What are the first words that come to mind when you think of the term “auctioneer”? Most likely, your answer was, “Going once…going twice…sold!” But even though this phrase has become ingrained in everyday life, an effective auctioneer needs to be able to do much more during a live auction than just say it enthusiastically. They also have to advertise every item well enough to spark bidding wars, adapt their pricing approach on the fly, and maintain momentum throughout the auction so participants stay engaged.

A well-written live auction script is an essential resource for your auctioneer to accomplish all of the above goals. In this guide, you’ll learn how to craft a script that gives your auctioneer exactly what they need to succeed. We’ll cover:

Let’s get started by discussing what a live auction script is and its role within your nonprofit’s broader event.

Boost your live auction’s revenue potential with unique fundraising travel packages. Contact Winspire.

Live Auction Scripts: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a live auction script?

A live auction script is a document that guides what an auctioneer says during this type of fundraising event. It ensures the auctioneer promotes the right auction items at the right time for the right prices, helps them enforce the event’s rules, and sets them up to effectively engage participants.

As you create live auction scripts, don’t expect that your auctioneer will read out every detail word for word, especially if they have a lot of experience that has allowed them to develop their own style. Instead, think of a script as a reference for your auctioneer to make sure they hit all of the major points accurately as they infuse their unique flair into the bidding process.

How can my nonprofit recruit a good auctioneer?

Along with prize selection, pricing strategy, and event atmosphere, your choice of auctioneer is one of the major factors that can make or break your live auction’s success. The process of selecting one is fairly similar to recruiting any other skilled volunteer or external professional (depending on your budget). Here are a few tips for getting started:

A numbered list of three tips for recruiting an auctioneer, which are discussed below.

  • Begin your search online. Many professional auctioneers have their own websites, and volunteers may advertise their experience on public social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn and Facebook. A quick Google search for “auctioneers in [city name]” or “auctioneers near me” will likely turn up a variety of results at all skill levels.
  • Ask for recommendations. Reach out to other nonprofit professionals in your area to see if any of their organizations have hosted a live auction recently, and if so, who their auctioneer was and what they thought of them. Reading reviews on professional auctioneers’ websites and relevant comments on volunteers’ social media posts can also give you a sense of what real event hosts and participants thought of each candidate.
  • Interview and audition your top picks. Once you’ve made a list and narrowed it down to your top three to five candidates, schedule a brief face-to-face meeting with each of them. In addition to asking them questions about their experience and cause-related interests during this interview, have them read a section of a script or “sell” an item of your choosing in their typical auctioneering style to give you a better sense of whether they’d be a good fit for your event.

Besides matching your preferred style, your auctioneer should be willing to collaborate with you on creating your script while not relying too heavily on it during your event (since they should be focused on engaging your supporters, which is tougher when they’re constantly looking down).

What other bidding materials are necessary for a successful live auction?

A live auction script is just one of the materials you need to make this event run smoothly on the day of. A few of the others include:

  • An auction catalog that serves as a program for your event and a guide to your prizes, which can be printed for each supporter or distributed as a PDF for them to download on their smartphones.
  • A slide deck in which every item has an individual slide featuring photos and highlights that you’ll display while bidding is open for that prize, along with auction opening and closing reminders for participants.
  • Bid cards for every supporter that feature a large number so your auctioneer can easily identify who is bidding on each item, a cheat sheet of basic bidding rules, and some top prizes participants should look forward to during your auction.

Make sure the details of all four of these materials align, especially regarding what each item includes and any restrictions on its use, so that participants get consistent, correct information wherever they turn for it.
Easily create professional-looking bid cards for auctions with Winspire’s comprehensive template. Download for Free.

Essential Elements of a Live Auction Script

Now that you know why you need to create a live auction script, let’s dive into the process of actually doing so. Once you’ve drafted your script based on our best practices, use the checklist below to make sure it includes all of the necessary elements.

An Engaging Introduction

Your auctioneer’s first job when they begin your live auction is to get participants’ attention. The introduction to your script should help them do so by:

  • Welcoming supporters to and thanking them for taking part in your live auction.
  • Reviewing basic bidding procedures to check for understanding and keep everyone on the same page throughout the auction.
  • Briefly explaining your event’s purpose (i.e., what specific aspect of your nonprofit’s mission you’re raising funds for), since reminding participants why they’re bidding right before your auction opens can encourage them to bid higher and on more items.

Don’t let this portion of the program take more than a few minutes, or supporters may become impatient to start bidding! Alternatively, you could create a short introductory video that features these elements, then just have your auctioneer briefly introduce themselves before they dive into the bidding process.

