- November 6, 2007 • 5:37 pm PST
- + responses
Richard O'Keef, one of the West's most respected and sought-after auctioneers, is the author of a powerful book that both explores the art of auctioneering, as well as the whole start-to-finish picture of creating a successful fundraising auction event. Shake the Money Tree: How to Produce a Winning Fundraising Event with a Live and Silent Auction is being hailed as perhaps the most succinct, organized, and comprehensive book about the business of fundraising auctions ever written.
When asked about the highly positive reviews of his book, the author humbly smiles and replies,
"I simply distilled my fifteen years' experience into an easy-to-follow how-to book. I've organized Shake the Money Tree so that from the moment you pick it up, you're learning about how successful auctions really work.â€
That such a successful book should come from O'Keef is no surprise, especially to those with whom he has worked. Organizations that employ him for the first time regularly enjoy at least a doubling in fundraising dollars from their previous event.
"Sometimes I even triple their prior results. When we employ the whole plan as outlined in my book, the results can be phenomenal,†adds O'Keef.
Among the biggest fans of Shake the Money Tree are the author's clients. Kim Henage is Special Events Director for the Boys and Girls Club of South Valley, located in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah. The charity has used O'Keef for fundraising auctions for fourteen years.
"I've been doing special events and fundraising for over almost two decades. This book is an eye opener for even the most seasoned events planner and organizer,†lauds Henage.
According to O'Keef, there are a few things that make his book stand out among other books about auctions and fundraising.
"First, Shake the Money Tree is better organized. There are 160 tasks with supporting reasons divided into 15 hypothetical committees for instant reference. Some other books I've seen include some of these tasks, but they don't mention why the tasks are important. Knowing the reason behind each task is absolutely essential to full success-otherwise people just 'dial it in' and don't do what's needed for outstanding results.
"Second, this book combines auction fundraising with the marketing and with the preparation work that is necessary to have a highly successful event. An auction without the other steps is going to produce disappointing results.â€
O'Keef, a graduate of the Missouri Auction School, and who also holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix, has gleaned a treasure chest of practical know-how from attending countless lectures and seminars, orchestrating and conducting hundreds of fundraising auctions, and interviewing numerous auctioneers over the past fifteen years.
Through such knowledge, O'Keef has come up with four keys absolutely mandatory to success in fundraising auctions:
Guests should be made to feel important.
Guests must be made to feel an intense desire to support the cause at hand.
Items and services auctioned must be something guests will really want to buy.
Guests need to get caught up in the thrill of bidding.
In Shake the Money Tree, O'Keef explains and illustrates how to succeed in each of the four steps. In addition, O'Keef, who can only schedule so many auctions a year, informs the reader what to look for in finding a good auctioneer.
According to O'Keef, the auctioneer must have charisma and experience in order to get people emotionally involved. One method that O'Keef has perfected is his "Fund-a-Program,†which has brought unprecedented results for his clients. He tells of one such success story.
"I was conducting an auction for a charity in Utah. The CEO of a well-known national company was in attendance. After building up the emotion of what this charity was achieving for underprivileged people, I announced that we needed a Top Tier donation of $100,000. That CEO raised his hand. His generous contribution set the tone for an amazing event.
"I have never had a Fund-a-Program fail.â€
Shake the Money Tree: How to Produce a Winning Fundraising Event with a Live and Silent Auction is available Amazon.com. For a limited time, the author is offering a $10 discount if you buy the book from his website, www.letsdoanauction.com
When asked about the highly positive reviews of his book, the author humbly smiles and replies,
"I simply distilled my fifteen years' experience into an easy-to-follow how-to book. I've organized Shake the Money Tree so that from the moment you pick it up, you're learning about how successful auctions really work.â€
That such a successful book should come from O'Keef is no surprise, especially to those with whom he has worked. Organizations that employ him for the first time regularly enjoy at least a doubling in fundraising dollars from their previous event.
"Sometimes I even triple their prior results. When we employ the whole plan as outlined in my book, the results can be phenomenal,†adds O'Keef.
Among the biggest fans of Shake the Money Tree are the author's clients. Kim Henage is Special Events Director for the Boys and Girls Club of South Valley, located in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah. The charity has used O'Keef for fundraising auctions for fourteen years.
"I've been doing special events and fundraising for over almost two decades. This book is an eye opener for even the most seasoned events planner and organizer,†lauds Henage.
According to O'Keef, there are a few things that make his book stand out among other books about auctions and fundraising.
"First, Shake the Money Tree is better organized. There are 160 tasks with supporting reasons divided into 15 hypothetical committees for instant reference. Some other books I've seen include some of these tasks, but they don't mention why the tasks are important. Knowing the reason behind each task is absolutely essential to full success-otherwise people just 'dial it in' and don't do what's needed for outstanding results.
"Second, this book combines auction fundraising with the marketing and with the preparation work that is necessary to have a highly successful event. An auction without the other steps is going to produce disappointing results.â€
O'Keef, a graduate of the Missouri Auction School, and who also holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix, has gleaned a treasure chest of practical know-how from attending countless lectures and seminars, orchestrating and conducting hundreds of fundraising auctions, and interviewing numerous auctioneers over the past fifteen years.
Through such knowledge, O'Keef has come up with four keys absolutely mandatory to success in fundraising auctions:
Guests should be made to feel important.
Guests must be made to feel an intense desire to support the cause at hand.
Items and services auctioned must be something guests will really want to buy.
Guests need to get caught up in the thrill of bidding.
In Shake the Money Tree, O'Keef explains and illustrates how to succeed in each of the four steps. In addition, O'Keef, who can only schedule so many auctions a year, informs the reader what to look for in finding a good auctioneer.
According to O'Keef, the auctioneer must have charisma and experience in order to get people emotionally involved. One method that O'Keef has perfected is his "Fund-a-Program,†which has brought unprecedented results for his clients. He tells of one such success story.
"I was conducting an auction for a charity in Utah. The CEO of a well-known national company was in attendance. After building up the emotion of what this charity was achieving for underprivileged people, I announced that we needed a Top Tier donation of $100,000. That CEO raised his hand. His generous contribution set the tone for an amazing event.
"I have never had a Fund-a-Program fail.â€
Shake the Money Tree: How to Produce a Winning Fundraising Event with a Live and Silent Auction is available Amazon.com. For a limited time, the author is offering a $10 discount if you buy the book from his website, www.letsdoanauction.com
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