The qualities that make a great charity auctioneer

Ask ten committees what makes a great charity auctioneer and you will get ten answers, most of them about being funny or loud. The qualities that actually matter are quieter and more consistent than that. Here are the ones I work hardest at.

Warmth

Above everything, I try to be warm. Guests give to someone they like and trust, and warmth earns both. You cannot fake it for two hours, so I do not try. I genuinely enjoy the room, and it shows.

Judgement

Reading a room and knowing what to do about it is the whole craft: when to push, when to ease off, when to tell a story, when to close a lot. Hundreds of small decisions made in real time. That judgement is what you are really paying for.

Nerve

Looking a room in the eye and asking for serious money takes nerve. So does holding a silence, standing firm on an increment, or riding out a lot that stalls. I stay calm when the room and the committee are anything but, because that is when the calm is worth the most.

Preparation

The nights that look effortless are the well-prepared ones. I learn your cause, your lots, your running order and your room in advance, so I can be relaxed and flexible when something changes. Something always changes.

Genuine care

Finally, I actually care about your total. I treat your target as my own and I feel the win, or the shortfall, personally. It is the difference a room can sense but never quite name, and it is why teams like the ones on my reviews page ask me back.

If those are the qualities you want at the front of your room, tell me about your event.