If you surveyed 100 RMEF chapters about the best way to close out a silent auction, you would likely get at least a dozen different opinions. Each arrived at how they conduct their silent auction through their own experiences – some good and some bad. Over time, chapters have also trained their attendees to know how and when a silent auction closes. However, what works for one chapter may not work for another. Organizers have run into issues when trying to close a silent auction all at one time and many chapters have found solutions for some of those challenges. There is not a right or wrong way to close a silent auction, but if your chapter has not found an option that works well for you, below are some recommendations to consider.
Pull Half
Rather than pulling your entire silent auction all at one specific time, try splitting it into two and pull half at two specified times. Pulling silent auction sheets 1-15 at 8:00 and then 16-30 at 8:30, may be a more manageable option. Be sure to clearly designatewhich items will be pulled at which time to avoid confusion.
Different Zones
Another option is to set up zones with each zone closing at a specific time. Doing so makes larger silent auctions more manageable for staff and volunteers to pull. This can be done by using different colors of tablecloths to identify the zones. For example, the blue tables will be pulled at 8:00, white tables at 8:15 and black tables at 8:30.
Random Closing
One option is to advertise that your silent auction will close randomly, after the start of the live auction (or a specified time). Assign one person to “pull” silent auction sheets after the advised time and have them pick up 6-8 sheets every 5-10 minutes. This allows the finance table to enter the silent auction as its pulled and does not bury committee volunteers in work by pulling it all at once. The person pulling can also see which items are receiving bids and leave those bid sheets out longer. Once attendees see bid sheets being pulled, they will begin bidding more, not knowing exactly when their item’s sheet will be done.
In the Arena
Some chapters that can rope off their silent auction do so at an advertised time, but they allow the bidders who are within the silent auction to stay until they are done bidding. If the advertised time is 8:00, then bidders had better be in the silent auction area. Once they leave the roped off area, they are out and cannot get back in. This lets the bidders within the ropes battle it out until they won’t bid anymore. With other banquet activities ongoing, these bidders usually get right to the point and leave their highest bid so they can get back to their seats.
Posting and Notifying Winning Bidders
After your silent auction is closed, it’s time to post the winning bidder and submit the sales into the Event Management System. The two primary options for posting winning bidders for your silent auction are through the silent auction winner poster and the silent auction claim forms. The poster can be ordered before the banquet via the print-on-demand website and the claim form can be printed through EMS under the silent auction event activity. On the poster, write the item number and winning bid number and then display the poster where it is easily seen. Write the winning bid number and bid amount on the claim form and place it where the bid sheet had previously been displayed on the silent auction table.
Conclusion
No matter how you choose to close your silent auction, it must be clearly stated in your program and mentioned several times by your emcee. A confused or uninformed audience will become frustrated if the silent auction closing process is not clearly communicated.