Time to Talk and a Time to sell

I once heard an Auctioneer say “There is a time to talk and a time to sell”.

  

He was referring to the temptation to stop the sale and re-describe the item or Package being sold in an attempt to re-energize the bid or get it going again. This seems like something that would be a good idea. 

I’ve been told many times about an item that undersold last year ( when we were not involved) and have heard of Auctioneers being approached by an Auction Chair to ask them to stop the bidding and tell the crowd about the item again. 

“They can’t be aware of what this is” goes the thinking. “If they did, the bidding would be higher, they must have not been listening!” 

Rarely if ever have I seen or heard of this strategy working. Here are few points to consider:

1.      

         Pictures are worth a Thousand Words. If you have a pictures with a few bullet points on a screen that everyone can see then there is no need for a “Repeat” of the item. Your bidders can easily see what’s being offered.

2.       Ringmen can help. You may be tired of me harping on this but PROFESSIONAL Ringmen (Not Volunteer Bid Spotters) that are there to do one specific job will know what is being sold. They can communicate that to any attendees that may have not been paying attention.

3.       You’re right. They were not listening. At any Charity Benefit Auction held in the history of ever, there were a few people in the Audience getting a drink, talking business, or commenting on Jennifer’s Dress and how “She is too old to pull that off” when the Auction Team described one of the items. ( The Fund a need is different) But if they were not listening and you had the Items marketed ahead of time then they did not want that particular package.

4.       Sometimes no one wants what you or your committee thinks is awesome. It happens. You may have thought the chance to have a new room redecorated in your home was the best thing ever, but the majority of the crowd may not want their home turned upside down for 3 months or to fly to the South Pole even if they can see the Aurora Borealis. Or maybe they don’t like the San Francisco Giants.

5.       The most important point to consider is that you are probably hurting your chances to sell the Package for more. If you interrupt your Auctioneer and try and get him/her to re-describe the item, you are actually taking away the urgency to bid. You are saying to your crowd, “No one wants this” and you are slowing down the bidding.

When you use a Professional Charity Benefit Auctioneer and their team trust their judgement. They know when its time to “Talk and Time to Sell”