You and your organization are planning a fundraising event. It has been suggested that you look into a benefit auction. This is a great way to raise funds, without having to have multiple "fundraisers' per year. Although there is nothing wrong with other types of fundraisers.
As you come to your first committee meeting to begin planning an benefit / charity auction, you will be presented with a very common question. Who will we get to be the auctioneer for the event? There will be someone that will say something like, "I know a guy/gal that is really good in front of a crowd, that MIGHT be able to do it." or someone will say, "Why do we need to pay someone to be the auctioneer?" These are just some of the questions that will or may be asked when the initial planning is started.
Let me address these two as I feel they are the most asked questions. But before I do that, let me say this, I am not condoning any organization that doesn't use a professional auctioneer. Many organizations choose not to for the simple fact, that they do not know the difference. My goal is to provide information that will assist an auction committee to be able to have a profitable and memorable event.
Suppose that someone has said they know someone who is good in front of a crowd and MIGHT be able to do it for us, or the flip-side of that is we need to get a celebrity to do it. Contrary to the belief of some, there is much more to what the auctioneer brings than just showing up and selling the day of the event. A professional benefit auctioneer can help with many various things that will help you and your committee focus on other aspects of the event. Most professional benefit auctioneers are willing to add valuable input and ideas that will help progress your evening in a favorable way. After all the object of the evening is not only to raise funds for your organization that evening but rather to create an event that the guests will remember and will want to return the following year.
Another drawback of having a friend or a celebrity do the calling is the pressure of success that is immediately put on them. If the event doesn't quite go as well as planned, or the crowd is not engaged in the bidding of items, the friend or celebrity may take it as an insult. A professional benefit auctioneer not only is trained in working the crowd, just as importantly he/she is involved in working WITH the crowd. The Auctioneer knows when more time needs to be spent on a particular item based on the value, the interest showed, and if necessary how to peak a little more interest to increase the bidding. This creates an atmosphere that is generally enjoyable for everyone.
The second question that is asked is "Why should we pay someone to do this for us?" This is a subject that many organizations actually miss the importance of. Many organizations think that by paying a professional benefit auctioneer that the profit from the event will be lessened. The truth of the matter is that a professional auctioneer should not only be able to make his fee but should also be able to bring in more money than a non professional. This goes back to the previous comments of the training and understanding the whole picture of the auction process. Along with that, many organizations will not hesitate to pay for other aspects of the evening so that they don't have to worry about it, the caterers, the band or the DJ, the venue, etc. The auctioneer is another service being provided that by using a professional may reduce the amount of stress to you and your event committee.
As you can see, a professional benefit auctioneer can bring many different aspects to an event. So can you really afford to not use one at yours.
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