Planning the Perfect Silent Auction
Planning the perfect silent auction can be a daunting and time-consuming task. Between photographing and uploading bidding items, preparing guest lists, and physically or virtually hosting the event, there are a lot of moving parts that have to come together seamlessly in order to execute your event without a hitch. So, where do you start?
Below we'll take a look at how to plan the perfect silent auction and all of the aspects you need to address to succeed and generate as much money for your cause as possible.
Guidelines and goals
The first step to planning a silent auction is to establish guidelines that will inform the logistics of the event, and form the scaffolding around which to build your event strategy. These guidelines include choosing the date of the event, determining the context of the auction (will it be a standalone event or part of something larger?), laying out the budget, and finding a venue (or deciding to host it virtually).
You will also want to consider the goals of your auction. Specific goals will serve as a mark to aim at and help guide the direction you want your auction to head in. A goal might include earning a certain amount of revenue, securing new donors, reaching higher levels of engagement, or forming partnerships with new corporations or business entities.
Audience size
While this technically falls under guidelines, we feel that it deserves its own sub-section. The size of your audience is a crucial factor that will play a large, determining role in how much revenue is generated for your auction. It will also help you determine how many items should be auctioned. Many people make the mistake of auctioning too many items, the thought being that there should be around one item per attendee. But it's important to keep in mind that not every attendee will be a bidder, and that couples and families will likely bid together. A good rule of thumb is to assume that about half of those in attendance will be actively bidding on items.
With this information, you can now more accurately plan how many items to auction, what type of items, and how to maximize the chances of auctioning them.
Auction duration
The length that an auction runs for is also going to be a determining factor when deciding how many items should be included in the auction. Longer auctions - that run for a week or more, for example - might require an influx of more and newer items to keep the selection fresh. Auctions that run for a day will need fewer items or run the risk of selling items below value, or not selling them at all. It's therefore important to find the balance between auction duration and the number of items that you intend to auction.
Attendees
The final, and perhaps most critical, factor to take into account when hosting a silent auction is your audience. Who are they? Where do they come from? How old are they and how much do they earn? The more data you have about your attendees, the more you can fine-tune your auction towards their interests and personalities. Information such as age, gender, income level will help you determine how many items to include, and the type of items that your audience will be more receptive to.
If you can choose items that you know your attendees will value, you will be able to generate more revenue for your cause and increase the chances of your silent auction becoming a wild success.
