5 Tips for New Auction Houses
Introduction
If you’re new to the auction business, then congratulations! You are about to embark on a journey that will be exciting and rewarding. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and neither will your auction house. While you may have big dreams for what it will become, remember that slow and steady wins the race. There are plenty of pitfalls waiting for you along this path—don’t fall into them right away! Here are five tips to help make sure your new venture is off to a great start:
Plan ahead.
Planning ahead is the best way to understand your business, know what you want it to look like and how you will get there. A successful business plan outlines your goals and objectives, as well as the resources needed for each stage of its development.
Before you cut the ribbon on your business, ask yourself: What am I trying to achieve? How will this benefit me or my customers? Do I have enough time and money available to make my idea work? If there were no constraints on how much money I could spend on starting a new business tomorrow – what would my ideal situation look like in terms of location, equipment, and premises, people involved, level of investment required, etc.?
Choose your auctioneers wisely.
- Choose your auctioneers wisely
Choosing the right auctioneer is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when starting an auction house. You want someone who has experience and is well-known in the industry, and who will be available for questions and consultation throughout the process. Check references from previous clients to get a feel for what kind of service they provide, and ask how much they charge (flat rate or hourly).
Engage with your previous clients and get their feedback.
As part of your preparation, it’s a good idea to talk with previous clients and ask them for feedback on the services you provide.
This will help you improve your business in a variety of ways:
- It will give you some insight into potential problems that need addressing. For example, if there is something about your website or marketing materials that causes people to leave without bidding, then this could be an area for improvement.
- It helps keep standards consistent across all segments of the business – both internal and external – which in turn helps build customer loyalty and trust.
If you are auctioning online, take care of the details first.
- If you’re auctioning online, make sure to use a reliable and secure service.
- Make sure your website is optimized for mobile and tablet devices so that it looks good on any device that users might be viewing it on.
- Have a good mobile app for customers to easily find what they want to buy and pay for their items.
Make sure to have a plan for public relations and marketing.
Public relations is a critical aspect of any business, but it’s especially important for a startup. You need to be able to communicate what you do and why you’re doing it. PR is not just about getting free press—it’s about building a positive reputation and brand, reaching your target audience, and earning potential customers’ trust.
If you’re going to approach public relations with the right mindset, here are some tips:
- Understand that PR isn’t something that happens overnight; it takes time. If someone asks how long it will take for them to see results from their efforts, they should expect at least six months of consistent effort before they start seeing results.
With a well-thought-out strategy, you can outshine your competition regarding winning bids and new clients.
With a well-thought-out strategy, you can outshine your competition regarding winning bids and new clients. A good strategy will help you do the right things and do things right. Here are five tips for developing yours:
- Know your audience
- Know what works for them
- Get to know the market
- Research other auction houses’ strategies and offerings
Conclusion
Auctions are a great way for sellers to get their hands on cash and buyers to find the best deals. If you’re considering starting an auction house, it’s important to know what you’re getting into before you dive in headfirst. By following these five tips, we hope that your experience will be smooth sailing from day one!
- Published in Productive Environments
Auctioneers and Nonprofit Auctions: A Surefire Way to Raise More Money
Introduction
If you’re thinking about fundraising through an auction, you’ve come to the right place. Mast Auctioneers has helped hundreds of organizations raise millions of dollars for their causes. And yet, some nonprofits think that volunteer-run auctions are the only way to raise money for charity. We’re here to tell you why having an expert auctioneer at your event will help boost the total dollars raised for your charity!
Fundraising auctions with professional consultants and auctioneers raise more money than auctions run by volunteers.
The most important factor in determining the success of a fundraising auction is how well you price your items. If you overprice your items and sell them for less than they’re worth, your organization won’t get as much money for them and fewer people will want to attend the event. On the other hand, if you underprice an item or sell it at its true value, then people will be happy with their purchases but not so happy that they will buy anything else!
This is where an experienced auction consultant comes into play. We can help you price each item so that you get the best possible return on investment while also attracting a crowd of buyers who have money to spend and are interested in bidding on new items.
In addition to pricing expertise, hiring a professional auctioneer also can help increase attendance rates because attendees know the auction will run smoothly and be enjoyable. Professional auctioneers are there to assure everything runs smoothly and efficiently without sacrificing quality (or customer service).
Work with your auctioneer to market your event effectively.
Marketing is not just about advertising. It’s about building a buzz, creating energy, and making the event memorable!
The team at Mast Auctioneers are experts in marketing. We know how to generate excitement for an event, so we can help you market your nonprofit auction with that same enthusiasm. When it comes to marketing, auctioneers have what it takes to make your auction a huge success: storytelling, enthusiasm, and expertise!
Make sure your auctioneer is an expert in nonprofit events.
If you’re thinking about hiring an auctioneer for your nonprofit event, you should make sure that they have experience in this area. Auctions can be tricky business, and it’s important to know how things will go down before the event starts.
Make sure that your auctioneer knows all of the rules of the game. They need to be familiar with what constitutes a bid (more than just saying “I bid $10!”), as well as how much time is left on each item up for bidding (and what happens if someone bids after time expires). Also remember that if someone bids out of turn or makes any other mistake during the bidding process, it may not count towards their final bid amount.
