Thinking Fast On Your Feet Saves The Day

The city was Calgary, the venue, the Westin, and the event was an upscale Benefit Auction attended by 600 potential donors gathered from Calgary’s elite. During the weeks preceding the event, Danny had been in frequent contact with the organizers, and everything was falling into place. Everything, that is, except the list of donations for the Benefit Auction.

The Big Day arrived, then The Big Moment. Danny was on stage, about to begin the auction, yet he still had no information whatsoever on what he was going to be auctioning off. With microphone in hand, he turned to his stagemate, the gal who had been in charge of soliciting donations. Danny asked, “So, Linda (not her real name), what’s the first item up for auction tonight?” Linda paused for a moment, then leaned into Danny’s ear and whispered “We don’t have anything.”

The action was underway. And there was nothing to sell.

Without missing a beat, Danny started to ask questions. Speaking into the microphone for everyone to hear, he elicited information from Linda about what the charity was doing and what the fundraising was directed toward. As he did so, Danny developed a sales strategy on the spot, and he began auctioning the opportunity for donors to put their names on rooms in a charitable facility that was being refurbished by the organization.

By the end of the auction, Danny had raised – out of thin air – nearly a quarter of a million dollars. He’d saved the day, and the Benefit Auction, from certain doom. Not sure about that gal’s job, though.