Several years ago now, I received a call from a client one week after their event. They needed to know who won their raffle because they couldn’t remember. In the week since their event I had worked four more. I did not remember who won their raffle.
My post-auction routine grew out of that experience. I follow these steps exactly with each of my clients immediately after their event ends.
The first thing I do when I am done with an auction is meet with the Fund-A-Need recorders. Usually there are between three and five people tasked with manually recording the donations during the Fund-A-Need. We sit in a room and go over each donation and donor number, line by line. We reconcile the numbers and create one master sheet with all the Fund-A-Need donations. Then, I take a photo of each page of the master list with my phone. Photos have become essential because it’s not uncommon for one page of the master list to get messed up or lost. Next, I ask each recorder to write their name on the top of each page of their recorded Fund-A-Need donations in case we need to check their handwriting or have any questions for them. I then have each recorder take a picture of every single page they filled out, exactly like I did with the master list. I have them email these photos to themselves and to the Development Director.
I repeat the same process for the live auction, silent auction, any raffles that happen, etc. I create a master list of all the auction lots, who won the item, and what their bid was.
Once I have my master sheets, I meet with the Development Director, Executive Director, Party Planner, whoever is on site and available. I give them all the information. I physically hand over the master lists to this person. I also give them a list of any issues that occurred. For example, if I was supposed to sell two trips to Mexico but I only had one bidder, I will make a note of that and let them know that only one of the trips sold.
This is where we iron out any issues from the auctions. If an item sold and the buyer decided they didn’t want it after all, I’ll point out the second-highest bidder. I can remember these details up until the moment I leave the building, after that my attention is focused on the next event I’m doing and I probably won’t remember who else bid on that fabulous trip for four to Iceland. We get all the discrepancies and issues ironed-out that we possibly can before I leave.
Then I leave.
I make sure to pay for my parking.
I listen to a podcast on my drive home.
If it’s Saturday, I stop at McDonalds and get a number nine. But only if it’s Saturday.
I get home, take off all my makeup, and settle in to watch a nature documentary or something else that calms and soothes me.
Then, I go to bed.
That’s it. That’s my post-auction routine. Following this procedure before leaving events has been life-changing. I no longer have to worry about discrepancies or forgotten winners. Everything is squared away before I leave and I’m able to turn my attention to my next event, guilt free.
What is your post-event routine? I’d love to hear what works for you down in the comments.
My post-auction routine grew out of that experience. I follow these steps exactly with each of my clients immediately after their event ends.
The first thing I do when I am done with an auction is meet with the Fund-A-Need recorders. Usually there are between three and five people tasked with manually recording the donations during the Fund-A-Need. We sit in a room and go over each donation and donor number, line by line. We reconcile the numbers and create one master sheet with all the Fund-A-Need donations. Then, I take a photo of each page of the master list with my phone. Photos have become essential because it’s not uncommon for one page of the master list to get messed up or lost. Next, I ask each recorder to write their name on the top of each page of their recorded Fund-A-Need donations in case we need to check their handwriting or have any questions for them. I then have each recorder take a picture of every single page they filled out, exactly like I did with the master list. I have them email these photos to themselves and to the Development Director.
I repeat the same process for the live auction, silent auction, any raffles that happen, etc. I create a master list of all the auction lots, who won the item, and what their bid was.
Once I have my master sheets, I meet with the Development Director, Executive Director, Party Planner, whoever is on site and available. I give them all the information. I physically hand over the master lists to this person. I also give them a list of any issues that occurred. For example, if I was supposed to sell two trips to Mexico but I only had one bidder, I will make a note of that and let them know that only one of the trips sold.
This is where we iron out any issues from the auctions. If an item sold and the buyer decided they didn’t want it after all, I’ll point out the second-highest bidder. I can remember these details up until the moment I leave the building, after that my attention is focused on the next event I’m doing and I probably won’t remember who else bid on that fabulous trip for four to Iceland. We get all the discrepancies and issues ironed-out that we possibly can before I leave.
Then I leave.
I make sure to pay for my parking.
I listen to a podcast on my drive home.
If it’s Saturday, I stop at McDonalds and get a number nine. But only if it’s Saturday.
I get home, take off all my makeup, and settle in to watch a nature documentary or something else that calms and soothes me.
Then, I go to bed.
That’s it. That’s my post-auction routine. Following this procedure before leaving events has been life-changing. I no longer have to worry about discrepancies or forgotten winners. Everything is squared away before I leave and I’m able to turn my attention to my next event, guilt free.
What is your post-event routine? I’d love to hear what works for you down in the comments.
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