strategy $30K domain sale made possible by LinkedIn followup

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

Over the weekend, I helped @RJ complete a domain sale of the domain name Level7.com. For those of you who don't know RJ, he is the founder of NamePros. When he started moving his domains to Epik, I did not even realize it but have since enjoyed supporting his efforts and have found him to be a supportive ally.

The Deal
As for the transaction, the all-cash sale price was $30,000. Although we don't normally post domain sales, @RJ and I agreed that this was worth mentioning because it illustrates some points about how domain sellers can make effective use of LinkedIn for closing deals and increasing their professional network.

The domain name Level7.com is in of itself not a keyword name. However, if you look at the word level in combination with any number, they are pretty much all taken, even the spelled out versions. If you do a search you will also see that there are many buyers for such names. As such, I think $30K was entirely reasonable.

The Lesson
The relevant point that I want to highlight is the effective use of LinkedIn with customer followups. I am a little bit unique in that I have more than 22,000 1st level connections and about 1.2 million second level connections. However the principles are still relevant to anyone who is serious about this industry.

A few best practices that I am happy to share:

1. Identify the prospect
When we get an inquiry from a prospect, one of the first things I do is I look them up via LinkedIn. We usually know their name, email, phone number and their IP address. So with that, it is pretty straight forward to determine who they are, where they live, who they work for, whether they might be wealthy, etc.

2. Engage and verify the prospect
When responding to the email inquiry, I will often reference their LinkedIn profile and ask them if that is them. That lets them know that you know exactly who they are. It is also a really effective way to make sure you are
not dealing with an impostor. The impostors quickly scatter. Serious people will accept a friend request.

3. Follow up with the prospect
With the connection now made you now have the option of using LinkedIns free CRM tools which many people have tied to their mobile phone as an app which is a lot easier to notice than an email which can get easily lost in the shuffle. It is also a way to soft-sell if the buyer does not commit right away.

4. Manage an ongoing relationship
Once you are connected, if you are someone who periodically posts on LinkedIn, you do have an opportunity to stay in contact. You can also just like or comment on their posts as another way of signaling your interest in supporting their ambitions. It does not take a lot of time and usually comes back just like engaging on NP.

5. Build your network
Once you are connected with your prospect, you now also have an easy way to find more people like them. because, oftentimes you can also see their network. After all, birds of a feather often flock together. So, the guy who bought your CBD or crypto domain, probably hangs with similar persons. Etc.

So, there you go, a quick primer.

Finally, if someone does get an inquiry for a domain name and wants help closing a deal with a qualified buyer with a high potential prospect, I am happy to help out.

Mister Funsky · Feb 17, 2020

Rob Monster said:
They just needed some assurance that they were dealing with a capable organization that would help them achieve their goals.

Just wanted to say that everyone in any position of selling (which we do every day whether domainer or not...it's part of being human) should sear this in his/her mind. True words of wisdom you posted. Showing a buyer how the investment will improve their position is a necessary step in closing a retail deal.

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

RJ said:
Level7.com is an amazing brandable domain name, and as you will probably see soon, this name will be a huge brand upgrade for the company that purchased it. IMO, $30k is a bargain price, and they were smart for buying it.

LinkedIn helped establish that we were dealing with a legitimate inquirer, and made me more willing to consider their offers.

Overall it a quick and easy transaction since trust was built-into the deal and all details were handled by Epik.

You are absolutely right there. It could just as easily have been a $250K moonshot. The price agreed here was about what the buyer could afford -- it was truly their maximum at this time. The seller would not accept less and the buyer could not afford more and did not want to finance. So, it was a win-win and RJ left some on the table but got good ROI. The reason for sharing the example is that deals like this are out there in abundance but you have to get to the person with budget authority to truly know what is possible.

At the end of the day, I am delighted that RJ got his ROI. I am equally delighted that the buyer got a world class brand name to power their modestly-funded tech venture. I believe THAT is what makes domaining truly awesome. Great domainers don't SQUAT. They add value by earning a return while adding value. And sometimes that value means being a bit philanthropic, e.g. gifting a domain to someone who could do a lot more good with it than we can. Sometimes it just means leaving a bit on the table while still booking a win.

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

Ostrados said:
Hi Rob, thanks for sharing this.

