BiddingForGood: Planning an Auction Strategy
There are so many, almost too many, pieces that go into planning a successful online auction. You need volunteers. You need items. You need images. You need promotion ideas. And at the end, you need a glass of wine! Earlier this month, we talked about tips for running an auction. What I wanted to delve into is auction strategy. But, more importantly, a planned strategy that makes your auction as successful as possible.
Below are some important strategic decisions that you can make during the entirety of your auction. I want you to be able to learn from this auction and use these strategies going forward. Using auction strategy to your advantage separates you from good auction and a great auction.
Preparing ahead of time: This is the most important part of an auction. Sometimes I fear that people are starting their planning too late, and there is just not enough time to get the auction up and running. Make a "Calendar of Understanding", as the Sales Team here at BiddingForGood has recently coined. Create check points for you, the administrator, and your team to make sure everything is on track. If you happen to miss a check point, create urgency. This strategy of organization will facilitate a much more streamlined process.
Creative promotion: As we all know, promotion is directly associated with how much money you raise in an online auction. If people don't know about it, people won't be able to help your great cause. Sure, having an extensive e-mail list is vitally important to have the opportunity to reach a large number of people at once. However, what else can we do here people!? Try to think outside the inbox, (see what I did there?), and promote differently. At the school, give every student something to take home to their parents in a creative way. Put the auction URL on pencils that all students get as they enter school one day. Go to your local bingo game in the community, and have your auction on the bingo boards! Whatever you can do to get people excited in a different manner, the better your auction will be.
Item placement: This is the last strategic move I want you to make in your next online auction. People talk to me all the time about what to put online and what to keep for their live event. With our new in-room mobile solution, there is really no decision that needs to be made anymore! However, the staggering of items is still very important. Creating a ping pong match between bidders is exactly what you want. Again, creating a sense of urgency for bidders making them pull the trigger is ideal. Lastly, I still believe that putting all items online makes the most sense. Getting bids before the live event will only increase the money you raise and also increase the opening bid as well. Thinking strategically about item placement is another essential part of the auction.
These are just a few strategies that should be implemented. Stay tuned for more on Friday!