Conclusion
Professional auctioneers know how to interact with an audience and create excitement. They have the perfect combination of enthusiasm expertise that will help you raise more money for YOUR charity or nonprofit organization. So when it comes time to raise funds for your organization, remember this simple rule: don’t try and do it yourself! Contact us instead!
- Published in Uncategorized
How to Host a Successful Charity Auction

Hosting a big charity auction is an exciting event! You may be ahead of the game when it comes to planning your location, the exciting theme, and various ideas for big-auction items to raise the most money possible. But how do you use those hot items to draw people to your event? The biggest secret to having a successful charity auction is to have exciting items and secure those items early for donors to think about and build anticipation for your event through marketing strategies.
What do the People Want?!
Before you start collecting your big-ticket items, you will want to contact big donors and see what packages they would be the most inclined to bid on. You could prompt them by asking what travel packages they would be interested in and what they would be willing to bid on. Another option is to send out a survey of what items they are interested in. If you are lucky, this could even give you a commitment to purchase before your event.
Make it Exciting
While people love gift baskets and collectibles, the experiences are where you will make your money. These activities are priceless and will bring a lot of attention to your charity auction. You can advertise sporting events, day trips, vacations, etc. Use flyers, social media posts, and email campaigns to show these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. This will build momentum and draw more of a crowd to your auction.
Advertise Your Auction Items
A MUST in charity auctions is giving sneak peeks. This will help donors to start thinking ahead of time about your items and why they need to be in attendance. This will also help them to mentally prepare to bid on larger amounts. Donors are more likely to spend more money if they have had time to budget and think it over. Someone who is put on the spot the day of may feel differently about spending thousands of dollars on the big-ticket items. By sending out sneak peeks through various marketing strategies, you are sure to put a thought in the back of your donor’s mind that will build excitement up until it is auction day.
Sell an Experience
Travel packages are guaranteed to create some interest. Donors may even get competitive to win the prize for themselves or their families. Most people who fit the profile of high net-value donors have a budget specifically for leisure travel. Wealthy 50+-year-olds are going to bring the cash to purchase these types of Experiences because they have the time and money set aside to do so. Bidding on a travel experience that they were already planning to take and giving that money to a good cause is going to be a win-win for them. Another way to make a couple extra thousand for your nonprofit is to sell the experience multiple times. You can conduct normal bidding, but then sell to the top two or three bidders.
- Published in Uncategorized
Challenging Yourself
Why is it important to set challenges for yourself? Because the only way to advance in your life, in your career, in your relationship, is to challenge yourself. Taking on a new challenge means that you are doing something you haven’t done before. It means taking your current skills and doing whatever it takes to escalate them to the next level. It means developing and applying new attitudes, behaviors, skills, and practices.
When you set a goal and take on a new challenge, you don’t have to sprint towards the finish line – you might walk at times, sprint at times, and stumble throughout the process. Set realistic expectations and decide how you are going to face failure.
Let’s take a look at a few ways you can choose to challenge yourself today.
- Focus on doing what matters to you and avoid doing things that matter less.
- Build new relationships.
- Strengthen and develop current relationships.
- Practice listening before speaking.
- Say no to things that do not build you up and support the lifestyle you are working towards.
What can you do to help accomplish the challenges you set for yourself?
- Be vocal about your goals and let others know what you’re challenging yourself to.
- Find a mentor or friend that will support you and be an accountability partner.
- Define your overall goal. Use the challenges listed above to help you reach a goal in your life – whether it be a career goal, relationship goal, or lifestyle goal.
- Set short-term wins. When reaching for a big, long-term goal you must focus on the day-to-day ways you can be successful in taking steps to your larger goal.
Challenging yourself is difficult. It means you are facing fears and exposing weaknesses but ultimately you will become a stronger, better version of yourself.
In what ways will you challenge yourself today?
- Published in Inspiring Spaces
How to Host a Charity Auction
What is a Charity Auction?
A charity auction is a fundraising event in which attendees bid to win auction items and packages. The highest bidder wins the item and the fundraising organization receives the proceeds. Mast Auctioneers is here to make your charity auction a highly engaging experience that will surely bring success to your fundraising efforts.
How to plan a Charity Auction
- Figure out your budget.
- Decide when and where your auction will take place. As you look at venues take into consideration how many people you will expect to show.
- Book an auctioneer. Mast Auctioneers has an award-winning team of auctioneers, ringmen, and auction professionals to provide you with superior service. Contact us today!
- Set a fundraising goal.
- Begin the procurement process with your team. (Read more about this below!)
- Start marketing your auction.
- Think about the details of your event including food, auction item display, the checkout process, item distribution, etc.
- Host your auction and watch the excitement and energy that Mast Auctioneers brings to your event!
- Follow up with auction attendees to thank them.
How to Procure Auction Items
1. Form a team
Procuring auction items is a huge task – don’t try to take it on by yourself! Form a procurement committee to share the workload of soliciting and tracking items.
2. Get started early
Getting high-quality items takes some time. Brainstorm a list of items, along with potential donors for each item. Personally reach out to them several months in advance.
