One of the most commonly asked questions I get asked by non profit groups is how they can maximize their fund raising efforts at their events with Silent &/or Live Auctions. Now I am not a professional fund-raiser but I’ve certainly seen enough auctions both successful and others less so to pick up what I think are the 5 tricks to success. Here they are in no particular order :

1. Have auction items that appeal to your guests. Auction items must appeal to the guest who have bought a ticket to the event. Knowing the demographics of your event attendees is very important. If you can obtain items for your auction that are both within the price point and interest of your guests you have a greater chance of raising significant $$.
2. Merchandise Merchandise Merchandise. Display your auction items to their best advantage – People want to see what they are buying. Make sure to take items (i.e. a flat screen TV) out of their boxes and remove the plastic wrappers. Make sure items that are not physically present (gift cards, travel, etc..) have alluring and graphically interesting presentation posters. Also make sure your auction table items are merchandised at varying heights so that the display is interesting enough for the eye to scan the whole table and not want to miss anything.
3. Add a “Buy Now”  option – this is usually set at the full retail value of the item or 10% above the full retail value. This allows a serious bidder to stake the item as theirs and guarantees you reach your funding target for the item. Having guests at your event realize that a Silent or Live Auction does not = garage sale prices will also go a long way.
4. Build up excitement and bidding. Your last live Auction item should be the climax! During your event lead up to the main auction with a smaller teaser auction. Pick items with a smaller price point that are sure to go for full value. this builds up bidding excitement and gets the room primed for the main auction which will help you raise more $$.
5. Send them an Auction teaser. Educate your guests with what’s available for auction in advance of the event. If they know about the fabulous items in advance they come prepared to bid on the item(s) they really want. For larger value items they may even put together a group to bid on it to split the cost (ie a vacation cabin rental, harbour yacht cruise, etc…) Here’s an example of one of my clients that’s doing it right A Loving Spoonful’s Project Empty Bowl.

These are just some tricks you can use to ensure auction success. There are many more and are unique to your auction, charity and the actual event. Please feel free to share your ideas.

Wow is all I can say what a party! Last weeks celebration of hitting the 5 year milestone for being in business was a huge success and a lot of fun

Thanks again to all who came out to show their support and of course a huge thank you to all my suppliers and sponsors. Lonsdale Rentals Mobiry Seven 25 Design & Typography House of Q Michi Sushi Road 13 Mozart Bakery & Cafe Hot Wax Mobile Music & Tattoos For Now

The rest of the great photos taken by Cole & Jakob from Nordica Photography can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/amuseconsulting/

With only 30 hours to go until the doors open for the Amuse Consulting 5 Year Anniversary Party I’m starting to get butterflies.

Now you may wonder why I’m getting nervous after all I’ve planned over 100+ events since starting Amuse Consulting in 2005 and 6 years of events I planned at all Vancouver Capers Community Market stores. Well the answer is simple, this is a huge milestone both for me personally and for my company and so I’ve really put it all out there.

I’ve lined up a fantastic array of suppliers doing their best work and some neat and nifty surprises that are sure to please and get people talking. It’s an event with a Marc/Amuse twist. To find out some of the special treats in store for you check out an earlier blog from last week.

Something I have not shared yet with  most folks is how truly thankful I am for the amazing support I have received from clients, friends, colleagues, and the fantastic social media world that I dipped my toes into last year. So here is my public thank you in the largest voice I can muster THANK YOU for an amazing 5 years. I really look forward to the next 5 years and beyond.

For those sitting on the fence yes there are a few tickets left. $20 gets you a great evening of fun, of course my thanks, and the knowledge that the money is going to charity. Two in fact Kids Up Front Vancouver & A Loving Spoonful. Buy your ticket here http://amuse5year.eventbrite.com/

So here’s to seeing you on Wednesday May 19th at the Harrison Galleries, at 6pm. I’ll be the one smiling from ear to ear.

You may have heard by now that Amuse Consulting has reached a milestone of being 5 Years in business. Technically we reached that landmark in January but who throws a party on Jan 2nd?

I’m super stoked about the event and want to share with you some of the cool sponsors and services that will be on display for your enjoyment. Oh there are still a few tickets left so click on the poster and register yourself.