I am very interested in this part, can you give us an example of how to indirectly promote a domain? taking in consideration that a domainer profile on LinkedIn is obviously about promoting and selling domains.

Sure thing.

If you know the decision-making authority is with the CFO, then ping the CFO and be congratulatory about the initiative of the sponsoring executive for their interest in their domain. A CFO will typically care about ROI. A CFO might appreciate knowing that there are financing options. A CFO might appreciate knowing that in the USA, you can amortize a domain over 80 quarters (20 years).

If you know the CEO is contemplating a massive re-brand, and there is some Board member that is holding up the train, ping them and offer to have a conversation about why that domain might be accretive to shareholder value. A Board member actually has a fiduciary duty to not overlook an indisputable opportunity to increase shareholder value. A particularly egotistical Board member also may need a reason (new logic or new data) to change their (dogmatic) position, i.e to save face and not look like a flake to their fellow Board members.

As always, we add value by connecting dots, building credibility and solving problems.

Bob Hawkes · Feb 17, 2020

Congratulations to @RJ on the great name and sale (and for starting NamePros

), and to @Rob Monster and Epik for role in seeing the deal to completion and telling us about it. This makes me even more convinced to act on one of my 2020 resolutions to get active again on LinkedIn!
Bob

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

I just accepted a pile of LinkedIn connection requests. I am happy to do so.

If you friend me, just mention your NamePros user name in the connection request.

Thanks!

ddzc · Feb 17, 2020

Great tips, thank you for sharing and congratulations on the sale of level7, great domain.

RJ · Feb 17, 2020

boker said:
Congrats @RJ for the sale, I know it does not have much to do with this thread but I wonder if you could share how long you had it, the approximate acquisition price and what kind of offers did you had in the meantime, it will help the rest of us to price our domains better.

I acquired Level7.com from a SnapNames auction on September 21, 2007 for $622. This was a 12.4 year hold with an ROI of 4,289% (annualized ROI 35.59%).

There have been approximately 30 inquiries from about 20 interested parties over the time I held it. Inquires have been from a variety of business types: an apartment complex, a software company, a cannabis company, and a few other startups. My asking price has fluctuated between $27,000 and $50,000. I declined a $10k offer in 2019, a $10k offer in 2017, and a $20k offer in 2010, all from different parties. (And many other offers <= $1000)

rh2000 · Feb 17, 2020

RJ said:
I acquired Level7.com from a SnapNames auction on September 21, 2007 for $622. This was a 12.4 year hold with an ROI of 4,289% (annualized ROI 35.59%).

There have been approximately 30 inquiries from about 20 interested parties over the time I held it. Inquires have been from a variety of business types: an apartment complex, a software company, a cannabis company, and a few other startups. My asking price has fluctuated between $27,000 and $50,000. I declined a $10k offer in 2019, a $10k offer in 2017, and a $20k offer in 2010, all from different parties. (And many other offers <= $1000)

2007? You have some serious patience.

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

rh2000 said:
2007? You have some serious patience.

And he has GREAT record keeping.

We are working on adding some tools for managing ROI, and I am now reminded to discuss with RJ about those plans since he probably has in his mind the perfect system.

boker · Feb 17, 2020

RJ said:
I acquired Level7.com from a SnapNames auction on September 21, 2007 for $622. This was a 12.4 year hold with an ROI of 4,289% (annualized ROI 35.59%).

There have been approximately 30 inquiries from about 20 interested parties over the time I held it. Inquires have been from a variety of business types: an apartment complex, a software company, a cannabis company, and a few other startups. My asking price has fluctuated between $27,000 and $50,000. I declined a $10k offer in 2019, a $10k offer in 2017, and a $20k offer in 2010, all from different parties. (And many other offers <= $1000)

Thanks, great extra info. I would have been comfortable to pay around $100 and I would have taken the 20k offer from 2010, so this is why I was saying that we could learn from others. I wonder if you have lot's of investments like this one and if you are confident that you will receive the right price eventually for most of them, so that it will worth it.

iAdam · Feb 17, 2020

Congratulations on the sale and for telling us the data points. Patience pays in domaining, I can't imagine myself holding this long for the domain especially if you get previous decent offers.

Thank you again for sharing!

