How’s your fundraising auction doing? Is it painful or fun? Is it profitable or only so-so?

Technology like BidPal can dramatically increase your profits at an auction.

Auctions can bring in tons of money. Especially if you try out some of the new technology that’s coming along for auctions.

Some of these “gadgets” can really, really ramp up the profitability of your auction.

I bet I know what you’re saying right now:

“We can’t afford this stuff. Every dollar we spend in expenses comes out of our bottom line.”

And here’s what I say back:

“NOT!”

Here’s the thing: Investing in technology for your auction is just that: an “investment.”

It means that you will make back the money you spend enhancing your event.

And you’ll make a significant return on your investment.

Museum board chair Joyce Fitzpatrick places a bid on her BidPal gizmo.

Some auctions that embrace the technology I’m discussing in this post have increased their NET REVENUE from the auction by 30-130%.

I’d say that would make the technology awfully affordable, wouldn’t you?

My next master class webinar next Tuesday May 15 will review the latest auction technology and give you guidelines on what to purchase that will help you meet your own goals.

You can attend the stand-alone webinar or subscribe as a Fundraising INSIDER to all my master class webinars. (just scroll down on the Fundraising INSIDER home page to register.)

Take the popular new technology that BidPal offers, for example.

I’ve had two experiences recently with BidPal and am pretty impressed with what I saw.

Here’s my take on this particular technology:

BidPal offers auction attendees a little hand-held gizmo (aka “device”) that contains a database of all the auction items you have to sell.

You can see a photo of my BidPal gizmo for last year’s auction at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

If you look closely you can see that it’s branded with the museum’s logo and also has my own name in the upper right hand corner. (pretty cool!)

Note the happy smile on my face when I finally figured out how to use my gizmo!

What’s so nice about these gizmos?

I like it because I can select my favorite items and track them on my personal gizmo, rather than having to hover around the bid sheet all night.

You can actually stalk your favorite items secretly.

You can enter a bid right on your personal gizmo.

If someone else bids on that item, then you get an alert – and encouragement to raise the bid.

It just makes the party-goer a lot happier.

What I like about this is that you can participate as a party-goer all night, wine, dine and dance with your friends, while still bidding on items.

AND it encourages LOTS more bidding.

Put your staff to work encouraging people, like Mary Blake at the Art Museum.

Benefit #1: You’ll get 3-4 times MORE bids on your silent auction items.

The folks from BidPal say that, on average, you’ll get 3-4 times MORE bids on your silent auction items if you use their gadget.

I can count that kind of money. Can you?

Benefit #2: You can promote items that don’t have a bid.

I attended the gala for Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Museum last Friday night, BidPal in hand.

Inside the museum, I rounded the corner in this lovely building and there, projected on the wall, was a LIST of all the items that did not yet have a bid.

It rotated there all night long, teasing guests to go check out these items.

Intrigued by two cool artsy light fixtures that didn’t yet have bids, I went right over to them and entered my bid.

Here's the general appeal for the NC Museum of Art projected up on a screen.

And I tracked them all night long. (I ended up getting outbid – oh well!)

Just think, how much more money could you raise if you had a way to IDENTIFY and PROMOTE the items without bids?

I can count that kind of money. Can you?

Benefit #3: You can raise tons more with a general appeal.

One more thing you’ll really like about these gizmos.

You can pull off an absolutely killer general “appeal” with these devices.

What’s an appeal?

The total started increasing quickly as everyone got into the game.

An appeal is when you ask everyone to make a general contribution.

It’s not for an auction item, it’s for the organization – or some special project for the organization.

If you are not doing an appeal at your auction, you are leaving tons of money on the table.

You see, many people come to an auction planning to spend some money.

Many people may not end up purchasing an item.

Suddenly everybody was making contributions to the General Appeal. The total started skyrocketing!

But they still may be willing to contribute.

I can count that kind of money. Can you?

I’ve given you the pros. Now let me give you a con.

For BidPal at least, the very first time I used it, I struggled a bit.

I didn’t have my reading glasses, darn it.

And it was hard to read in the low light.

