The nature of our business means that we meet with and speak to a variety of different charities, businesses and organisations about different types of event every day. Currently, Impulse Decisions delivers silent auctions at a variety of events: charity dinners; charity auction prizes; awards events; golf days; gala balls; sportsman’s dinners and hospitality events. These events all have one thing in common: their main aim is to raise money.

That’s exactly why we structure our silent auctions so they maximize the amount of money our clients can raise from events, whilst providing a first-class event experience to our guests.

We maximise charity fundraising by following a few simple (but important) principles and provide a fully managed and fully inclusive service, entirely free of charge. Our service is:

1. Free of charge. We don’t charge any fees for the service because our business costs are within the reserve price. Therefore, all the bids above the reserve price represent pure profit for charity.
2. Hassle free. We include every aspect of the auction so there’s nothing for you to do. We provide the charity auction prizes, the printed brochures, staff who manage the auction on the night and we deal with payments too. As we supply the auction prizes, there’s also nothing for our clients to do post event – we book and deliver everything.
3. Bespoke and wide ranging. We specialise in providing a diverse range of luxury auction prizes to suit all budgets and tastes. Our prizes create a real buzz at events and ensure everyone talks about the auction. Our team spends a lot of time analysing event data to ensure we’re providing prizes that will sell well and make money for charity.

What are the misconceptions?

Not everyone will have experienced a silent auction before and there are a few common concerns that should be addressed. Here are the top 5 misconceptions we hear, followed by why you shouldn’t worry about them.

• “Running a silent auction will cost me too much!”

Running a silent auction won’t cost you a penny. We structure our silent auctions so that there are no fees to pay. Every auction Lot has a reserve price on, within which we build our costs. We then pay the Charity everything over the reserve price.

Our service includes everything; charity auction prizes, printed auction brochures, staff, payment terminals and the management of prizes post-event. There’s nothing for you or your team to do, we take care of the entire process.

• “The silent auction will interfere with my event.”

You’ll have to trust us, it won’t. Unlike a live auction, a silent auction is driven by printed brochures which are placed at each place-setting before the event starts, so it doesn’t require a ‘time slot’. The silent auction runs seamlessly alongside the event and guests browse their brochure at leisure with our team on standby should they require assistance.

Whatever the running order of the event, the silent auction will not interfere.

• “We already do fundraising at the event so there’s no need for a silent auction.”

It’s fantastic when we hear that events already raise money for charity. If you already do some event fundraising at your event, such as a live auction or a raffle, then a silent auction is a totally risk free addition, which could raise even more. The silent auction offers a ‘wow factor’ experience to guests who will be astounded by the prizes we offer.

• “People have paid a lot for the ticket, we don’t want them to feel pressured to spend more on auction items.”

Our team have been analysing event data since we started fundraising in 2010. We ensure that our range of charity auction prizes is diverse and has items that will appeal to all tastes and budgets.

Our charity auction prizes are specialist, so guests don’t feel pressured to buy items, they want to buy items! Where else would you get the opportunity to buy a Monaco Grand Prix experience with a chartered private jet? Or a 3 day US Masters Experience with ultimate VIP hospitality?

We also promote a no pressure attitude to bidding. Even with a range of amazing prizes, not all guests will want to bid on items, so they simply put the brochure to one side. At no point will we push your guests to bid.

• “It’s not the right audience for a silent auction.”

Part of the excitement of a silent auction is not knowing what hobbies and interests your guests have. At every event you’ll find guests with surprising past times; secret golfers, F1 boffins, globe trotters and most definitely sports fans longing for memorabilia from their favourite sports star.

You’ll find auction lots are purchased as client entertainment, for gifts, family holidays and sometimes personal purchases when they see something that’s just too good to pass up. The beauty of it all? By purchasing something in the auction they are donating to charity in the process.

We also find that because guests are getting something tangible in return for their donation, the likelihood of auction items selling is high and the average donation from a person buying something from an auction is higher than an average envelope contribution. So the charity benefits tremendously from running a silent auction – and remember it’s free, so whatever they make is 100% profit.

Why use Impulse Decisions?

Hopefully, if you’ve ever had any concerns about running a silent auction, the answers above will help to put your mind at ease.

The service we provide, both to our clients and your guests, is a key priority for us. We always run our silent auctions with the guests’ experience in mind and we are flexible to ensure you are happy with how the service operates.

This combined with our range of incredible auction lots, fully managed service and love for fundraising results in a specialist service that really will maximise the fundraising at your events. Best of all, you don’t have to pay for the privilege.

For further information on Impulse Decisions and to find out how we can help support your event, call one of the sales team on 01423 531682 or email charity@impulsedecisions.com