This is what we call ‘Auctioneers helping Auctioneers!’ or AHA, when Gayle Stallings, CAI, BAS of FUNauctions presented, “Benefit Auctions: Going Beyond the Chant” for the Texas Certified Auction Professional course at the Texas Auctioneers Association Annual Convention on June 16, 2023, in College Station, Texas.
During the 80-minute course, Stallings shared her experience in exclusively conducting benefit auctions for nonprofit organizations for 18 years by teaching other Auctioneers in the industry. She focused on the benefits of providing pre-event consulting and the significant impact that has on the event’s overall revenue and success.
One of the interactive segments she discussed with attendees, “We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” was developed after Stallings heard this comment in her first committee meeting in 2006 after hearing about the lack of communication between the gala committee and the Auctioneer on who would keep track of the donations and bids on event night.
Over the years, she would continue to hear this comment from other gala committees when realizing they would have made different decisions if they had been given the guidance and expertise from their Auctioneer during the pre-event consulting.
Stallings developed a list of the “Top 10” topics that committees frequently wanted to discuss:
1. Venue visit
2. Sound, lighting, and audio visuals
3. Organizational visit and annual highlights
4. Run of Show
5. Centerpieces
6. Live auction
7. Consignment packages
8. Ringmen
9. Paddle Raise & goals
10. Bid recorder training and forms
As part of the course, FUNauctions’ Auctioneer Leslie Robinson explained how Auctioneers could recommend several revenue enhancers for nonprofit organizations to implement at their next gala. Leslie demonstrated how the $100 yard dash, Mystery boxes and the Paddle Drop were possible revenue enhancers that could be implemented with the right timing of the Run of Show.
The course was Stallings’ third year to present as an instructor for the designation course. In 2021 and 2022, Gayle shared her personal experience from doing over 35 virtual galas during the pandemic that required a new level of skills as well as the need for many more technical rehearsals before the livestream. The main emphasis was that when conducting a virtual benefit auction, you can’t just show up as the Auctioneer without working in advance with your nonprofit organizations by providing the guidance and expertise.
Please contact us to talk with Gayle about making your next event a success.
