Do your guests and your volunteers a favor. Each guest who buys a raffle ticket should be given a visual identifier to alert others that he’s purchased.
This avoids a common annoyance to guests: multiple silent auction basket people approaching to sell raffle tickets.
Assume you have three teams of volunteers roaming the crowd to sell raffle tickets for a diamond bracelet. Team #1 approaches Mr. Smith and sells him two tickets.
Within minutes, Team #2 approaches him. “I just bought tickets,” he says. Is he fibbing? Team #2 isn’t sure, but they move on through the silent auction.
Team #3 catches Mr. Smith at the bar. They ask him if he wants to buy raffle tickets. “I’ve already bought two tickets,” he sputters. Team #3 is surprised at how grouchy he is. After all, this is a gala, right?
How many times will Mr. Smith be asked to buy raffle tickets? And how much time is wasted by Team #2 and Team #3 who keep approaching guests who have already bought tickets?
Visual identifiers solve this problem.
1. Your guest will not become annoyed from being asked multiple times if he will buy a ticket.
2. Your volunteers know who has purchased a raffle ticket and who hasn’t. They can focus on making new sales.
3. The visual identifier serves as a simple marketing tool to alert other guests about the presence of a raffle.
There are many inexpensive visual tools you can use:
* Blink-y lights in necklace, pin, or ring form
* Paper bracelets, similar to those used at large outdoor festivals or bars
* Cloth bracelets
* Metal pins
* Hawaiian leis
* Flower boutonnieres
* Plastic necklaces
* Stickers (They come in a multitude of shapes and colors to fit many themes.)