3. Take your audience into consideration
Take some time to think about who will be attending your auction. What is the average age? How much are they comfortably able to bid on auction items? Do you know what their past engagement at an auction looks like?
4. Create a wishlist
After taking a deep dive into your audience, brainstorm a list of items that you would like to auction off. Shoot for some items that seem out-of-reach! Share your vision and tasks to keep track of your item progress with your team.
How to Market a Charity Auction
You’ve worked hard to plan your charity auction, but now you need to get the word out to get people to come!
- Share on your social media – A LOT! As soon as you are sure of the where and when, share save-the-dates so that people can mark their calendar. Share featured items that will be auctioned off to get your followers interested in attending.
- Lay out your auction goal on your organization’s blog. Describe what the auction events will look like, things to look forward to, and the goals that you have for your auction.
- Send out invitations through email and snail-mail.
There’s a lot on the line with charity auctions. Organizations depend on auctions to generate large portions of their annual budgets. If they don’t go well, they have a chance of missing their annual budget.
We have auctioneers specifically trained in the nonprofit space. Our founder, Joseph Mast, has raised over $100M+ for charitable organizations.
We would love the chance to partner with you to achieve your fiscal and organizational goals.
Contact us today and let’s get started!
- Published in Charity Auction
Turn New Guests Into Big Bidders!
Ways to Make Charity Auction Attendees Feel Appreciated
Donors are the reason you have a successful charity auction or not, so it is important to show appreciation to your givers. Make all your guests feel welcome, important, and noticed. Warmly meet and greet each attendee and afterward, thank them for attending and for their support.
Call Your Guests Prior to the Event
Tell your guests that you are looking forward to meeting/seeing them at the event. Share all the important information about the event and ask if they have any questions. Show your guests how excited you are and be very energetic – it will help build their anticipation!
Assign People to Meet and Greet
If possible, make a point to walk around and greet all new attendees to make an individual connection and share more about your organization and mission. Get help from your board members, staff, and volunteers to engage with each attendee. Have your team make your event attendees feel special and appreciated.
Create a VIP Area at the Event
- VIP Cocktail Hour – Open the doors an hour early for an exclusive reception. Give your VIPs the chance to meet special guests and network in a smaller group.
- VIP Tables – Seat your VIPs close to the front, decorate their tables more lavishly, and dismiss them first for food and dessert.
- VIP Attention-Getters – Make your VIPs stand out with corsages, different colored wristbands, or nametags.
Follow Up After the Event
Wondering how to create repeat donors? Nothing says “Wow!” like a prompt thank you phone call. The day after the auction, set the receipts and written thank you notes to the side. Instead, pick up the phone and dial those numbers. Recruit your board members to help and provide them with a script. Let your donors know how grateful you are for their support and how thrilled you are that they attended your event.
Contact Mast Auctioneers today to learn more about how your organization can succeed with a charity auction! Visit https://mastauctioneers.com/contact-us/
- Published in Charity Auction
Facing Conflict As A Leader
As a leader, you are guaranteed to face conflict. You must be able to address conflict in a healthy, productive manner. Yes – you could try to avoid conflict (bad idea), but you won’t be able to escape it. The fact of the matter is conflict in the workplace is unavoidable. Having the ability to recognize conflict, understand the nature of it, and being able to bring a quick, solid resolution to conflict will serve you well as a leader. If you can’t, that might just be your downfall.
So how should you effectively deal with conflict when it arises? The following tips will help to more effectively handle conflicts in the workplace:
Define Acceptable Behavior
Be clear. Don’t assume people know what you expect of them. Be clear of what behaviors around your workplace will and won’t be tolerated. Thoroughly define job descriptions and what outcomes you expect. Have a well-articulated chain of command that uses effective communication.
Hit Conflict Head-On
You won’t be able to prevent all conflicts. But the secret to conflict resolution is conflict prevention when possible. Seek out areas of potential conflict and proactively intervene. You will likely prevent some conflicts from ever coming up. When conflict does arise, minimize the severity by dealing with it quickly.
Plan Before You Meet
Before you head into a meeting addressing the conflict at hand, prepare. We all know that conversations that deal with conflict can be tense – which could cause you to say things you don’t really mean. You want to avoid blurting out words in anger by clarifying what you truly want out of the meeting – before the meeting begins. If you want a certain behavior to stop, write that down before the meeting. If you want a peaceful working relationship, write that down before the meeting. If you are seeking to understand what the other person is thinking, write that down before the meeting.
Understand the Other Side
Take time to hear out the other person at the table. While hearing them out – actually listen. You want to understand the other person’s motivations and views before providing your own. Part of your goal should be to help the other person succeed and achieve their goals. How can you both work together to resolve the conflict at hand? By establishing mutual purpose and mutual respect, you help the other person understand your motives and also help them understand that you appreciate them for what they bring to the table.
The question is not if you will face conflict as a leader, but more so how you are going to handle conflict when it does arise. A resolution can be found when there is a sincere desire to do so. Be clear about your expectations, face conflict head-on, be proactive, and seek to understand before being understood.
- Published in Uncategorized