Keith · Feb 17, 2020

rh2000 said:
2007? You have some serious patience.

That’s exactly how you get big dollars. You have to believe enough in your asset to reject the bs in pursuit of the real value.

Most people are either scared or in too much of a hurry to make 5,6,7 figure sales.

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

@bhartzer shared something in the Epik Customer Success Team group this morning that I will pass along here in that it empowers a lot more folks to do great things.

Check this out:

Here it is:

https://www.dux-soup.com/

I have never used it personal but Bill is a clever guy and I trust his judgement.

For those not aware, Bill joined Epik this month as Director of Data Science and Product Manager for DNProtect.com. He is a pretty clever guy. I suggest you follow him.

NickB · Feb 17, 2020

Nice sale and good post...

Interesting to use it after the enquiry, like the thinking....

This is what I do for a living, network, market and sell through LinkedIn. I personally have a very good network of senior executives around the globe. It is a powerful tool if used correctly and professionally.

You can build a very good network from scratch if you position yourself right and play the long game. You don't need to sell to people straight away, build the connections, do the posts (short videos go down very well - free software available for this) and play the Social Media "like" game (something I don't do here) once you have the network in place start putting the feelers out there, softly, softly....build those relationships!

I have had a couple of articles written up and posted them, trying to get 1 a month done, good for positioning yourself as a thought leader over the long term...worth looking at doing...

Make sure your connection request is on point, don't just send loads of random requests without an introduction, make it personal. You only have a few words to grab their interest so make it count.

Also make sure your profile is 100% complete and looks and reads the part, have your picture on there, contact details and previous work history - Transparency is very very important, people will not deal with half baked, aggressive sales people....

This would be my main concern, a lot of people will be reading this thread and try and jump on the LinkedIn band wagon without getting their ducks lined up and then complain they got done for spam or did not get anything from it.....

Good things take time, patience and some dedication.....

*I do not use LinkedIn for this industry, that may change in the future. My contacts run the European, Asian, American or Global HR functions for big corporates, if I ever did decide to run domains through LinkedIn I would personally target SVP's, VP's or Global Directors in Marketing to start with and go from there. Contacting the CEO of company that says has 80,000 employees is not very realistic imo, start with with the senior decision makers in marketing who will have a budget and if you position yourself correctly and connect with them they will be glad to help!

*All of the above obviously requires that you have good domains to sell*

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

Keith said:
That’s exactly how you get big dollars. You have to believe enough in your asset to reject the bs in pursuit of the real value.

Most people are either scared are in too much of a hurry to make 5,6,7 figure sales.

Agreed.

Good domains are like lines in the water.

If you know what you are doing, you can have many lines in the water, and use technology to make the process of finding fish a lot easier.

Technology is definitely your friend, but patience (and staying power) may be required.

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

NickB said:
Nice sale and good post...

Interesting to use it after the enquiry, like the thinking....

This is what I do for a living, network, market and sell through LinkedIn. I personally have a very good network of senior executives around the globe. It is a powerful tool if used correctly and professionally.

You can build a very good network from scratch if you position yourself right and play the long game. You don't need to sell to people straight away, build the connections, do the posts (short videos go down very well - free software available for this) and play the Social Media "like" game (something I don't do here) once you have the network in place start putting the feelers out there, softly, softly....build those relationships!

I have had a couple of articles written up and posted them, trying to get 1 a month done, good for positioning yourself as a thought leader over the long term...worth looking at doing...

Make sure your connection request is on point, don't just send loads of random requests without an introduction, make it personal. You only have a few words to grab their interest so make it count.

Also make sure your profile is 100% complete and looks and reads the part, have your picture on there, contact details and previous work history - Transparency is very very important, people will not deal with half baked, aggressive sales people....

This would be my main concern, a lot of people will be reading this thread and try and jump on the LinkedIn band wagon without getting their ducks lined up and then complain they got done for spam or did not get anything from it.....

Good things take time, patience and some dedication.....

*I do not use LinkedIn for this industry, that may change in the future. My contacts run the European, Asian, American or Global HR functions for big corporates, if I ever did decide to run domains through LinkedIn I would personally target SVP's, VP's or Global Directors in Marketing to start with and go from there. Contacting the CEO of company that says has 80,000 employees is not very realistic imo, start with with the senior decision makers in marketing who will have a budget and if you position yourself correctly and connect with them they will be glad to help!

