question Potential buyer is claiming that can't afford

You need to check and ask him if he is a RESELLER.
If he is then ask what is his screen name from Namepros

johnn said:

You need to check and ask him if he is a RESELLER.
If he is then ask what is his screen name from Namepros

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Good point @johnn !

This is where you offer a DOMAIN LEASE with the option to buy.

For example, we just closed a transaction this morning where a seller wanted $175,000 but the buyer could not afford it. This is a large domain investor who does almost no leases. And now, the buyer is paying $1000 per month for a LEASE, with a $175K purchase OPTION. The $1000 per month is "found money" for a domain that I am guessing most NP members would have happily sold for $5-10K. It is a brandable name.

LEASE, LEASE, LEASE. If you are not doing domain leases you are completely missing the boat. LEASING and CRYPTO are the 2 megatrends of the domain industry now.

Domain leasing how-to: https://www.epik.com/support/knowledgebase/selling-and-leasing-domains-on-epik/

Crypto escrow: https://www.epik.com/services/escrow/

Or it isnt worth that much to him..

Why dont you ask him how much hes looking to spend and go from there.

@Rob Monster Leasing could be a nice alternative option.
While negotiating with the buyer (i know, i know, the potential buyer), the risk is very high. You don't know many things about the person you are talking, and probably the other side feels the same. Some smart guys will only try to buy the domain for a few bucks. Because, when you go a step back he could smell ''blood''. On the other side, if you are aggressive enough the result could be the same.

And blood is not a good gift for sharks.

If you really want to achieve a sale, you need to really be professional, asking him for example: Which are your plans about the name? I see the need to unload the pricing stress from the buyer.

The final ''radio silence'' i think happens because of that stress.

kite26 said:

@Rob Monster Leasing could be a nice alternative option.
While negotiating with the buyer (i know, i know, the potential buyer), the risk is very high. You don't know many things about the person you are talking, and probably the other side feels the same. Some smart guys will only try to buy the domain for a few bucks. Because, when you go a step back he could smell ''blood''. On the other side, if you are aggressive enough the result could be the same.

And blood is not a good gift for sharks.

If you really want to achieve a sale, you need to really be professional, asking him for example: Which are your plans about the name? I see the need to unload the pricing stress from the buyer.

The final ''radio silence'' i think happens because of that stress.

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You are right, most people should not directly lease a domain from a registrant. That is why you use a trusted intermediary. With Epik, the same company they lease from is the company that equips them to succeed with the domain, e.g. hosting, web development, and routine tech support. I suggest you try domain leasing. Once you have done one, I think you will be hooked!

I would just offer a discounted price (down to what you were willing to accept when you started out with 3k). Just word it in a way that sounds like you're doing them a favor.

"I understand, I can go down to $2500 if it helps you out. We can also work out a payment plan if you are interested in spreading out the cost."

I myself am usually open to trade as well, be it domains or other products/services. I may also consider making that fact known if they do not accept the discounted price.

How you will act next?
-Will you ask him what is his budget? Of the options listed, this is probably the best. It's neutral and not aggressive
-Will you just throw a fast ''discount''? If you contacted him, don't do this. Sounds scammy
-Will you give him more time? Sure, but he's already said 'no'. He didn't say he'd 'think about it'
-Will you continue the conversation trying to convince him for the domain's value? You should wait a bit before continuing. Maybe do a follow-up in 6 months or something. If he shows interest and gives you a counter offer, then you can try and convince him of the value.

A reply like "Can't afford it" usually means it's way over their expectations . otherwise I'm sure you would have received a negotiating reply from the potential buyer. They are not asking because it's way outside their Ballpark

Not sure why the domain leasing/installments came into this thread. I thought that was for Big sales - not ones in the 1k to 3k range

kite26 said:

Let's focus to a specific scenario:

You are doing outbound marketing. We have this dialog:
Seller: Hi, i am selling whatever.com domain name. Do you want to buy it?
Buyer: Yes, i am interested for this domain name. How much?
Seller: $3000
Buyer: Sorry, i can't afford it.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Until now, we know:
1) At least the buyer has some interested for the domain.
2) For some reason, he doesn't want to pay the asked amount of money.
3) As doing outbound, you are still in weak position. You don't have an agreement in your hands nor a real bid of course.

We don't know:
1) Which is/are the reason/reasons he doesn't want to pay now.
2) Which is the sweet spot for both sides.
............................................................................................................................................................................

How you will act next?
-Will you ask him what is his budget?
-Will you just throw a fast ''discount''?
-Will you give him more time?
-Will you continue the conversation trying to convince him for the domain's value?

What's your opinion?

Click to expand...

