This Blog Credit goes to my good friend Mike Vendetti, I think it is important enough to pass along to many of you trying to decide  how to line up your silent auction.

The Silent Auction

by MikeVendetti in Silent Auctions

The silent auction is an important revenue center for your fundraiser.  The more expensive items belong in the live auction, but the number of items in the live auction is limited by time.  A benefit auctioneer will sell an item every two minutes.  Allowing ten minutes for the emotional appeal, this leaves us with twenty five lots in a one hour auction or fifty five lots in a two hour auction.  The rest of the items go into the silent auction, limited by space.

Finding or creating more space, is much easier then finding more time.  A three hour live auction will produce severely diminished returns in the last hour of the auction and aggravate your guests.  How much space you need for your silent auction depends upon how many items or lots you have after filling the live auction.  Rule of thumb, you can put eight silent auction lots on an eight foot table, so there you are.  You can make more space by combining or packaging lots.

On the table you need room for your bid sheet and displaying the item or package.  Don’t crowd the silent auction.  Your guests need room move about without feeling crowded.  Remember you want your guests to enjoy the event.  It’s not fun to be crowded.

SILENT AUCTION DISTRIBUTION AND CLOSING

Recommend that silent auction sections se set up and closed by value with lower value items in the first section to close and highest value items in the last section to close.  The reason we recommend closing the tables in this order is when guests first arrive at an event their attention is divided between all the silent auction tables, meeting friends, getting drinks etc.  When the last silent auction table closes more attention will be directed to that table, thus more revenue.

The last silent auction section needs to be closed prior to the live auction.  This is my opinion, but it is shared by the majority of benefit auctioneers I have spoken with.  You do not want to take attention away from the live auction.