1. To start with I’m showcasing some cool neat technology courtesy of Mobiry. I’m not going give too much of that away as it’s kind of cool and I like the surprise factor.
2. For food well have we a treat for you. To start with we have the award winning House of Q serving up real southern BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Southern coleslaw! Then we have the unique and super tasty Michi Sushi serving up their innovative and easy to eat sushi rolls. To further delight your taste buds and to be honest a meal isn’t over till you’ve had dessert we have… Mozart Bakery & Cafe doing up Sweet Potato Pie & Lemon Tartlets. Yummy Yummy Yummy!
3. Now that we’ve taken care of your taste buds how about your other senses? Spinning some tunes that will have all our toes tapping will be DJ’s courtesy of Hot Wax Mobile Music.
4. For you sight we’ve even got that covered! Tattoos For Now will be creating a special piece of body art that will be on display plus they will be offering airbrush tattoos for all in attendance. Maybe you’ve been wanting one on a certain spot bust just didn’t know how it would look well now you’ve no excuse Ted Couling will also be on had as a crowd favourite to create some lasting memories with his caricatures.
5. Did you think I’d forgotten about what you are drinking? Not to worry this is going to blow you away. Irene will be sampling some beautifully aged rum and Lambic beers that I’m sure you’ll enjoy + the surprise guest is Michael Bartier the winemaker of Road 13 will be pouring wines all night and will be hosting a very special and exclusive mini event in our party at approx 7:30ish.
6. Think I’m done? nope but you’ll just have to be there to find out what else I have in store for you. Plus you have to be there to win 1of the 8 door prizes valued at over $3500!

So I really hope to see you on the 19th. It’ll be a great event and the crowd is looking fabulous. Don’t leave your ticket purchase till the end they are selling fast and I have put a cap on number of tickets available.

Thanks again to sponsors that have come on board at the last minute and didn’t make the poster designed by Isabelle and the team at Seven25 Design & Typography.

Can you believe it? Amuse Consulting is 5 years old! Let me tell you 2010 has started off with a bang and looks to be our best year ever. The Olympics were an amazing experience for us. I blogged non stop for the Metro Blenz News Squad (stay tuned next month to here more on that) and just recently I was invited to tour 3 great resort properties in Osoyoos. So much to share from that trip. Stay tuned for my blogs on the properties and amenities that I think are perfect for your next corporate get away or event.

To celebrate our “birthday” we are throwing an exclusive event and you are invited. Please see below for more details and click on the poster to be taken to the registration page. Proceeds from the event are being donated to A Loving Spoonful and Kids Up Front. Both are new Amuse Clients.

Thanks to the fantastic sponsors I’ve got quite the line up of events happening + over $3500.00 in door prizes. Thanks to Road 13, House of Q, Michi Sushi, Mobiry, Seven25 Design & Typography & Mozart Bakery & Cafe

Only 125 tickets are available and they are selling fast so please make sure to get yours right away   Click on the poster below to be directed to the registration page with all the details.

click here for party registration

The following post is an excerpt from my blog postings on Metro Blenz News Squad and was one of the highlights of my Olympic Experience!

A once in a lifetime experience occurred today. I held in my hands all 6 of the Olympic and Paralympic medals! A first in modern Olympic history the IOC allowed the host nation to exhibit and make available to the general public actual Olympic medals. Here’s the story of my Gold Medal experience.

7am I arrived at the SFU Segal Graduate School for Business at Granville & Pender. Actually during Feb 12th to 28th it’s been transformed into the Canadian Mint Pavilion. In front of me were about 100 dedicated people mostly local Vancouverites.

In front and behind me were 2 people soon to become my Canadian Mint tour buddies Arjuna and Vena. We spent the next two hours sharing our Olympic experiences, passing on tips of what to see and what wasn’t worth the wait.

Click here to read and see more.

On My way to a client meeting today I decided to skip the crowds on Granville and instead walked along Howe St. Now I walk this street all the time so I’m pretty familiar with all the businesses and what their windows usually display.  When I came by the Urban Barn I noticed the store looked remarkably bare compared to normal and yet a lot of people were inside lounging and talking. I had to check it out.

Home On Howe Window Display

When I walked in I discovered the store had been converted to a “Right at Home on Howe“  a 3,600 sq ft retail space transformed into a 17 day temporary home for Urban Barn employee Robbie Romu. Robbie was handpicked by Urban Barn President Rick Bohonis to live in the store 24/7 for the during of the 2010 Olympic Games. Knowing that the store would not be a destination during the Games they decided instead to create a respite from the chaos for both locals and visitors alike to enjoy.

Urban Barn invites the public to stop by anytime during the extended Olympic hours to hang with Robbie. You can watch TV with friends, sit and relax, play Wii, check email, you name it! In keeping with the spirit of the Games Urban Barn has used this opportunity to raise funds in support of the Canadian Paralympic Foundation (CPF), a registered Canadian charity dedicated to raising funds to support the development of sport for the benefit of Canadians with physical disabilities. The Goal is to raise $20,010.00 by March 21st. Please click here to donate or to learn more.

Here’s my exclusive chat with Robbie Romu himself. Hear in his words what the experience has been like.

Here are just some of the fun events planned to keep Robbie and his guests occupied for the rest of the Games.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. “Are You Smarter than Robbie?” Game Show

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Rock Band Challenge Night

Friday, February 26, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Comedy Night: Christopher Molineux hosts a night of laughs with
some of Vancouver’s top comedy acts. (Limited space; visit
www.homeonhowe.com to RSVP.)

Saturday, February 27, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
8:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. Closed Event (Urban Barn Staff Slumber Party)

Sunday, February 28, 2010 Store Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wii 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Winter Games Daily Challenge
Right at Home on Howe Wrap/Closing Party