Without knowing the domain, it's all about beating around the bush.

kite26 said:

Let's focus to a specific scenario:

You are doing outbound marketing. We have this dialog:
Seller: Hi, i am selling whatever.com domain name. Do you want to buy it?
Buyer: Yes, i am interested for this domain name. How much?
Seller: $3000
Buyer: Sorry, i can't afford it.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Until now, we know:
1) At least the buyer has some interested for the domain.
2) For some reason, he doesn't want to pay the asked amount of money.
3) As doing outbound, you are still in weak position. You don't have an agreement in your hands nor a real bid of course.

We don't know:
1) Which is/are the reason/reasons he doesn't want to pay now.
2) Which is the sweet spot for both sides.
............................................................................................................................................................................

How you will act next?
-Will you ask him what is his budget?
-Will you just throw a fast ''discount''?
-Will you give him more time?
-Will you continue the conversation trying to convince him for the domain's value?

What's your opinion?

Click to expand...

With outbound you have played your hand, the person being solicited knows you have no other buyer.
When I do outbound I do it in such a way that the receiving party does not know it's me.

There is a little trick to that and I would explain it but I'm hesitant to put too many of my cards on the table.

kite26 said:

Let's focus to a specific scenario:

You are doing outbound marketing. We have this dialog:
Seller: Hi, i am selling whatever.com domain name. Do you want to buy it?
Buyer: Yes, i am interested for this domain name. How much?
Seller: $3000
Buyer: Sorry, i can't afford it.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Until now, we know:
1) At least the buyer has some interested for the domain.
2) For some reason, he doesn't want to pay the asked amount of money.
3) As doing outbound, you are still in weak position. You don't have an agreement in your hands nor a real bid of course.

We don't know:
1) Which is/are the reason/reasons he doesn't want to pay now.
2) Which is the sweet spot for both sides.
............................................................................................................................................................................

How you will act next?
-Will you ask him what is his budget?
-Will you just throw a fast ''discount''?
-Will you give him more time?
-Will you continue the conversation trying to convince him for the domain's value?

What's your opinion?

Click to expand...

he says:
he is not convinced
that 3k is the correct value

tell him when he agrees within 24 hours
you give him 4 down payments
with no fees attached

johnn said:

You need to check and ask him if he is a RESELLER

Click to expand...

Ummm... I disagree.

-----

@kite26 - In my opinion, by tossing the word "Reseller" in at the beginning of a negotiation with a potential end-user you do not know 100% is a reseller, is like shooting yourself in the foot. You just opened the door to potential psychological trust/authority/devaluing/etc...

Personally, what comes to mind for me, is:
I'll use my name for the purpose of this example.

• I understand - Maybe something like: "Eric, I completely understand. With an economy like we have today, things can get tight. You've expressed interest in my asset and my acquisition cost is a little out of your ball-park. I would like to try and help you attain this asset at a fair market price that we can both agree on. What does your ball-park range look like?"

Everyone's different in how they reply, just remember, everything you say can and will leave an impression on those you are in negotiation with. Take your time, remain calm, and research before you ever reply, to avoid any accidental psychological triggers that could unravel or terminate negotiations.

Once they hand out a ball park, you'll have something to play with.

Personally, what comes to mind for me on a ball-park reply is:
I'll use my name for the purpose of this example.

• In the middle - Maybe something like: "Eric, Thanks for getting back to me with your ball-park budget. It's not very close to my assets acquisition cost, this is unfortunate. Look... You like my asset and I would like to see you developing on the asset you expressed interest in. You're at $900 and my asset is $3k, How about we meet in the middle at say, $1,500 so that we can both feel like we made a good deal today and you can start building/expanding your business? Do we have a deal Eric?"

Note: I'm 46 years old and sold new and used cars back in my 20's for Nye Frontier Toyota/Lexas in Anchorage Alaska and for Universal Toyota in San Antonio, Texas. The above are derivatives of those days in my past, when I used to be an aggressive salesman with a pitch and rebuttable memorized.

Everyone's different and what may work for one, may not work for another.

However you decide to reply/negotiate, I wish you luck on your sale.

To clarify, I am not negotiating with anyone at the moment. However, at past I have been in such situations and discuss it to improve my skills.

When a buyer says they can't afford it like that, it generally means it is not worth anywhere near that amount to them.

I am sure if it was a tier 1 category defining domain in their field most end users could afford $3K.

The options are -

1.) Try to educate them on value. This is usually a waste of time as you are unlikely to change the mind of a potential buyer, and also the domain might really not be worth anywhere near your asking price.

2.) Offer a lower price. Ask them what their budget is to see if you can reach a deal.

3.) Move on. Probably not the right buyer.

Brad

Added Note: Maybe add to the Middle rebuttable I posted with an option to Buy now in the middle or lease for the full amount like @Rob Monster suggested .

Humans do like having options/choices. Either way, it's a solution to their budget and business building problem.

I would maybe offer him the option of a payment plan where he can pay a set portion monthly.
I think Undeveloped allows you to do that.

