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I recently had this discussion with a seller when he asked me to give an interested buyer a firm time limit to buy at his counteroffer price.
It’s rare that I give a time limit on a domain offer or counteroffers. And the few times that I have is because the sale has advanced for days and has dragged out for far too long, but even in these few times the language that I use is very subtle and somewhat flexible.
Here are a few reasons why I don’t feel this tactic works:
“Is there a way to counteroffer without sounding too firm on the counter price but also not sounding too flexible on it either?”
To which the panelist simply said, “no, not really.”
I often find myself in a situation where I don’t want to scare the buyer away with a firm counteroffer but also want to sound firm enough that perhaps they’ll bite. There’s a difference between the following responses:
“It looks like the best we can do is $2500 on this name.”
And
“It looks like we would be able to do $2500 on this name.”
I use one of these two sentences often in my responses to offers. How I choose which one to use depends on the language of the interested buyer, the flexibility of the seller and the stage of the sale progression. “It looks like we would be able to do $2500 on this name,” conveys a sense of openness and is a great way to send a counteroffer without sounding closed to a possible counter. It has worked many times for me and has gone both way (receiving a counter or closing the sale).
I understand we all have our own strategies; I just wanted to share a couple of mine for anyway interested. Take it with a grain of salt.
It's gonna be great,
Michael Rader
Founder at Brandroot
It’s rare that I give a time limit on a domain offer or counteroffers. And the few times that I have is because the sale has advanced for days and has dragged out for far too long, but even in these few times the language that I use is very subtle and somewhat flexible.
Here are a few reasons why I don’t feel this tactic works:
- A time limit can easily come across as aggressive and cause the buyer to put up his defense, possibly ending the discussion altogether.
- It’s not easy to come across as friendly and trusting when you put up a timer.
- Our job is to relax the prospect so they feel fully confident and comfortable in moving forward. A time limit only adds pressure and we all respond differently to pressure, not very often in a good way.
- It’s not always sincere. I’ve purchased many domains long after their time limit, at the offer they said would expire. Yes, I did purchase but certainly not because of the timer, which was no object because I knew the game, but many buyers don’t. How will my buyers react to another time limit set on a future domain if I didn’t honor the first? I certainly lost some of my credibility. At that point it just sounds like an empty threat coming from a pushy salesman. I want to be a businessman that stands behind the quality of the product and sell it on its own merits, not on some external force.
- When I do give my rare time limit, I provide a real reason (which is very important and has closed many sales). I use language along the lines of, “As per our policy I am unable to keep this offer open much longer. We would have to restart the negotiation process.” And maybe follow up on a reason why the price may be increased and the previous offer not possible.
“Is there a way to counteroffer without sounding too firm on the counter price but also not sounding too flexible on it either?”
To which the panelist simply said, “no, not really.”
I often find myself in a situation where I don’t want to scare the buyer away with a firm counteroffer but also want to sound firm enough that perhaps they’ll bite. There’s a difference between the following responses:
“It looks like the best we can do is $2500 on this name.”
And
“It looks like we would be able to do $2500 on this name.”
I use one of these two sentences often in my responses to offers. How I choose which one to use depends on the language of the interested buyer, the flexibility of the seller and the stage of the sale progression. “It looks like we would be able to do $2500 on this name,” conveys a sense of openness and is a great way to send a counteroffer without sounding closed to a possible counter. It has worked many times for me and has gone both way (receiving a counter or closing the sale).
I understand we all have our own strategies; I just wanted to share a couple of mine for anyway interested. Take it with a grain of salt.
It's gonna be great,
Michael Rader
Founder at Brandroot