Are event auctions more trouble and work than they are worth? And is silent better than live? Online better than silent?

Each style of auction has its pluses and minuses. Guests do enjoy them. Sponsors love that they can place their product before their targeted sales market. But the soliciting of the items, collecting them, cataloging them, setting them up and then distributing them is labour intensive.

Silent auctions allow guests to leisurely explore what is being offered. The layout has them moving around the room, mixing and mingling and serves as an icebreaker. There is no high-pressure sale going on and items – if carefully selected with your guest demographics in mind – usually do well.

Live auctions can be challenging, especially if your MC meets dead silence, which can happen from time to time, or if the item is just not moving. This can be potentially embarrassing for the company or person that donated the item. If you are holding a live auction, it is of paramount importance to have someone who can pull it off with finesse. At one fundraising event the host was so offensive that everyone in the room was left feeling uncomfortable. The nonprofit organization executives were on stage in minutes, but major damage had been done to the fundraising committee’s business acumen, given that they allowed someone so obnoxious to represent them on stage.

Online auctions can be effective, but you need to have items listed that will attract people to your website and create a strong desire to bid. With a silent and live auction you have a captive audience. However, with an online auction you have no way of focusing someone’s attention on your website and getting them to return again and again unless you devise a means to make it absolutely compelling.

And finally, when soliciting items for your auction, don’t forget to think in business terms and find out what your supplier/sponsor would like to promote. They could surprise you with something better and bigger than you expected if you can give them the reasons why it makes good business sense (e.g. type of exposure they will be receiving, product placement, targeted sales audience, mention in promotional material etc.)

Judy Allen is the author several bestselling books about event planning: Event Planning, The Business of Event Planning, Event Planning Ethics and Etiquette, Marketing Your Event Planning Business, and Time Management for Event Planners. For paid professional event planning consulting – event design, site selection critique, venue and supplier contract review, budget analysis, strategic planning, event logistical and timing requirements, and on-site orchestration – contact Judy directly at Judy Allen Productions.