How
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A BiddingForGood Webinar
Presented by:Perry Allison, VP Marketing
How to Avoid Auction
Nightmares
Who is BiddingForGood?
The leader in fundraising auctions for organizations of every size and shape.
• Over 19,000 auctions run
• Raised over $185 million and counting…
• 360,000 + community of cause-minded shoppers
• $15 million invested in our bidding platform
• Founded in 2003
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The Anytime, Anywhere Auction
A fundraising auction that allows bidders to bid on any device from anywhere.
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• Online• At school events• At galas • At golf tournaments• In stadiums
It’s all about…
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Let’s start with some inspiration…“Organize, don't agonize.” ― Nancy Pelosi
“By failing to prepare,
you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin
“He who is best prepared can best serve his moment of inspiration.” ― Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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What we’ve learned
Almost all auction nightmares
are avoidable
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#1 Herding Cats
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• Missed meetings • Chaos• Missed deadlines• Poor communication• No one is setting priorities
Organizing your volunteers is a lot like managing a family
• Checklists
• Collaboration tools• Volunteer log in
• Reporting
• Item Donation Status
• Tickets sold
• $$ raised to date
• Cash Donations
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#2 Your auction chair deserts you
• Have a succession plan
• Have a repository for all of your work and data.
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#3 Acts of God
• An online auction is the best insurance policy of all
• Other strategies:• Extend your auction• Run a second auction to
auction off unsold items
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#4 No one shows up at the party
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It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to…
• Send emails to your entire list• Sell tickets on your auction
homepage
Promote, Promote, Promote
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• Share your auction URL on your social media sites• Pin items to pinterest• Run adds on local media
#5 Great party, but no one is bidding
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Where are the bidders?
• Have music blasting all night long• Have a casino competing with your auction• Isolate the bidding area from the party• Serve too much alcohol before the bidding
begins….
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Don’t:
Where are the bidders?
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Do:• Make sure you can make auction announcements • Encourage volunteers to help bidders • Sell tickets online so people arrive ready to bid• Put bidding station near the items • Use the leaderboard to keep
bidders engaged
#6 Lots of bidders, but no bids
There is an art to pricing your auction items:
• Set your opening bids • Recommendation - set at
1/3 value of the item• You know your community
best and what prices will fly
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#7 A little tipsy, and very unhappy
Managing unruly folks is a bit of an art:
• Assign the right people for the job
• Defer any issues to the next day if possible
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What are your nightmares?
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Let us try and help with ideas and solutions