I received a couple of messages asking me for advice/tips if they can't use templates so thought I'd share a couple of my actual sales. I'm masking the main word of the domains so they don't get spammed by anyone. (Another reason why I hardly report sales publicly)
I spend at least 5-10 minutes researching each individual end user prior to sending them an email, no two emails of mine look the same and I cannot use a template because selling domains shouldn't be a "one-size fits all" model, that's spam.
Example: I sold Rate_______(dot)com for $500 to the owner of RateMy____(dot)ca
____ = Plural of same keyword
Note: Now I could've gotten more for this name, I may have left money on the table, but when you shoot for the stars, looking for $x,xxx sales on every email that you send, you are turning off a lot of people. If you email about 15 domains, manage to sell one for low $xxxx, you could've sold 4 or 5 for mid - high $xxx. You would be surprised how well prospects respond to you when you come across as very fair and reasonable with your prices. Just because an end user has the money, doesn't mean they don't like deals and they're most likely the ones to jump on opportunities they consider fair or priced slightly below what you could've been asking. (which is still multiple times what you actually paid, why be greedy?)
Now you didn't sell those for $xxx, you've got dead leads and renewal fees hoping for that $x,xxx offer that may never come.
Pricing that works for me, names I acquire for $xx I flip for $xxx, if I pay $xxx, I flip for $xxxx, unless I feel I got really lucky with an $xx name then I'll hold out for 4 figures.
This was my first email sent which resulted in a sale because I researched RateMy____(dot)ca, googled trademarks, found out who the CEO was, researched his domain portfolio, found out that he's purchased similar domains from the aftermarket so I knew he was a hot lead that valued domain names, and I tailored an email specifically to him keeping in mind this is an end user educated about aftermarket acquisitions. I received "I'm interested" response in 15 minutes, closed the sale within a half hour of acquiring it for $13
__________________________________________________
Subject: Rating Employers on RateMy_____(dot)ca
Hi _FirstName_,
I believe RateMy_____(dot)ca is a quality service that is helpful for job seekers to make informed decisions in Canada.
(Above is my personal style of introduction, what you call building a rapport and showing them that you actually know who they are, what they do, and didn't just randomly select their email from an open spam list, notice how I don't introduce myself in the very beginning of the email, unlike most other domainers/templates. In my personal opinion, introducing yourself from the start automatically let's the end user know "I have no idea who this person is, their credibility is zero, this is most likely spam or a fraud".... rather I am conveying who I am by the domain I own, my actual name is relevant in my signature)
I'm the owner of Rate_______(dot)com - I'm focusing on another project relating to a different industry right now and since I'm not using Rate___(dot)com I thought it would be of value to you if ever you decided to expand RateMyEmployer(dot)ca beyond Canada and into a globally relevant service.
Rate______(dot)com will be listed on several marketplaces for $500 USD within the next few days. Should you be interested in acquiring the name before then, please let me know asap.
Thank you for your time,
Full Name
Phone: Number
Email: tom(at)Rate_______(dot)com
______________________________________________________
The end. There's no "Magic Sauce" or Magic Template. To the point and conveyed a single and valid "reason" they should own it other than it obviously being a good 2-word .com domain name.
Now, all of my emails don't end like the one above, I mentioned that I'd be listing it on several marketplaces because I knew he was familiar with the domain industry and familiar what marketplaces are out there. I wouldn't say this to a prospect that has no idea about domain name value, this what I mean by no two emails I send are the same.
End result: SOLD. He didn't update nameservers or took the time to forward it but I believe the simple reason I gave about securing it for if ever down the line he wanted to expand got the lightbulbs going and he wanted it.
________________________________________________________
Example number #2
____4Sale(dot)com - Sold for $500 to ____4Sale(dot)com
Had this name listed on Forums, marketplaces, etc for mid $xx, no interest.
Who would want this name? ____4Sale, they own other 4Sale domains and the keyword goes with their 'content'
Spent 20 minutes doing detective work, the owner's info was well guarded. Looked up trademarks, googled names, finally found his email posted in an article/interview by a local newspaper.
My email? Literally 1 sentence (No two emails are the same)
I currently have ___4Sale(dot)com listed on Sedo for $800, if interested, let me know.
Thanks,
Tom
Owner
___________________________________________________________
Again, tailoring my style for specific end users. From my research I knew he was a busy/savvy business owner, adult industry, knows domain name values, there is no pitch/template required, he knows his stuff, it's obvious why he'd want it, absolutely no reason to "present" it to him with a template and oversell it other than put it in front of his eyes.
He responded within 15 minutes, we negotiated, sold for $500.
Long story short, you can deny being a spammer, go ahead and still use templates and ignore advice given, but the only reason anyone would still use a template is because they are indeed a spammer and/or too lazy to do the proper research while selling a undesirable domain. Yes folks, if you want to be successful selling domain names, there is actual work involved, not just reg a name, send an email, received hundreds and thousands of dollars. The work is research.
Think small, sell small, buy small (only using 99 cent coupons all the time, always lowballing people 5-10 dollars for decent domains), sell small (5 dollars profit)
Think bigger, sell bigger... (shell out $xx - $xxx for a good domain with good stats, sell for $xxx)
You can't be cheap with your domain buys and not expect no offers or cheap offers.
Hopefully this helps a couple of people out there. GL
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