And I had too many things to carry in my hands: my clutch purse, my Iphone (I was taking pictures), my glass of wine, and the BidPal gizmo.

It was a bit too much to keep up with!

The very first time I used it, it took some work to figure it out.

A year later, when I used the device last Friday at the Contemporary Art Museum, it seemed to be much much easier to use.

Maybe, like all technology, I just needed some time to learn how to use it.

BOTTOM LINE:

Adding technology to your auction can dramatically increase your profit.

But remember – not all technology is a wise investment!  Be careful, check references and plan carefully.

If you do, I bet you’ll raise TONS more for your wonderful cause!

"You are invited . . . "

How’s your auction doing?  Bet it could do better, for sure!

When it comes to auctions: you gotta love ‘em and work with them because they are here to stay.

And they can raise good, important, unrestricted money – IF you are smart and strategic with them.

Now, here’s a caveat: I’m not a wild fan of auctions to raise money.

They just take too much work compared to the net revenue they bring in.

(See my rant which was THE most popular blog post of 2011. And also see my love song to parties.)

Sherry Truhlar, of Red Apple Auctions, is a stellar auction expert. She’s going to share with my INSIDERS subscribers next Tuesday at 2pm ET How to Avoid the Top 5 Mistakes People Make with Auctions.

Auctioneer Sherry Truhlar really knows how to bring in the dough at an auction!

You can find out more about her session here.

With Sherry’s help, I’m offering these top 6 frequent auction mistakes and how to solve them.

Mistake 1.  Your Auction is not “Boomer Friendly.”

Boomers are typically the folks with the money.

Boomers have already educated their kids, they’re at the peak of their careers, and they are still going out at night to social and charity events.

So what do boomers want and need at an auction?

LARGE PRINT and good lighting!

Guess what – it’s hard for boomers to see the fine print.

Almost boomers all need reading glasses.

And when the light is low, small print is even MORE difficult to read.

What size print are you using on the product descriptions? If the light is now, then it’s impossible to read.

Mistake 2.  Offering products, instead of priceless experiences.

Listen, there are way too many “things” (mostly boring and uninteresting stuff) that end up on auction tables.

You know what sells at the highest dollar?

Make sure everyone can read the fine print in low light.

It’s experiences and items that don’t have a dollar value.

I was chatting this week with a parent at a charter school, and she said lunches with the teachers were going for the highest dollar at their auction.

What’s “priceless” to your supporters?

A trip to the locker room of your local pro hockey team might be priceless to a kid.

A colorful chair playfully painted by third graders?

A night on the town?

A helicopter ride?

A dinner party hosted a someone’s home?

These kinds of things can get the bidding going up and up and up.

Experiences are the things that bring in the big bucks.

Mistake 3.  Have a poor sound system.

OK, you’re not having a live auction. I get that.

But you STILL need a great sound system.

You need to be announcing to people when the auction closes. You need to tease and promote the silent auction all during your dinner.

You need to talk it up! And promote it.

Otherwise, your items that you worked so hard to procure – will just sit there with little or no attention given to them.

Otherwise, you’ll see items of significant value go down in flames, at a fraction of their worth.

Use the sound system to cheerfully promote the auction!

Mistake 4.  Your auction runs too late.

Experienced auctioneers tell me that the crowd starts thinning out by 9pm.

At 9:30 people are streaming out the door and at 10pm you may have an empty ballroom. (Of course this depends on the age of your crowd!).

Carefully control the timing of your event!

I attended an event recently that, for some reason, didn’t get going with the live auction until quite late.

At least half of the crowd had left. It was sad.

So many wonderful items were there without many people to bid on them. So much work went down the drain simply because of timing.

Mistake 5.  You worry more about decor than getting the right people in the door.

What’s the key to every auction’s success?

It’s having the right people in the seats. It’s having real money in the chairs.

I went to an auction recently for one of my favorite causes in Raleigh – an independent school that my daughters and I attended.

Spend extra time getting the right people in the seats.

Usually the folks at the auction are people who are affiliated with the school.

This year, someone invited a very, very wealthy couple who had no affiliation with the school, other than being friends with the person who invited them.

