discuss How do you respond to the "How much" question?

[thevictor]

I know there are several threads on here around outbound marketing, but I haven't seen anything specific around different strategies on responding to the "how much" question.

Below is what I have read regarding this from some NP memebers:

• Respond with a really high figure and work your way down from there.
• Ask for offers in x figures
• Respond with a realistic number you are willing to accept and include several reasons as to how you came to that number.
• Don't respond with a number and instead ask to discuss over the phone.

This about sums up almost everything I have read from the different threads. I am curious to hear from other members as to how they respond to the "how much" question? What has worked and what hasn't?

 

[hawkeye]

If you, or anyone, are going to do outbound sale prospecting, you should have a ballpark expectation of what you think the domain is worth and what your expectations would be for it. So if you are presented with the proverbial 'How Much' question, you can reply accordingly such as - low/high $xxxx; offers above $____; or even better - an actual price! Having to 'wonder' what to reply with for a price, or to ask them to 'reply with your best offer' shows you are just spamming people hoping someone will reply and offer something 'you' are/would-be happy with.

 

[NickB]

Ask for more than you would accept to leave room for negotiation.

Acceptable price would depend on quality of the name, if you really need the money and if you think there are other potential buyers out there..

 

[Bob Hawkes]

OK this is a personal preference but in my shopping life i hate when people make me jump through hoops to get an exact price for something. No games, tell me what it costs.

So my preference is to state a figure, not a range, that you would readily accept. Now many will come back with a lower price, so agree with view above to leave a little bit of room if that happens.

Bob

PS disclosure I am probably among worst negotiator among NamePros one million members, so don't weigh my opinion too much. I have negotiated back and forth through DAN on some sales, but I am pretty soft in negotiations.

 

[Lord Antares]

I agree. Responding with "reply with your best offer" is vague and may give the potential buyer the idea that you are going to play games and may not be worth their time to engage.

So do you think that keeping it simple is the best option? Just a simple $ figure without any range?

To be fair, I've never really understood the range thing with end users. If you tell them ''offer me somewhere between 1k and 3k'', they are going to offer 1k, no? When you say that, you've already given away your floor price, or so it seems.

I'd definitely go with a clear price (that's higher than you're willing to accept). If they negotiate, then great, they're very interested. If they don't reply, you can follow up with ''there's room for negotiation. What is your offer?'' etc.

 

[Lord Antares]

I can't answer that question directly, however, I've seen someone suggest the following:

When outbounding your domain, include a link to your DAN.com (or Godaddy or whatever you like) BIN page, so that the end user sees something tangible on a trusted website. They will feel like their money is safe + it will eliminate the need for conversation if they don't want it. Most people probably know that spam oftentimes equals scam, and they feel like they shouldn't even engage with the cold emails but when they see a listing on a reputable site, they might think otherwise.

The person who gave this advice said it improved his conversions. I cannot personally verify this but it makes sense and it might be worth a shot.

 

[bmugford]

Unless the domain is a true gem, which most domains are not, I would just ask a price that has a little bit of wiggle room and go from there.

I have tried many approaches over the years and just asking a price works out more than any lengthy justification you want to add like metrics, comp sales, etc.

You are rarely going to change a potential buyer's mind. Just focus on the ones that have a chance to pan out.

Brad

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

Question: How much?
Answer: how much you got?

 

[frank-germany]

 

[frank-germany]

If you don't mind and remember to, please keep us updated on this thread. I would be curious to know how it works out.

Can we break it down a bit? For example:

You reached out to a potential end user and they respond and ask: How much?
You say: How long are you planning on owning the domain? We can sell it to you for $200 for the first year?

To me, this sounds like a leasing play. So instead of asking to buy for 1 lump sum, you are asking for a payment plan from the start. Am I understanding it correctly?

thats the plan


the second thing I learn from this guy
is to give alternatives

so for a low ball offer on
diamonds.com

I would handreg a domain
4diamonds.com

and offer them this domain
instead of diamonds.com
and stick with my price for diamonds.com

just learned this week
tried it
no response

lets see

 

[lock]

Hold your aces up your sleave as you will need it later in negotiations. Know previous keyword history and extension no need to blab every fact early. Allow for inflation and other factors. Know your closing numbers early. Know when your breaking records with your asking price and step back if you want to close it or burn it.

 

[Lord Antares]

Yeah, I agree that if you're the one cold contacting someone, the onus is on you to present the price. I'd say a realistic price, but more than you'd accept to leave room for negotiation, as someone said.

If you're pitching handregs or closeouts, I'd recommend $xxx most of the time. In fact, some ''outbound professionals'' recommend doing only that. If you've got something more premium and are contacting a business with some capital, then of course you're going to ask for more.

 

[Abdullah Abdullah]

Send them your desired price that has 30% room for discount.That is the best way to deal with such situation.

 

[thevictor]

If you, or anyone, are going to do outbound sale prospecting, you should have a ballpark expectation of what you think the domain is worth and what your expectations would be for it. So if you are presented with the proverbial 'How Much' question, you can reply accordingly such as - low/high $xxxx; offers above $____; or even better - an actual price! Having to 'wonder' what to reply with for a price, or to ask them to 'reply with your best offer' shows you are just spamming people hoping someone will reply and offer something 'you' are/would-be happy with.

