Allowing people to get to know the auctioneer and their personality during the Live Auction, before he or she asks the audience for donations in the Fund-A-Need, is crucial to building trust, momentum, and reparté with the audience at a live event, according to Keith McLane, Founder and Lead Auctioneer at KLM Auctions. “I’ve always felt that a Live Auction does a really nice job building momentum into the Fund-A-Need,” he says. McLane recommends doing at least part of the live auction before the Fund-A-Need so that audiences are familiarized with the auctioneer before the most critical part of the evening. He notes, “It’s a very intimate thing - coming up and saying, ‘Folks, this is why we’re here’” and asking for money.When the time does come to ask for flat-out donations, notes McLane, the audience should already be familiar with the auctioneer and be able to say, “‘Oh I like this guy - he’s funny’ or ‘this is engaging,’” making them more enthusiastic to donate.McLane points out that this tactic is often more effective than appearing in front of an audience for the first time and saying, “Alright, you’ve never seen me before, but now I’m gonna be asking you to give the organization $10,000.” Going straight into the Fund-A-Need without giving the audience a chance to get to know the auctioneer first can feel a bit “standoffish”, he says.For optimal results, McLane recommends putting the Fund-A-Need at the very end of the program for an event with 6-8 Live Auction packages or less. For groups with 8-12 or more Live Auction packages, putting the Fund-A-Need two-thirds of the way through is ideal.This way, depending on the number of packages being sold, the audience has a chance to become familiar with the auctioneer before the Fund-A-Need without any portion of the event feeling too drawn-out.- - -“Friends With Benefit Auctions” is a new video-podcast talking all things auction, benefit fundraising and live charity events. This clip is from Episode 1 of KLM Auctions’ new video podcast 'Friends with Benefit Auctions', featuring an expert conversation with Taylor Beveridge, Kristi Maryman, and Rachel Schmidt. Watch the full episode on Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/@KLMAuctionsKLM Auctions is the nation’s premier provider of event-based fundraising advisory services and professional charity/benefit auctioneers.Get in touch with us here:https://www.klmauctions.com/contact-us#benefitauction #auction #fundraising #nonprofit #friendswithbenefitauctions #KLMauctions #fundaneed #liveauction