strategy How to Find Potential End Users?

[shilmy]

Hi,

Do any of you has regularly sell your domain to end users? If so, do you mind share with me in this thread on how find potential end users for your domain?

Regards,
Sjarief

 

[ibidu]

don't agree

I sold names on ebay for 50$ - 100$ which probably would have been sold on NP for 1$.

Again ,"To each his own" is probably correct :blink:

Well, that's easily substantiated if you like to mention the names?

 

[Archangel]

I can't recall exactly but I think he said the domains he sold were of a medium calibre. A decent domain that could have been sold to an enduser going for $3 on eBay isn't great. I picked up a domain off eBay awhile back for cheap & anticipate a $300-500 sale for it later on. Auctions aren't a good idea. It sounds as though it should be the best but really, it's not. I still remember picking up a domain on NP auction for $20 & reselling it for $745. But as mentioned a few times already: to each, his own

don't agree

I sold names on ebay for 50$ - 100$ which probably would have been sold on NP for 1$.

Again ,"To each his own" is probably correct :blink:

 

[RGkiiing]

got my first negative reply today of "get a job!" lol

 

[lennco]

got my first negative reply today of "get a job!" lol

Classic

 

[infmoney]

got my first negative reply today of "get a job!" lol

Hah!!! Nice.... I got one of those a while back from a really angry web designer who suggested I work at Subway so that I can serve people like him and provide a real service.

I told him to have a wonderful day and wished him the best. I think that may have made him angrier than if I insulted him back He told me to f*** off !!! lol

 

[mitok]

got my first negative reply today of "get a job!" lol

Just ignore....I received few similar replies as well. I prefer to receive any kind of respond than nothing

BTW, recently I received the following reply for one of my domains:

"IMO, this domain is worth $0. The plural form killed everything.

Singular.cctld can go for $xxx- $xxxx but not Plural.cctld

Good Luck."

I just replaced the name of domain with "plural" as it is plural, and "singular" replaced the version of that name in singular.

I sold that domain few weeks ago for $1200.

Just be stubborn and have faith in yourself and your domains.

 

[RGkiiing]

Just ignore....I received few similar replies as well. I prefer to receive any kind of respond than nothing

BTW, recently I received the following reply for one of my domains:

"IMO, this domain is worth $0. The plural form killed everything.

Singular.cctld can go for $xxx- $xxxx but not Plural.cctld

Good Luck."

I just replaced the name of domain with "plural" as it is plural, and "singular" replaced the version of than name in singular.

I sold that domain few weeks ago for $1200.

Just be stubborn and have faith in yourself and your domains.

yea i didnt reply, i think i saw in this thread before to just ignore those type. I figure hes just mad because he has a nextel blackberry, everybody who's anybody has verizon obviously

 

[richface]

advice

I get this all the time buddy,
eg,

"stop spamming me" , "rip off" " f off"
"I will pay £2" " I will forward your email to the police"

I expect this from some people and so should you. Not everyone out there is polite but I NEVER respond to such emails, you will

be surprised some of these companies will come back in a few weeks after speaking with their SEO expert with "

the domain still available"? You never know what mood the person who reads your email is in. He might have just

argued with his wife or pissed off about something else at that moment in time so always do not take it personal and

NEVER reply keep your cool. Keeping cool has has sold me a few domains even to the rude replies. NEVER let it

bring you down EVER! we just have to take these bumps as we go along

Good luck.

got my first negative reply today of "get a job!" lol

 

[tomcarl]

Selling on eBay is only good for some quick change.

I let some names go when I first started hobbying domains and was happy with a few dollars profit....and now I regret it knowing those names were worth $xxx.

Good for them though.

 

[fm1234]

@dubstep and @Archangel

Those are interesting points about the address issue -- in all the years I've been doing this, I've -never- put an address in the e-mails, never even offered one unless they asked (mind you, if you go to the web address in my e-mail address, there's an address and phone number right there, so that might make a small difference.) It's never even crossed my mind to do so. Obviously, in my offline correspondence a return address is included; I've just never put the physical address in the signature of the mails. Think I will try this just to see if I notice in bumps in response rates.


Frank

 

[Archangel]

I must disagree with you on one part. I think it's a good idea to reply to ALL emails. This gives the feeling that you took the time to read an email rather than just glancing at it. If I read a reply that starts with the words "f*ck you," then I'm pretty sure what to expect from the rest of it. But it's in good taste to reply BUT to keep it civil, no matter what. Something that works for me: "Thank you for your reply. Since you have no interest in the domain, I'll move on to another prospect." See? This isn't belligerent. It's just acknowledging that you've read the email. Whatever works for a person is his choice. But still, this is what I'd suggest.

I get this all the time buddy,
eg,

"stop spamming me" , "rip off" " f off"
"I will pay £2" " I will forward your email to the police"

I expect this from some people and so should you. Not everyone out there is polite but I NEVER respond to such emails, you will

be surprised some of these companies will come back in a few weeks after speaking with their SEO expert with "

the domain still available"? You never know what mood the person who reads your email is in. He might have just

argued with his wife or pissed off about something else at that moment in time so always do not take it personal and

NEVER reply keep your cool. Keeping cool has has sold me a few domains even to the rude replies. NEVER let it

bring you down EVER! we just have to take these bumps as we go along

Good luck.