I agree. Responding with "reply with your best offer" is vague and may give the potential buyer the idea that you are going to play games and may not be worth their time to engage.

So do you think that keeping it simple is the best option? Just a simple $ figure without any range?

 

[NickB]

1. https://www.namepros.com/threads/domain-sales-letter-examples.1757/
   
2. https://www.namepros.com/threads/end-user-email-samples-and-email-templates.853589/

Courtesy of the below.....
https://www.namepros.com/threads/outbound-letter.1131371/#post-7187955

 

[Lord Antares]

That does make sense. I usually just include the domain name link and track whether they clicked on it or not. In some cases, they do and in others, they don't but reply to the email anyway. But my question is regarding the steps after they respond to the message/ email. More superficially, the wording/ context and length of the response to the "how much" question.

Based on the responses thus far, it sounds like it is better to be direct and simple with the response without any additional explanation. Am I understanding correctly?

The idea with DAN.com is to eliminate the wording altogether and let them buy directly (and you need to set a realistic BIN price for that). That's what the person giving advice said. He would just get an email that someone bought his domain without ever saying a word.

But I can't answer your specific question precisely, I don't know. You'd need someone who experimented with a bunch of different methods and compared them. One would need a lot of experience and experimenting for that.

 

[Sheogorath]

So you think it is best not to give a specific number and respond with "submit you best offer" and once they do, reply with a "mega" counter offer? IMO this may be a huge gamble and in may scare away a potential buyer. At the end of the day, they weren't the one to inquire first.

The tactics I have provided above work best if the buyer inquired first.
Though they can still work well if you have contacted them first.
If you give a fixed price without letting them open with an offer you risk leaving money on the table, maybe a lot of money.

The buyer always wants a cheap deal, no matter if it is an individual or a large & profitable company.
So if you let them open with the offer, you have the upper hand in the negotiations.

 

[fatter]

I always give a buy it now price, and a send it to auction price which is usually much lower, but be prepared if it goes to auction that may be highest bid. Which also makes it appealing to buyer on a chance they will get it at much lower price, and if not they don't lose anyway.
Joe T

 

[topdom]

You can talk a lot and then be totally ignored, and this is very annoying. So try to get a price from buyer in some way. You can guide them by mentioning past sales or apprasials. Also make the buyer feel that you are motivated to sell, and ready to walk away, at the same time. I rarely send outbound emails, and NONE get any response. But domains I do outbound for seem to have a higher sale rate. So, maybe write a message containing interesting info, which they will save for future, instead of deleting, and maybe later decide to buy after second reading, without replying to the email.

Don't give a price: Why: Because you will forget which price you gave, and if there is a big gap in any direction, you will look dishonest. If you give a price, say this is a rare low price..

I'm not saying all this would work, but it sounds logical to me.

 

[frank-germany]

Have you or do you know anyone who has tried that approach? Has it worked?

it worked this week

for a 500 euro Domain
and a 50 euro initial offer

asking
"for how long do you want to use it?"

 

[asset.domains]

I always give a buy it now price, and a send it to auction price which is usually much lower, but be prepared if it goes to auction that may be highest bid. Which also makes it appealing to buyer on a chance they will get it at much lower price, and if not they don't lose anyway.
Joe T

auction could be a disrespect to the buyer after he inquire...

How much question should be answered with a number only with no comments.. Seller should say "this offer is valid until x.x.20xx" to change the price later or may answer with a **landing page without quoting a price in email reply So the price can be changed anytime via landing page with no problem.

**Most email servers mark multiple emails with the same link as spam sooner than the emails without links.

Seller comments on domain value will only make the value questionable.
Seller comments on possibility of negotiations or being open to offers within a range will make only the price questionable.

Very valuable, peers should applaud.

 

[thevictor]

The tactics I have provided above work best if the buyer inquired first.
Though they can still work well if you have contacted them first.
If you give a fixed price without letting them open with an offer you risk leaving money on the table, maybe a lot of money.

The buyer always wants a cheap deal, no matter if it is an individual or a large & profitable company.
So if you let them open with the offer, you have the upper hand in the negotiations.

It all comes down to that "upper hand". Which is why most domainers refrain from doing outbound, since it in a way gives the upper hand to the other person. I do believe in the idea that sales is a contact sport, so unless the domain is ultra premium, it takes a long time for the inquiries to come in so outbound will help move the needle.

 

[Abdullah Abdullah]

Seems to be the consensus. Now, do you think aside from including the price, there also should be an explanation of the price to add value? Do you or have you done outbound marketing? What has worked for you?

I dont see there is any harm if you can include very close sales comps which will boost your price.

 

[Brands.International]

I know there are several threads on here around outbound marketing, but I haven't seen anything specific around different strategies on responding to the "how much" question.

Below is what I have read regarding this from some NP memebers:

• Respond with a really high figure and work your way down from there.
• Ask for offers in x figures
• Respond with a realistic number you are willing to accept and include several reasons as to how you came to that number.
• Don't respond with a number and instead ask to discuss over the phone.

This about sums up almost everything I have read from the different threads. I am curious to hear from other members as to how they respond to the "how much" question? What has worked and what hasn't?

Just quote a price you would be very happy to get. In most cases it will not work out, in some cases it will work out

 

[Brands.International]

Question: How much?
Answer: how much you got?

Have not tried that yet, will do next time