Create Default Attendee Names for Tickets with multiple attendees?

[NobelityProject]

We have an annual gala where we sell tables as well as tickets. In C&P Events, I currently have the Table levels configured so that they have 10 attendees attached. While testing our box office, we've found it's cumbersome (and potentially discouraging) to enter all ten attendees to even purchase the ticket. I understand that they're needed in order to map correctly into Auctions for Salesforce for check-in, so is there a way to make all ten attendees default to "Guest of <LastName>"? It's highly unlikely that the ticket-buyers will know all their attendees right when they make the purchase.

Thanks so much!
Cassidy

[CnP.LiveSupport.AB]

You will need to consider what will work best for you logistically. Here are a couple of different approaches, pros and cons.

Realize the C&P Events was not designed specifically to work with Auctions for Salesforce, our integration is the embedded Virtual Terminal form that you use to pre-swipe and to sell guests Auction Packages at the event.

1. Create Anonymous event. Set the Event Campaign (under Additional Info > Event tab) to the Auction Tickets campaign. Set the Levels Campaign (Additional Info > Levels tab, use dropdown to select relevant level) as the Tickets Campaign as well. Use custom questions to collect the names the Registrants have available when they buy their tickets.

- The Registrant and the Ticket Opportunities end up on the Auction Tickets Campaign
- Use Auction software to assign the attendee to a Registrants ticket as the organization receives the information. Some can be manually added when the ticket purchase is made (whoever on staff receives the notification) based on response to your custom question

Outcome:
In this case think of it like you're just using C&P Events to sell tickets and create them in the Campaign Auctions for Salesforce will be looking for them in. For each ticket, there is still a separate opportunity created. You can use Auction for Salesforce's fieldsets to add fields to the Auctions Tickets tabs and Detail screens.
Benefits here are that your Opportunity ends up in the correct campaign. Drawbacks is that staff do assume the full load of adding attendees on the Auction Ticket Detail screen and you will need to plan how to make sure you receive all the attendee information in time to meet catering deadlines, etc.

2. Create a Named Event. Use labels and description fields to suggest to the Registrant that they enter Guest and a number as the First Name, and their full name as the last name (or something along those lines).
When Temporary Contacts are created for an Event, they are created for both Registrants and Attendees (and if a registrant IS an attendee- there is one temp contact for each). Do not match the Temporary Contact to a Salesforce Contact until you have the actual name of the guest. You may edit the Attendee name under Event Management > Event Name > Registrations, and THEN process the Temporary Contact.

Variation 1: Set the Event Campaign (under Additional Info > Event tab) to the Auction Tickets campaign. Set the Levels Campaign (Additional Info > Levels tab, use dropdown to select relevant level) as the Tickets Campaign as well. Under Form fields, use the dropdown to minimize the amount of information that Registrants must enter for each Attendee.

Outcome 1: Registrant's Contact is added to the Tickets Campaign - as needed. Opportunity is in the Tickets Campaign, as needed. Attendee must be manually added to the Attendee Campaign before the event in Auction Tickets before the event.

Variation 2: Set the Event Campaign (under Additional Info > Event tab) to the Auction Tickets campaign. Set the Levels Campaign (Additional Info > Levels tab, use dropdown to select relevant level) to the Attendees Campaign. Set a SKU for each level - something like "AUCT-TKT"

Outcome 2: Registrant's Contact is added to the Tickets Campaign - as needed. Attendee's matched Contact is added to the Attendees Campaign as needed. The Opportunity is assigned to the Attendee campaign which does pose a problem because Auctions for Salesforce is looking for Ticket Opportunities on the Tickets campaign.

This is where you can use a tricky workaround to get the Opportunity back in the Tickets Campaign. In C&P Donor Management (Payment as a Service) app, under C&P Settings, use SKU mapping for the "AUC-TKT" SKU to set the Opportunity Campaign Id to the Auction Tickets campaign.
Donor Management (PaaS) considers C&P Settings > Contacts & Accounts, and C&P Settings > Opportunities when it creates the record- so the Opportunity is created in the Attendee Campaign, and the 'attendee' Contact is added as well. But then it waits for NPSP to do any updates it needs to do, before it comes back and updates the record with any custom mapping settings. So you then get the Opportunity back where you need it - on the Auction Tickets Campaign.

Pro - Minimal effort to modify attendee information, just update the name of the Attendee in Event Registrations before processing the Temporary Contact.
Con - C&P PaaS cannot create the Opportunity until the Attendee is matched to a Salesforce Contact, so you'll need to monitor your ticket sales in Events rather than Campaigns between the time you start selling tickets and the event day..

In all cases, your staff will still need to add the name of the Attendee on the Auction Ticket detail screen. The only information that C&P PaaS manages on the Campaign Member object is the Status field - it cannot add the lookup to the Opportunity ticket or something like a Meal Preference to the Campaign Member record. From a Auctions for Salesforce data perspective, each ticket is on the Auction Tickets Campaign, and the related Attendee's Contact for that ticket is in the Attendee Campaign. Their Campaign Member record has a lookup Opportunity field that relates it to the ticket that's on the Tickets Campaign.

Hope this helps explain how the data is working between the two applications, and gives you what you need to plan the best approach for you.

[NobelityProject]

CnP.LiveSupport.AB This has been so incredibly helpful. Thank you! I'm going to talk with my supervisor and see which option is best for us.

[gvanullen]

Hi - a tangential question to this: can we forgo collecting attendee info, and only collect registrant's? If I buy 3 tickets to the theater, they don't care who goes, just that I paid for 3 seats. Similarly, we have a family event, and collecting the kids' names isn't helpful and possibly cumbersome.

Thanks.

[CnP.Support.AM]

Good day @gvanullen

In this case, you may go with Anonymous event as it doesn't require you to enter any attendee details. Simply needs to select the number of tickets and enter registrant details.

[gvanullen]

Gotcha - thanks!