Individual Item Pitches

As the bidding process begins, your auctioneer will give a short sales pitch for every prize up for auction as it’s presented. These item descriptions should have enough detail to get supporters excited about the prize while still remaining relatively concise—talking for 30-60 seconds is ideal for most items. Your auctioneer will likely focus on what the winning bidder will receive with each prize, but make note of relevant restrictions and item providers or sponsors in your script so they can mention them as it feels appropriate to do so.

In addition to matching the details in each sales pitch to those in your slide deck and auction catalog, make sure your script lists your auction items in the same order as they appear in those materials. Your entire event team needs to be on the same page about the prize order before you start to create seamless transitions between items.

Pricing & Bidding Process Details

Every item listing in your script should also include detailed pricing information for your auctioneer to reference. When pricing a live auction item, there are four numbers you should keep in mind to strike the right balance between maximizing revenue potential and appealing to participants:

A flowchart of the four numbers in a successful live auction pricing strategy and how they relate to each other, as explained below.

  1. Fair market value (FMV): This value is the price you would’ve paid for an auction item if you had purchased it on the open market, since it’s best to procure as many prizes as possible via in-kind donations or nonprofit discounts to keep upfront event costs low. Discuss with your auctioneer in advance whether they should mention this number, since it can create a ceiling for bidding but also impacts tax deductibility for participants.
  2. Starting bid amount: In both live and silent auction pricing, an ideal starting bid amount (i.e., the first number your auctioneer puts up) is between 30-50% of a prize’s FMV. Starting bids for higher-value items should generally be on the upper end of that range and lower-value items should fall on the lower end.
  3. Minimum bid increase: This is the amount the auctioneer will raise the price by each time someone bids, which should be no more than 10% of the starting bid amount. If a participant jumps in with a higher bid or a fervent bidding war breaks out, it’s fine for the auctioneer to increase the price by more, but they shouldn’t go lower than the specified number to keep the auction competitive.
  4. Minimum bid or reserve price: Not to be confused with the minimum bid increase, this number is the lowest amount you’re willing to let an auction item go for. Set it between 15-25% of a prize’s FMV so that if no one takes the starting bid amount, your auctioneer can slowly work backward to the reserve price.

The one exception to this pricing rule is consignment items, since most consignment models specify that all of the revenue you earn above a prize’s list price goes toward your nonprofit’s mission. For these items, use the list price as the minimum bid and set the starting bid at 110-120% of the list price to increase your chances of bringing in funding from them.

Round all of your calculations to the nearest $10, $100, or $1,000 to make the math easy for your auctioneer and participants alike. Remember also to include information about unique bidding scenarios in your script, such as what to say in case of inactivity or whether it’s possible to award a particular item to multiple winning bidders.

Technical Information

Everyone working behind the scenes at your live auction should receive a run of show to follow during your event. This document is similar to an event agenda, but it’s usually much more detailed, featuring down-to-the-minute timestamps for every action that will occur and audio/visual cues to help keep venue lighting, microphone usage, and display and speaker outputs synchronized throughout your auction.

To prevent your auctioneer from having to go back and forth between two documents to get all of the information they need during your auction, incorporate relevant aspects of your run of show into your script for their reference. Add columns for timestamps and visual outputs so your auctioneer stays on track and knows what’s on the screen behind them, and include a note at the top about which microphone they’re supposed to use so they can double-check that they have the right one before they begin.

The Event Closing

After your auctioneer calls “Sold!” for your last item, they should close out your live auction by thanking everyone again for their time and participation. Then, have them read some basic instructions for winners to claim their items and check out to help this process go more smoothly.

If your live auction isn’t the final segment of your event, your auctioneer should transition into the next activity with a brief announcement of what will happen and whether it’ll begin immediately or in a few minutes. If your auction concludes your event, specify whether your auctioneer should give the final goodbye or turn it over to another member of your event team to do so.

Auction Script Example

If you still need some inspiration to get started with your live auction script, our team at Winspire has put together a brief example of a few of the sections above: the introduction, one item pitch with pricing information (featuring one of our most popular consignment travel Experiences—the Tuscany Culinary Escape), and technical details. Use this sample as a basis for formatting your full script, or replace the event information in it with your own before giving it to your auctioneer candidates for their audition.

An example live auction script that includes the sections discussed above.

 

Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on Live Auction Planning

A strong live auction script can make all the difference in whether your items sell and how engaged participants are throughout your event. Use the tips above to get started, remembering to work with your auctioneer to make sure your script aligns with their style and that they understand how to promote your particular mission and prizes effectively.

For more information on live auction planning, check out these resources:

Discover bucket-list, no-risk charity auction travel packages. Reach out to Winspire to learn more. Contact Us.