*All of the above obviously requires that you have good domains to sell*

1000% agreed here:

This would be my main concern, a lot of people will be reading this thread and try and jump on the LinkedIn band wagon without getting their ducks lined up and then complain they got done for spam or did not get anything from it.....

You do have to make a non-trash profile, preferably a real one.

Truth be told, if you are from emerging market you might initially find it harder to connect with everyone, No matter. Start by getting connected to the influencers and respected persons in your own country.

This will take time but it is worth it. Along the way, try not to be a spammer, and also resist the temptation to delete your account. It turns out some Epik staff once did that and now regret it.

The good news is that using the tools mentioned by Bill Hartzer you can fix that mistake quickly, but it still is a task that can be avoided by not being impulsive when you had a bad day!

rh2000 · Feb 17, 2020

Rob Monster said:
And he has GREAT record keeping.

Or a really good memory.

private123 · Feb 17, 2020

@Rob Monster
Trademarks are a big problem when we beginner's ( new domainers )
Normally when we add domains every day not search trademarks because I think good and simple trademarks tools not available ?
what epik team working any trademarks tools ?

Kassey Lee · Feb 17, 2020

NickB said:
Nice sale and good post...

Interesting to use it after the enquiry, like the thinking....

This is what I do for a living, network, market and sell through LinkedIn. I personally have a very good network of senior executives around the globe. It is a powerful tool if used correctly and professionally.

You can build a very good network from scratch if you position yourself right and play the long game. You don't need to sell to people straight away, build the connections, do the posts (short videos go down very well - free software available for this) and play the Social Media "like" game (something I don't do here) once you have the network in place start putting the feelers out there, softly, softly....build those relationships!

I have had a couple of articles written up and posted them, trying to get 1 a month done, good for positioning yourself as a thought leader over the long term...worth looking at doing...

Make sure your connection request is on point, don't just send loads of random requests without an introduction, make it personal. You only have a few words to grab their interest so make it count.

Also make sure your profile is 100% complete and looks and reads the part, have your picture on there, contact details and previous work history - Transparency is very very important, people will not deal with half baked, aggressive sales people....

This would be my main concern, a lot of people will be reading this thread and try and jump on the LinkedIn band wagon without getting their ducks lined up and then complain they got done for spam or did not get anything from it.....

Good things take time, patience and some dedication.....

*I do not use LinkedIn for this industry, that may change in the future. My contacts run the European, Asian, American or Global HR functions for big corporates, if I ever did decide to run domains through LinkedIn I would personally target SVP's, VP's or Global Directors in Marketing to start with and go from there. Contacting the CEO of company that says has 80,000 employees is not very realistic imo, start with with the senior decision makers in marketing who will have a budget and if you position yourself correctly and connect with them they will be glad to help!

*All of the above obviously requires that you have good domains to sell*

Excellent summary of the correct way to build a good LinkedIn network. It took me 5 years to build a network of over 30,000 1st connections including 8,000+ CEO

manpreet · Feb 17, 2020

Rob Monster said:
Over the weekend, I helped @RJ complete a domain sale of the domain name Level7.com. For those of you who don't know RJ, he is the founder of NamePros. When he started moving his domains to Epik, I did not even realize it but have since enjoyed supporting his efforts and have found him to be a supportive ally.

The Deal
As for the transaction, the all-cash sale price was $30,000. Although we don't normally post domain sales, @RJ and I agreed that this was worth mentioning because it illustrates some points about how domain sellers can make effective use of LinkedIn for closing deals and increasing their professional network.

The domain name Level7.com is in of itself not a keyword name. However, if you look at the word level in combination with any number, they are pretty much all taken, even the spelled out versions. If you do a search you will also see that there are many buyers for such names. As such, I think $30K was entirely reasonable.

The Lesson
The relevant point that I want to highlight is the effective use of LinkedIn with customer followups. I am a little bit unique in that I have more than 22,000 1st level connections and about 1.2 million second level connections. However the principles are still relevant to anyone who is serious about this industry.

A few best practices that I am happy to share:

1. Identify the prospect
When we get an inquiry from a prospect, one of the first things I do is I look them up via LinkedIn. We usually know their name, email, phone number and their IP address. So with that, it is pretty straight forward to determine who they are, where they live, who they work for, whether they might be wealthy, etc.

