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| A great benefit auctioneer is involved in the planning months in advance. |
Most people that attend fundraising events see an auctioneer up on stage chanting away to raise funds for a great cause, and it appears to be seamless for a good benefit auctioneer. What they don’t see are the countless hours in consultation and setup that it took to get to the fabulous auction. The day of the fundraising auction event is just a tiny piece of the pie.
I like to compare a good fundraising auctioneer’s job to an iceberg, 90% of it is underwater and only 10% (the part you see) is above water. If you have an auctioneer that is simply showing up the night of the event and getting on stage (the 10% of the iceberg above the water) then you are probably leaving a ton of money on the table. In order to maximize your event’s revenue you must diligently work for several months leading up the event (the 90% of the iceberg below water).
Remember, a great benefit auctioneer will be part of your planning process as well. Be very careful with having an auctioneer just show up the day of your event with no prior engagement in your planning process. Always use a professional benefit auctioneer versus a volunteer!