advice Combining an auction with outbound marketing

[manata]

Hey there!

I am currently reaching out to different parties, that could be interested in domains, that I hold.

How would you go about organizing an auction between the different parties, that are interested?

Would it be worth to pay the commission at f.e. sedo in order to have the advantages of the platform and get additional reach, by increasing the number of bids and views, by channeling interested parties there and getting better positions in the sorting through higher amounts of interactions?

How else could I organize this? Is there any auction platform without fees, that I could point them to?
Is there any SaaS, that I could host and pay to create my own independent auction?

Are there any established standards regarding this?

Thank you very much for the input!

 

[Joe N]

I personally don't like the idea of soliciting potential customers and then pointing them to an auction if they show interest. It doesn't build trust, and it doesn't give you an opportunity to negotiate the price that you want for the domain.

Additionally, unless the name is one of the top 1%, you're unlikely to generate enough interest in your auction to get a sale price you're happy with.

Don't over-complicate the process. It starts with choosing quality names that have a lot of existing potential buyers. Once you've established a reasonable sale price range, reach out to potential buyers one-by-one and solicit their interest very simply and directly. If they're interested, they'll likely negotiate with you and you'll arrive at a mutually agreeable price.

Sedo, Afternic, and the rest are good to list at to give your names extra visibility. They also provide some buyers with much needed security when buying a name from an unknown source. But ultimately, unless you hold hundreds+ of top quality names, you'll need to reach out in person to make semi-regular sales.

 

[manata]

Hey Joe!


That sounds reasonable.
Would that also mean, that you would only reach out to them one by one?
How would you organize the process, if multiple people are interested at the same time?
Do you have any favorite resources on the negotiating part of the interaction, especially for things specific to the domain sale process via email back and forth?

If I understood right, you would focus on building trust with them over the long term, but at the same time I expect to have only one successful sale with them and then no further interactions (if they are the end users and not any kind of exception). Would you mind elaborating which kind of customer you have specifically in mind or were I am mislead?

Thank you for your answer, Joe. Much appreciated!

 

[Joe N]

Would that also mean, that you would only reach out to them one by one?
How would you organize the process, if multiple people are interested at the same time?

Yes, reach out one-by-one. Best to find decision-makers in the company and email them directly. Marketing execs, CEOs, business development directors, etc. I always personalize the email with their name and keep it short and direct. No sales pitches unless they ask for one. Typically you get ignored, but if they're interested they'll likely just ask how much.

Do you have any favorite resources on the negotiating part of the interaction, especially for things specific to the domain sale process via email back and forth?

I've never been very satisfied with negotiation advice that I've read in this context. For me, the best card I hold is knowing my bottom line price and sticking to it. You're the one approaching them to make a sale, so your leverage is pretty limited. They know you want to sell it!

But have a look around NamePros. There are tons of threads that discuss outbound marketing and negotiation. People use lots of tactics, like putting a time limit on a price... using comparable sales... talking up the benefits of a good domain... Stuff like that might have some impact if the buyer is on the fence, but yeah... I like to keep it simple.

If I understood right, you would focus on building trust with them over the long term, but at the same time I expect to have only one successful sale with them and then no further interactions (if they are the end users and not any kind of exception). Would you mind elaborating which kind of customer you have specifically in mind or were I am mislead?

Oh yeah, I always conduct talks with the hope that we'll do more business in the future. My success has been pretty limited on that front, but I'm also pretty small-time relative to a lot of people here. There are people here who have been in the industry a long time, or who manage large portfolios, or broker names (or all of the above!); and those people have many returning customers. Could be serial entrepreneurs, execs from large companies who are always on the lookout for promotional names, or even companies/people looking to make defensive, investment, or "future consideration" purchases.

So yeah, don't limit yourself. If you're willing and able to put in the time and effort then you can do well.

 

[Joe N]

How would you organize the process, if multiple people are interested at the same time?

Forgot to answer this one.

If you get interest from multiple people at once, then use that leverage as you will:

"I have another buyer already willing to pay this amount."
"I already have a tentative sale agreement, so I'm afraid I'll need a decision within 24 hours."

And barring that, it just means you can negotiate a higher price with a bit more confidence, knowing that you have other options.

Just keep it professional and ethical, and always keep your word.

 

[lock]

Forget the idea ask for a commitment for an offer. You will be stuck with one bidder wanting it for free.

 

[manata]

Yes, reach out one-by-one. Best to find decision-makers in the company and email them directly. Marketing execs, CEOs, business development directors, etc. I always personalize the email with their name and keep it short and direct. No sales pitches unless they ask for one.Typically you get ignored, but if they're interested they'll likely just ask how much.

If I understand correctly I should give every call maker a specific time to react (something like 3 or 4 days) and then move on to write the next possibly interested person.
I read the advice of keeping it short and simple before and followed it, holding my sales pitch mostly back for later (couldn't resist 100%, will do next time).

For me, the best card I hold is knowing my bottom line price and sticking to it

I am still struggling with this. It is so easy to let your mind run high and create an imaginary case for why exactly this domain should be worth so damn much. Is that case logical? Probably yes, but is it also likely to be that clear to another person? Probably not. In the end this just boils down to experience and trying to softening the road through reading about the experience of others?

Just keep it professional and ethical, and always keep your word.

Will do. Thank you very much for your great advice, Joe, and for spending the time to write it.
This surely will provide me with some interesting and very useful experience with sales.

 

[Joe N]

If I understand correctly I should give every call maker a specific time to react (something like 3 or 4 days) and then move on to write the next possibly interested person.

You mean if you're emailing or calling people directly? No, I'll typically contact multiple people in a day regarding the same domain. And then it's first come first served. If you get interest from more than one party, then all the more leverage for you.

Rate of response for outbound can be pretty low, so if you wait between each email it'll be a very slow slog.

 

[Chinwong]

You mean if you're emailing or calling people directly? No, I'll typically contact multiple people in a day regarding the same domain. And then it's first come first served. If you get interest from more than one party, then all the more leverage for you.

Rate of response for outbound can be pretty low, so if you wait between each email it'll be a very slow slog.

This is actually how I do my outbound and I think it's the best IMO.