2. Engage and verify the prospect
When responding to the email inquiry, I will often reference their LinkedIn profile and ask them if that is them. That lets them know that you know exactly who they are. It is also a really effective way to make sure you are
not dealing with an impostor. The impostors quickly scatter. Serious people will accept a friend request.

3. Follow up with the prospect
With the connection now made you now have the option of using LinkedIns free CRM tools which many people have tied to their mobile phone as an app which is a lot easier to notice than an email which can get easily lost in the shuffle. It is also a way to soft-sell if the buyer does not commit right away.

4. Manage an ongoing relationship
Once you are connected, if you are someone who periodically posts on LinkedIn, you do have an opportunity to stay in contact. You can also just like or comment on their posts as another way of signaling your interest in supporting their ambitions. It does not take a lot of time and usually comes back just like engaging on NP.

5. Build your network
Once you are connected with your prospect, you now also have an easy way to find more people like them. because, oftentimes you can also see their network. After all, birds of a feather often flock together. So, the guy who bought your CBD or crypto domain, probably hangs with similar persons. Etc.

So, there you go, a quick primer.

Finally, if someone does get an inquiry for a domain name and wants help closing a deal with a qualified buyer with a high potential prospect, I am happy to help out.

Nice points there, thanks for sharing.

Rob Monster · Feb 17, 2020

jmaurya said:
@Rob Monster
Trademarks are a big problem when we beginner's ( new domainers )
Normally when we add domains every day not search trademarks because I think good and simple trademarks tools not available ?
what epik team working any trademarks tools ?

We do have use of an API for detecting Trademarks.

However, the key is not to TRESPASS on trademarks. One easy way to avoid that is to not use PPC landers but instead SSL landers -- just indicate make offer or contact form, not even with a price.

After all, trademarks are awarded in narrow classes. Someone making soft fabrics using microfiber can potentially own Microsoft.

The main thing is to avoid bad faith registrations. Most people know what those are and will steer clear of those unless they like the idea of navigating UDRP.

If folks really want to see a Trademark warning in their domain search results, we have the data to do it. So, just like @jmaurya's post. if he gets 20 likes on his question, we'll do it.

bonin · Feb 17, 2020

Linkedin is may favourite network, even I manage to finalise a few deal via DM on linkedin... thanks for sharing Rob

7363824 · Feb 17, 2020

Congrats on the sale. After reading that I now feel like I have no clue what I am doing. I for one do really like that domain and probably would have been willing to acquire it for up to about 800 but then I probably would have proceeded to BIN it at 15k and take the first offer that exceeded 12k. You really got me rethinking my strategy moving forward. And that I should probably rejoin linked in.

wwwweb · Feb 17, 2020

Congrats couldn’t have happend to a nicer guy, I mean I guess most people didn’t know RJ was here first.

Great domain, I know we always think we can get more, and what not, but that is a significant amount that can buy some more domains, and do some other great things with. Great exit on it.

bmugford · Feb 17, 2020

Congrats on the sale.

I don't really used LinkedIn for marketing domains, but I do use it often for information about a potential buyer or domain owner. It really can help in negotiations.

I have also used it to write some articles & posts on the .ORG private equity deal and .COM price increases, in order to get the word out.

It is a network that is a little more serious than Twitter, Facebook, etc. That is good for business.

If anyone wants to connect, here is my profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradmugford

Brad

strategy $30K domain sale made possible by LinkedIn followup

Do you regularly use LinkedIn for for any of the following? Sort by votes

Outbound prospecting

Prospect followup

Public relations or Thought Leadership

For industry news or trendwatching

Other

This thread is stupid

Founder of EpikTop Member

Top Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

Top Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

Established Member

Domain BuyerTop Member

Top Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

Top Member

iadam.comTop Member

Top Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

it's a mysteryTop Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

Top Member

Top Member

Top Member

Top Member

Founder of EpikTop Member

DimitarBonin.comTop Member

Restricted (Market)

Top Member

www.DataCube.comTop Member

Similar threads

We're social

Pinned

Appreciation

Agreement

Do you regularly use LinkedIn for for any of the following?
Sort by votes