Well, when the biggest ticket item of the evening came up – a trip to the Caribbean, this particular man started bidding. And he kept right on bidding.

In fact, the bidding war became really exciting.  The crowd hushed and just watched.

And he ended up winning the trip – and spending by far, the most money of anyone that whole evening.

And he would not have been there unless a friend of the school had invited him to come sit at their table.

So definitely reach out and encourage special people with deep pockets to attend. Better yet – put them at your table.

One last point:

Studies show that people will spend more money if there is plenty of alcohol.

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that one!

BOTTOM LINE:

Have a good time with your fundraising event. Make it fun and make it productive.

Be sure you think through the little things that can make such a difference to your bottom line.

And join Sherry Truhlar and me on Tuesday with the INSIDERS when we discuss the major mistakes people make with silent auctions.

May is Party Month here at Fired-Up Fundraising.

This month we are tackling fundraising events.

Love 'em or hate 'em, special events are important to many organizations.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are a fact of life for most nonprofits.

In the month of May we are going to drill down into HOW to maximize your dollar return from special events.

I’m doing a series of webinars this month to help my INSIDERS subscribers wring the most $$ out of their events:

• 5/7 Getting High Dollar Sponsorships for Your Big Event, with Aimee Dunsmore.
• 5/15 How to Raise More Than Ever at Your Silent Auction, with auction expert Sherry Truhlar.
• 5/24 Using Technology to Make Your Silent Auction More Profitable with Sherry Truhlar.
• 5/31 How to Turn Your Fundraising Event into the Best Party in Town with yours truly.

You can join these webinars or find out more here.

Join Aimee's Webinar on Monday to Learn More About High Dollar Sponsorships

Today (and in Monday’s INSIDER webinar), Aimee Dunsmore, Development Director of the Utah Arts Festival, is sharing her secrets to getting HIGH DOLLAR sponsorships.

We all know that the big money in events comes from sponsorships.

So let’s nail our sponsorship strategy:

Event sponsorships are not really “philanthropy.”

They are also business-to-business marketing.

And your organization is one of the businesses!

You’ll do much better if you approach your event sponsorships like old-fashioned sales.

1. Know your prospective sponsors’ marketing objectives.

They have multiple objectives. What are their priorities?

What does your sponsor prospect really want?

They see sponsorships as marketing strategies, but also overall as business strategy.

They want to align their brand with a good cause. They want exposure in front of your audience.

They may want exclusivity.

Do your homework!

Just remember that their “business” with you is often tied directly to sales and marketing objectives.

2. Know what you have to offer a sponsor:

• Complimentary demographics?
• Complimentary psychographics?
• Impressions (eyeballs)?
• Tickets and access?
• Brand recognition and loyalty?
• Promotional rights?
• Access to your audience?
• Proprietary platform?

And, most importantly, what can you offer that NOBODY else can?

I like to ask the sponsor what’s most important to them. And then I work hard to provide it.

Here’s a chart from Aimee’s powerpoint presentation: what potential sponsor businesses care about:

Just look at all the things you can offer.

Just like any case for support, you’ll want to hit on as many positive angles as possible.

3. Know WHEN to pitch your event.

Aimee says that 45% of businesses make their sponsorship decisions in the last quarter.

Timing is everything.

What's your timing? Most businesses make sponsorship decisions in the 4th quarter.

It will take longer than you think for the decision to go thru the corporate ranks.

Give your sponsorship campaign plenty of time – months and months.

You’ll sell yourself short if you work on a really short time frame.

4. Know WHO the decision makers really are.

Is it the marketing team? The marketing VP?

Is it the community relations department?

Does the sponsorship decision go all the way up the corporate chain of command to the executive offices?

Do the advertising people play a role?

Every business is different. And smart fundraisers figure out who makes the final decision.

I like to have an “internal advocate” inside the company advising and guiding me through the maze.

5. Know WHAT TYPE of business best suits your event “product.”

You have a product you are selling to businesses.

They want exposure to your audience so they can market their company and their products.

Emphasize the “fit” between your audience and your potential sponsor.

