Many people think running the community auction itself is the hard part. It’s not. The magic is in creating an offer so desirable that people feel slightly crazy NOT bidding on it.
Here’s how to do it, step by step.
Step 1: Lead With Your Time
The single most powerful thing you can auction is access to YOU. Your audience knows your time is normally unavailable, and scarcity drives desire.
Offer One-on-one coaching, a VIP day, a very small group intensive. When people sense they might miss their only chance to work closely with an expert they trust, pent-up demand does the selling for you.
Step 2: Get Crystal Clear on the Outcome
Your offer must promise a specific, desirable result, not a list of deliverables. People don’t bid on “12 90 minute coaching calls.” They bid on “getting their first $10K client in 30 days or less.” An irresistible offer will offer a desirable transformation, not a list of features.
Step 3: Create a Bonus Ladder
Don’t reveal everything upfront. Start with a compelling core offer, then reveal bonuses as the bidding reaches predetermined thresholds. “$1K bid unlocks Bonus #1. $5K unlocks Bonus #2.” This keeps the energy rising throughout the auction and gives people a reason to keep competing and bidding higher and higher.
Step 4: Add Scarcity That’s Real
Keep your auction short, and never let people know the end time in advance. Urgency is not a trick; it’s a service. It stops people from overthinking and talking themselves out of something they genuinely want. We end the auction when we think it’s topped out, and we tell them that at the start. One winner with a hard deadline.
Step 5: Include a Participation Prize
Let people know that everyone who bids will get something for free – it could be a checklist, a training recording, a template. This encourages more bids, creates goodwill, and gives you a legitimate reason to DM every single person afterwards.
The irresistible offer isn’t about hype. It’s about making the value so obvious and the window so short that saying no feels like the bigger risk.