Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:

An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.

If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.

Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.

After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:

Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.

A Case Study

Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.

Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.

Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.

I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.

There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.

According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?

As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.

When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.

While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.

So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:

The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.

Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.

If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.

When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.

And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.

Network Marketing: The Ultimate Home-Based BusinessWhy is Network Marketing considered the Ultimate Home-Based Business? Lets look at a few of the reasons why you and many others are looking to having a home based business as a viable alternative to working for someone else.
You would like the freedom that owning your business would provide.
The J.O.B. or working for someone else has lost its luster.
You have good, creative ideas and plenty of energy yet not much money to invest right now.
You want to spend more time with your family.
Perhaps like many people today, the economic downturn has affected your employment situation and you need to take back control of your income.
Or maybe you just want to take advantage of the tax benefits that are available to those that work out of their home.
Robert Kiyosaki has stated in his books that the first step to creating wealth is to become a business owner. However if freedom is what you are looking for then a owning a business in the conventional sense may not exactly fit your bill. A conventional business brings along with it a list of demands of which the most demanding is employees. Having employees could adversely affect the freedom that you would want owning your business to provide.Owning a conventional business or even a franchise sounds may sound appealing yet you will find it is very similar working for someone else. You may own the company or franchise however in all reality what you have done is create a job for yourself. If you have employees you have the added responsibility of creating work for them also. There goes the luster of owning a conventional business.Starting a franchise or opening a business takes capitol. You may have plenty of energy and creative ideas but do you have enough money to purchase a franchise or have the capitol to keep it going for a year? Most businesses fail within two years because they are under capitalized.The lack of quality family time seems to affect nearly everybody. With commutes getting longer and longer and with many people needing to work two jobs to make ends meet, there seems to be little or no time left for family. Stands to reason why when asked what is important to them, most people answer that the freedom to do what they would like with their time is right up there with work freedom.But the question that lurks in the background is still there: What can I do that will provide a good living, allow me to be my own boss, not take a ton of capitol and also give me time with my family or where ever I am needed.
Let’s look at another situation. Perhaps you have been laid off or have had your position eliminated as the result of the current economic situation. This is truly a disturbing yet all too common situation. You have plenty of time, lots of energy and creative ideas yet little if any income. You realize after the fact that nothing is certain and now you must take control of your career.There is one more reason why people are turning to a Home Based Business; for the many tax advantages. Starting with the fact that a portion of your home is now your office and can be deducted on your income tax and as a business owner all your expenses are deductible. There are too many to go into here so let me just say that if only for this reason, a Home Based Business bears serious consideration.At the top of this article I stated that Network Marketing is the Ultimate Home Based Business. Let’s take a look at my reasons behind that statement.
By becoming a business owner you have taken the first step towards wealth as described by Robert Kiyosaki
Since most people get into Network Marketing at a part time level, you will probably still have your job however you know in your heart that soon you will be able to leave it. That alone will add a spring in your step and a little luster to your work.
It doesn’t take a lot of money to get started and will certainly allow you to use your energy and creativity.
While you may not immediately have the time you want to spend with your family, your goals will ensure that you will and sooner than you think.
You have now taken control of your economic destiny. As a Network Marketer, you are in the distinct position of being able to go as far up as you can imagine. There is no Glass Ceiling and you decide what will be the Top of Your Ladder, not some corporate executive.
Network Marketing while certainly open to everyone, is not necessarily right for everyone. There are some who need the structure of a job, there are some for whom being self-employed creates more anxiety than excitement and there are some who aren’t comfortable dealing with people. There is nothing at all wrong with any of these; it takes every kind of people imaginable to make up this world. However, for those individuals who are looking to own their own business, their own future and genuinely like people Network Marketing is clearly the Ultimate Home Based Business.

With the slow improvement of the economy, a lot of people are looking for ways to earn some extra money. If you’re one of them, you shouldn’t have second thoughts about trying on the perfect home base business idea. Starting a conventional business can be costly especially if you need to put up a storefront. With an online business, you will be able to start with a small amount of capital. All you need is a reliable internet connection and computer.Here are some of the best home based business ideas that you can use:1. Caring for senior citizens – if you are quite good in caring for the elderly, you can start your own home based business of teaching or training younger people in looking after older individuals. In some families, the parents are usually too busy with their work and attending to kids; they don’t have much time to care for the elderly. With your skills, you can help others in finding a well-paid profession.2. Candle making – Do you know how to make candles? If you do, you should consider this as a home business. If you are not comfortable with internet business, this is a great option. During New Year or Christmas and other festive occasions, people need candles. You can teach interested individuals to make candles, especially scented ones. This is also a great way to help them in earning extra money.3. For women with small kids, it would be an advantage to learn about the various internet business ideas. You can become a freelance writer, blogger, or you can become an affiliate marketer. Why don’t you start a daycare center? This is one of the good home business ideas that you can try.4. If you are good in gardening, you can teach others your skills and techniques in growing plants. Home gardeners can earn some money by teaching others several times a week in exchange for a small fee.5. Another home business that you can try is yard maintenance. You can offer the neighborhood your services when you’re just starting. As you gain a good reputation in this industry, you can expand the business to nearby places; by expanding, you will need to have a service car to transport the equipment that you will use like mower or trimmers.If you think that starting a local home business is challenging, you can simply opt for online Business ideas. There are so many internet business ideas that you can choose from. With a little knowledge of the web and using computers, you will surely be able to generate some money.You can try answering surveys and questions in behalf of companies. Another option is to become a product tester. Blogging and writing is very popular today. You have to evaluate your skills and knowledge before choosing a certain endeavor. It is not that hard to manage an online or small home business. With the right attitude and skills, you will surely succeed and provide your family with their needs.