Here’s something else interesting from Aimee Dunsmore:

6. Create the right offer with specific goals.

Your event prospect will respond better to measurable goals and objectives.

Run the numbers and lay them out.

Include benchmarks that the sponsor can use to measure the success of the sponsorship.

Explain the “features” of what they will buy.

More importantly (many nonprofits miss this) highlight BENEFITS to them.

Like all fundraising, the way you frame your “pitch” has everything to do with your success.

It’s about what THEY want and what they hope to achieve.

Lay out specific measurable goals, benchmarks and objectives in your sponsorship proposal.

7. Add employee engagement into the mix.

Employee involvement is becoming more and more important to businesses.

Studies show that employees who volunteer together are happier and more productive at work.

(Help me find the source for that one if you can!)

So help the business kill many birds with one stone: marketing exposure, community responsibility PLUS employee engagement.

8. Make your proposal very SPECIFIC and relevant to their business.

Do your homework. Since you are researching their business strategy – you can emphasize what they are looking for.

I like to use their OWN language (pull from their web site or other materials.)

Lay out exactly what objectives they will achieve with this investment.

Don’t just assume that they know. Spell it out in black and white on the page.

And remember to emphasize what your event can uniquely do for the company.

BOTTOM LINE:

Approach sponsorships with a deliberate strategy.

(I’ve seen way too many haphazard, poorly timed, sloppy approaches in my day.)

• Allow enough time, do your homework, and create a clear business case.
• Play on existing relationships.
• Ask sponsors what they want. And give it to them cheerfully if you can.

Join Aimee’s webinar on Monday at 2pm ET if you want to learn more about raising high dollar sponsorships from a real pro!

Good luck and raise lotsa money!

Does this happen to you when you ASK for a gift?

Asking for a gift is the moment of truth in fundraising.

Here is a simple, painless strategy that can take tons of pressure off the situation, pave the way for a positive response, and make it easier for everybody involved.

And it’s such a very simple strategy:

The easier way: send a letter outlining WHY you want to come visit.

I know, you are asking WHY you need to do make the visit at all. Can’t you do it over the phone?

Should you ask over the phone or face-to-face?

After all these years in fundraising, I have a personal rule:

Never ask for anything above $1000 on the phone.

Why?

Because it’s not worth it.  Your chances of success are SO MUCH lower on the phone.

If you are going to ask a donor for more than $1k, you certainly stack the odds in your favor if you meet in person.

It’s so much easier for someone to turn you down over the phone.

If you try to ask over the phone, you lower your chance of success.

You are more distant to them.

There’s no human connection.

There’s a lovely interpersonal rapport when you are in front of your donor.

You just can’t gauge your donor’s body language (which tells you so very much) over the phone.

And there’s another really big reason for in person asks:

If the donor agrees to see you, then they’ve already decided to make a gift of some size.

Hurray!

They wouldn’t waste their time – or yours – on the visit if they were not going to give something to the cause.

So: just think, because you even have the appointment to see them – that means you are on the way to success!

Now, that visit just became a whole lot easier, didn’t it?

Now that you know WHY you need to ask for a personal visit, there’s another question:

HOW do you ask for a face-to-face visit?

You send a letter first.

And you outline what you want to talk about.

Sending the letter first makes it a whole lot easier to pick up the phone and call for the appointment. Yes!

Fundraising guru Andy Robinson has a terrific guide for making the face-to-face ask.

His book,“How to Raise $500 to $5,000 From Almost Anyone,” walks you through a very simple process to create a successful solicitation.

Andy’s joining me on Monday April 30 for an INSIDERS Master Class at 2pm ET to share his strategy for raising $500 to $5000 from almost anyone.

Join us in the conversation if you want to learn his simple strategy to create easy and successful asks.  Or get the audio afterwards.

Pave the way for the gift by writing a letter asking for the appointment.

Here’s the terrific letter that Andy suggests you send to your donor.

It’s reprinted from his book:

Dear Martina:

It’s that time of year again – we’re doing our annual fundraising campaign in support of (brief description of your mission.)

Last year, you made a very generous donation of $500, which is a big gift for us, and we really appreciate your support.