That will show how much he really wants the name. My friend wanted a name(his actual name), but couldn't afford it straight out so he is paying monthly and he still gets to use the name for his blog in the meantime.

Because the person really may not be able to afford it. Millions of people can barely pay their rent here in NYC. They take out alot of things on credit or paying over a period of time. So no need for agreement. They never agreed..just said they were interested.

Actually I just bought a mothers day give where i'll pay it off over 5 months. lol

I had alot of replies like this...
i reply them no problem have a nice day and if they want it they come back ..if they dont come back forget about them there are more buyers in the world ...

Yes as others have pointed out, offering a payment plan is a good way to go. But you'd need a little more engagement than just a response of "I can't afford it" before tossing out a payment plan idea - for example if he throws out a low offer THEN tell him that you could accept that low offer as a down payment, and accept the rest in monthly payments. But you also need to explain that he will get immediate use of the domain, immediate control of the name servers, and that the domain will be held in escrow by a neutral bonded licensed third party such as escrow.com

go deeper and investigate is it true the buyer cant afford it
if your domain were closely related to goods/services you might try to offer it to your buyer competitor perhaps you could fishout more party to be involved into the fry

If your potential buyer is an individual, then $3000 may be out of their reach for a diomain. If they are a mom and pop business, offering a payment plan could help facilitate a transaction. However, most businesses can easily handle a low $xXxX cost. I have seen a division of a company spending six figures monthly on IT costs and six figures monthly on legal costs and five figures monthly on PPC advertising. Yet they were hand registering crap domains. It is not a matter of they cannot afford it. They just do not view domains as something of much value.

If you go to a n outlet mall looking for a t-shirt for your workouts how much do you expect to pay? Some might go for the $12 options while others may spend up to $35-$40 for a brand name design. Some soccer jerseys might retail over $100. How many people would pay four figures for a t-shirt? A lot of people view domains in the same light. They think paying more than $50 is insane.

garptrader said:

If you go to a n outlet mall looking for a t-shirt for your workouts how much do you expect to pay? Some might go for the $12 options while others may spend up to $35-$40 for a brand name design. Some soccer jerseys might retail over $100. How many people would pay four figures for a t-shirt? A lot of people view domains in the same light. They think paying more than $50 is insane.

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This is a good way to lay out the consumer market and the math plays the same in a b2b market on the larger scale. As, the end-user will be selling those $12 to $100 shirts.

Just to add a little:
Each sale adding to the total years revenue before taxes and overhead.

The hobbyist probably won't have the capital and drive to push through with a large campaign and in a lower budgeted buyers bracket than a company with all the resources, capital, and team that can drive a message on an asset easy.

The perfect end-user will make way more return on the asset with a larger budget to push it in front of the optimal audience to convert.

This is another reason why the sliding scale price ranges based on ones income is ideal for this industry.

Just like Taxes are higher for those in bigger tax brackets. Also like clinics, law firms, and other businesses charging based on ones income.

It's a viable solution to an economy that is unbalanced and can shoot from a $0.25 cent soda in one place to a $5.00 soda 50 miles away, in an area with higher income levels.

At the end of the day, if someone doesn't have the capital to get the big picture/conventional advertising brand exposure for the largest return, then one must consider selling for less at a fair market value that both the buyer and seller can feel like they made a good deal on and doesn't cut into their marketing budget in a way that effects the assets rate of return on investment.

Don't over analyze the situation. Many smaller business owners simply don't have the budget to pay more than a few hundreds for a domain name. They don't even spend $1000 on marketing or advertising.

Sometimes even a multi-national company don't want to pay more than a few thousands for a better domain name. You can't change people's perception about domain names. You either lower your price for a sale, or move on to find someone else.

Eric Lyon said:

Added Note: Maybe add to the Middle rebuttable I posted with an option to Buy now in the middle or lease for the full amount like @Rob Monster suggested .

Humans do like having options/choices. Either way, it's a solution to their budget and business building problem.

Click to expand...

This is the way to go. Lease it and sell for the full value of the domain. Below is one of my past posts on this:

• Lease from Day 1 - Over the course of 3-4 years, I've built up around 30 leases. From that, I receive over $1,500 in consistent monthly income. Leasing right from your landing page eliminates people who negotiate based on their current financial situation and instead they focus on the value of the domain name, which is the correct way to negotiate anything.

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https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...r-selling-domains.1129585/page-2#post-7194467

Not only does it obliterate the very real barrier (or negotiation tactic) of not having enough money, 90% of these sales pay full price, and I'd say 90% of them have continued to completion.

All of my leases are with Epik.com and it's simple to setup with many configuration options. On my lander, I just have a button that allows the customer to send me a $50 setup via paypal. I then transfer the domain to Epik and setup the lease. In the last 30 days I've had $5,650 in lease sales, resulting in new payment plans totaling $105 per month.