become your “office”.

Most home business entrepreneurs have no regular paycheck. Having a uncertain and irregular income creates its own problems and may require a much better job of budgeting, saving money during the good times, and strict control of expenses.

During the initial year or two of your home business efforts you may not have total family support. If that is the case for you, it may be difficult to keep going until you are as successful as you would like to be.

Are you right for a home based business?

Are you self-directed? – Are you willing and able to get things done with no boss telling you what to do?

Are you able to live with no structured job description? – Can you function and be comfortable without a specific job title or written outline of what you are supposed to do?

Are you willing and able to learn about, and learn how to do, a wide variety of tasks and functions? – Can you wear many hats doing whatever is required to start and build your business as the chief cook and bottle washer (at least initially)?

Are you able to identify exactly what you want in your business and your life? – Can you clearly identify what you want to do, have, or be, and why? Can you persist until you have that? Knowing what you really want, and why you want it, can give you the direction and motivation you need to succeed. And, persistence is one of the most important characteristics you could have for success in home business, or in any effort.

Are you able to “sell” ideas and products to people? – I don’t mean “Can you be a hypey sales type that tries to manipulate people into buying something?” Many people hate to “sell” because they think that is what it means to sell. But, it has been said that “nothing happens until something gets sold”. You will need to sell in order to be successful. When I say “Can you sell?”, I mean, can you identify with people and the problems they have? Can you communicate with people in such a way that they believe you understand their problems? Can you tell them about how their problem could be solved, and especially how your product is the best way to solve their problem? Can you clearly state all the benefits to them of using your product to solve their problem? Can you create and communicate an offer to your prospects that is so good they would think it is too good to pass up? Can you find the people who have the problem your product can solve and present your offer to them? Can you ask for the order and deliver the product you have promised to those who order? And, finally, can you follow up with your customers to make sure they are satisfied and to offer them additional products and build your relationship with them?

Are you able to function without a lot of face to face social interaction with others? – Are you comfortable with having your interactions with people being limited to emails, Twitter, Facebook, or maybe phone conversations? Or, do you NEED personal conversations over the cubicle wall, at the water cooler, or during shared lunch breaks?

Do you have a success “can do” attitude, or do you have a lot of excuses for why something can’t be done?

Are you able to plan your business, marketing, and product creation, and then execute the plan? – Are you good at planning, and more importantly, are you good at taking action to make your plan happen?

Are you able to ask others for help when you need it? – Nobody can be an expert at everything. Are you humble enough to realize you will need help with something? Are you willing to find and ask an expert for assistance?

Are you able to make decisions quickly, or do you procrastinate? – Are you willing to move forward, even if you might fail? Or, does everything have to be perfect, with no chance of failure, before you will act?

OK. I think you get the picture. A home based business may be right for you. And, you may be right for a home based business. Be honest with yourself when you evaluate both possibilities.

If you think you can weather the storm of a home business environment, and if you think you have the drive and personal characteristics to be successful in a home business, GO FOR IT!

When your home based business becomes successful, the personal and financial freedom you will have, and the pure joy of doing something you love, will be worth all the time and effort.

You know I think a home based business selling information is perfect for most people. But, if you don’t agree, pick one you can believe in and make it happen.

Using Free Advertising Online

There is an old quote that says, “The best things in life are free”. While the original intention of the quote was probably a loftier one, it will appeal greatly to all those who want to advertise online.

The number of sites for online advertising is as vast as the internet itself but every advertiser wants the same thing for his ads; visibility. For this purpose the advertiser has to decide on the type of advertisement and also the website, which will be ultimately responsible for promotion his advertisement receives.

Online advertisements are of different types and the advertiser has to choose the one best suited for his product and the target.

The most commonly identifiable one is the Search Engine Results Page. The list of web pages displayed in response to a search query will have a link above the Organic list (pages appearing according to relevance of the search) which looks like the list except for font and background color for differentiation. Alternatively the advertisement may be placed to the right of the page like a classified one.

Another equally identifiable and more visually pleasing form is the Banner Advertisement. They are placed on webpages in the form of pictures, animation and videos with or without sound. Clicking on the banner takes one to the website advertised.

Interactive Media responds to user action and presents content in various forms. A common type is virtual reality.

Social Network Advertising is effective when a certain group is to be targeted. With the growing popularity of various social networking websites advertisements can be placed on them directly or based on your friends. Groups or Pages that users can join is another innovative method.

Interstitial Advertising Webpages are advertisements that appear before or after the content the user wants to access. The advertiser should be careful using such a medium as the user is more likely to get frustrated if the content he is looking for is delayed by such advertisements.

Email Marketing is a very direct form of advertising online. Most users check their emails regularly so advertisers can reach them to introduce new products to existing and new customers as well as maintaining customer relationship. While response to such advertisements can be tracked easily, such mails may be rejected or filtered and must not violate spam laws.

Choosing websites for putting the free advertisement will ultimately determine the success of your advertisement. While it is true that most free advertising websites are actually ineffective the advertiser must follow the dictum ‘less is more’. Rather than advertising on all the websites one can find, in the hope of hitting the mark, the advertiser should carefully choose from a few top-listed and popular websites. There are several sites that continuously update list of websites for free advertising. Forums and blogs, many times attached to such sites, give an ample feedback from other online advertisers which can help any advertiser not only to avoid certain sites but also to find the websites best suited for their own purpose.

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