Contributions from people like you helped us to accomplish:

• (Big impressive accomplishment)
• (Not so big, but still impressive)
• (Something interesting the donor is unlikely to know about)

This year we face a number of challenges:

• (Big scary challenge – maybe increased demand for your services?
• (Not so big but still impressive)
• (Perhaps something about building your organization rather than providing services or doing advocacy work)

To meet these challenges, we’re asking our most generous supporters to consider doubling their gifts, which in your case would be a contribution of $1000.

This letter asks the donor to DOUBLE her gift even before you visit in person!

I appreciate that this is a big commitment, so before you decide, I’d love the chance to meet with you, give you an update, learn more about your interest in our work, and ask for your support.

I’ll be calling next week to set up an appointment.

Again, thank you for your generous and loyal support. I look forward to speaking with you, and meeting with you, very soon.

Warm regards,

Xxxx

CAVEAT:  You need to adapt the language in this letter for your own tone and organization.

Don’t just copy it!

And remember, this letter lays a clear groundwork for the gift.

If your donor agrees to visit after receiving this letter, you can be pretty sure she is going to do something.

What I like:

• It paves the way for your phone call.
• It paves the way for your visit.
• It sets up your visit for success: the donor knows what you are up to and what you are asking for.
• It makes it so much easier to get the ask out of your mouth because you’ve already made it on paper.
• You are not surprising your donor at all.

I can’t imagine an easier way to pave the way for an ask, can you?

So try a version of this letter.

Let it open the door for your ask.

BOTTOM LINE:

Send a letter first explaining why you want to visit and what you will be asking for. It lays the groundwork for a seamless and positive visit with your donor!

And join Andy and me on Monday when we discuss in much more detail his approach to asking: How to Raise $500 to $5,000 From Almost Anyone,

I still get flutters

Let’s face it. Asking someone for a contribution can be scary. You are going out on a limb, putting yourself out there.

Whew.  Sometimes I can just feel my stomach start to tighten just thinking about it.

But asking doesn’t always have to be scary!

Here are 5 tips that will help you get over yourself, and your asking anxiety.

1. Focus completely on the cause you are serving.

It’s just not about you. I know that’s hard to swallow, but it’s true.

You just CAN’T take it personally.

Just focus on the children who will be served, the sick people cured, the art you will bring to your community, the animals to be saved.

Your cause is so much bigger than you are.

Take yourself out of the equation. Stand firmly in the urgency of the situation.

And invite someone to help solve the problem.

2. Focus on the problem to be solved.

Keep your focus

When there’s a problem to be solved, it puts the discussion in a different light.

It takes your “personality” out of it. And it places the cause front and center in the discussion.

Presenting a problem to a potential donor helps to involve the donor in the solution.

When you and your donor are figuring out how to solve the problem, then it becomes a team effort.

Your donor is involved. Her brain is thinking, thinking about the issue at hand. (not about you!)

We all say in fundraising: “involvement leads to investment.”

The more you can get her involved, the better.

3. Rehearse.

Rehearse!

Ok, I admit that I tend to wing it more often than not.

BUT never on an important solicitation call.

I remember one solicitation for a $5 million naming opportunity. There were three of us.

I scripted the ENTIRE conversation: who was speaking on what topic and how it would flow.

We knew who was prepping the ask and who was asking. And who would handle questions.

And it worked!

Rehearsing helps take away your fear. It helps you imagine the situation evolving smoothly.

4. When in doubt shut up!

Seal those lips

If you are really nervous, then back off.

Remember that your prospect needs to be involved in this conversation!

If you are doing more than 50% of the talking, then you are dead.

Your prospect will tell you what matters to her and why she wants to help the cause.

But she won’t tell you if you are doing all the talking!

5. It’s not about money.

If you are talking about money, then you are lowering yourself.

This conversation is something high, full of light, shining up on the hilltop.

It’s a vision for a happier world.

Lord have mercy, as we say in the south – it is NOT about money.

Keep the conversation at a high level.

Stay in your vision of success.

And you WILL be successful.

BOTTOM LINE

Preparation can make a world of difference.

Plan things out ahead of time and you can relax and the donor can relax to.