End User Marketing - How To Negotiate?

[cdnbigd]

After your researach and outreach, hoping to find an interested end user for your domain name...someone replies! Congrats, you have a bite! Now what?

If 2 or 3 get back to you right away saying they are all "very interested", what do you reply to them with?

I've had this on my recent domain name I am trying to sell to end users. 2 people asked for the "final" price and one asked "how much".

Do you respond with any of these:
- ask them what their budget/range is?
- respond with a final price (the lowest you want to let it go for)?
- respond with a higher price (knowing they will counter), BUT hope it doesn't scare them away?
- since you got a 30% response rate after only 1hr of outreach, figure you will ditch em and spend more time hunting for the bigger buyer? lol

Thanks guys.

 

[werty]

In my experience and what works for me, I usually ask 50-100% more of what I really want to get for it. Even when they have told me "what is your lowest?" and I honestly gave them my lowest, they made me an offer below it. If I don't hear back in a few days or a week max, then I reduce the price to my lowest.

 

[cdnbigd]

Ah, that's what I was hoping to hear. Personal opinions and methods. That's great advice. Thanks Werty!

 

[forge]

In my experience and what works for me, I usually ask 50-100% more of what I really want to get for it. Even when they have told me "what is your lowest?" and I honestly gave them my lowest, they made me an offer below it. If I don't hear back in a few days or a week max, then I reduce the price to my lowest.

Pretty good advice (though it doesn't always achieve the end result you might want). I would suggest progressively scaling that percentage down, the higher your domain price is. What I mean is, a $xxx domain compared to a $x,xxx domain compared to a $xx,xxx domain (as an example).

Asking what their budget/range is rarely works IMO, unless you've always submitted your price and wanting them to counter it.

 

[cdnbigd]

Just waiting to hear back from them now.. we'll see.

This reminds me of those interview questions "What Salary are you looking for?". They always tell us to not fall for the trap and not to give them a definite figure right away. hmm

 

[D. Wells]

Do you mind sharing your secrets of getting a 30% response rate after an hour of outreach?

 

[cdnbigd]

lol I have no idea what I did! All I did was google for the keyword which i have the domain of. I found about 10 sites which are quite similar (their domain name to mine) and sent off an email to them. Just letting them know what the domain is, that it's now for sale "for a reasonable price", that they can use it for promotions, marketing or simply a redirect to their existing site and that's about it.

Within a couple hours I had 3 responses.

 

[D. Wells]

Nice...... Good luck...

 

[cdnbigd]

I know I probably just lucked out but we'll see if this becomes a solid sale or not. It's not one of the big domains, so i don't expect too much. Thanks

 

[AEProgram]

The formula that has worked well is the one few follow,

include a link to a gd or sedo listing that has a buy now price on it (no make offer option), wait 7 days after your email, if no sale email again in 7 days same list asking them to submit their best offer on sedo or gd.

If it very difficult to sell anything if you cannot make up your mind as to a price that will make you happy right now, a min. price.

ALWAYS in your email tell them you are reaching out to several companies who can benefit greatly from this domain. They must know (even thou it might be obvious) that their competition is getting the same email.

Anyway I can write lots on this but have limited time at the moment, I am glad you took the steps to email as most don't even do that.

 

[garptrader]

I would not sent a potential buyer to SEDO or Godaddy. Yes, it is common for domains that I have marketed to see offer page views on SEDO but I shouldn't have to spend time marketing a domain and then hand over a commission to a marketplace that did nothing to sell it. If I do the work (or if the lead comes via Whois) then I want to process that sale via Escrow.com and not pay a commission.

 

[cdnbigd]

Thanks for the advice AEProgram but I do agree with garptrader in that I certainly wouldn't want to give a ~20% commission to SEDO or someone after I just spent all the time and work in hunting down these prospects and emailing them myself. I'd like to keep the commission myself.

Surprisingly enough, a 2nd domain I was going to let drop now has interested people too! I did the exact same thing.. just thought I'd spend an hr or so hunting down a dozen or so prospects and emailing them before it drops. Now I'm just trying to settle on a price.. I know I know.. I should have already had a price in mind before but I didn't.

It also changes things up a bit when the person who's interested is the CEO of a huge multi-national gaming corporation. I would have been happy with $200 or so on a domain I was going to let drop. But now.. don't want to be greedy but thinking of adding a zero. lol