 

[richface]

Re: Advice

Fair statement,
But you have to read between the lines, If someone replies back with eg. "stop spamming me" dude they do not want more emails explaining ...lalala
Drags on, if the language used is clearly abusive or derogatory then it is best to leave it alone as you never know the sender's
emotional state, they could be very angry about something or just projecting misguided sacarcism.

Problem with responding is, they might respond again with more abuse which might also tempt you to respond. Take it on the chin and move on.

My opinion only But I respect yours also.

I must disagree with you on one part. I think it's a good idea to reply to ALL emails. This gives the feeling that you took the time to read an email rather than just glancing at it. If I read a reply that starts with the words "f*ck you," then I'm pretty sure what to expect from the rest of it. But it's in good taste to reply BUT to keep it civil, no matter what. Something that works for me: "Thank you for your reply. Since you have no interest in the domain, I'll move on to another prospect." See? This isn't belligerent. It's just acknowledging that you've read the email. Whatever works for a person is his choice. But still, this is what I'd suggest.

 

[sonu rey]

it is not that easy. meeting domain requirements criterion is not possible as many other options are there.

 

[latenightdomainer]

Well may not be relevant but I have been contacted several time to offer me the .com or dehyphenated version of some of my domains and just waited till they dropped at the end registering for 9 USD.

So I would suggest you to insist since many people like me are just hiding in the bushes waiting for you to drop... I´m happy they let them drop... but I would have finally bought at the end...

Be patient

 

[Zonqor]

How do you manage to get them when they drop. Do you know of a good site or do you have a software?

Thanks

 

[techspecx]

There are few sites that I use - though they might not be good as sniping sites for expired domains you usually can find some good names if you check regularly. They are good at listing domain drops as soon as they drop.

http://www.freshdrop.net/
http://www.expireddomains.net/
http://www.justdropped.com/

Hope this helps.

 

[kevin smith 619]

Here are some of mine:

1.) Conduct a search on google for the main keyword or phrase which your domain represents.

2.) Look over the results and make a list of who would most likely benefit from having the domain you're looking to sell.

3.) Another big help is by looking at the sponsored results. If you own exactly the phrase/word that a business is bidding on, they should be prime suspects of someone who would want to buy your domain.

4.) Find the right person to contact from these sites. Most of the time, you may only find an email address to start out with. That's ok, since it's good to send a simple email to begin with, as you don't want to put too much time on one contact when beginning this process.

5.) Craft a polite email proposal stating that you have this name for sale (as a courtesy to them). Keep it simple and to the point. If you make it too long, they may think of you as a spammer. Too short, they won't take it seriously. Tell them who you are (full name), email address, and phone number.


If you do this, be prepared to answer them either by phone or email. Contacts that you properly qualified as potential buyers should be eager to contact you, and depending on their preference for doing business, you should be prepared for either form of communication.

Be professional, and be quick to respond without sounding too eager to sell. You want to get the best price you can. You've let them know that the domain is for sale, but not at any price. If you seem eager, that could actually scare them away (and for good reason) or make them think you don't know what you're doing, and they'll low ball you.

If you make a mistake and this happens, stick to your price and keep looking for the next buyer. My rule of thumb is: Don't give too much away, but also don't try to suck every penny out of them either. You want the experience to be positive for both sides.

 

[Archangel]

It's appreciated still but you pretty much said the same stuff that has been said a billion times in this thread... nothing new

Here are some of mine:

1.) Conduct a search on google for the main keyword or phrase which your domain represents.

2.) Look over the results and make a list of who would most likely benefit from having the domain you're looking to sell.

3.) Another big help is by looking at the sponsored results. If you own exactly the phrase/word that a business is bidding on, they should be prime suspects of someone who would want to buy your domain.

4.) Find the right person to contact from these sites. Most of the time, you may only find an email address to start out with. That's ok, since it's good to send a simple email to begin with, as you don't want to put too much time on one contact when beginning this process.

5.) Craft a polite email proposal stating that you have this name for sale (as a courtesy to them). Keep it simple and to the point. If you make it too long, they may think of you as a spammer. Too short, they won't take it seriously. Tell them who you are (full name), email address, and phone number.


If you do this, be prepared to answer them either by phone or email. Contacts that you properly qualified as potential buyers should be eager to contact you, and depending on their preference for doing business, you should be prepared for either form of communication.

Be professional, and be quick to respond without sounding too eager to sell. You want to get the best price you can. You've let them know that the domain is for sale, but not at any price. If you seem eager, that could actually scare them away (and for good reason) or make them think you don't know what you're doing, and they'll low ball you.

If you make a mistake and this happens, stick to your price and keep looking for the next buyer. My rule of thumb is: Don't give too much away, but also don't try to suck every penny out of them either. You want the experience to be positive for both sides.

 

[alien51]

It's appreciated still but you pretty much said the same stuff that has been said a billion times in this thread... nothing new

I think it is statistically impossible for someone to have mentioned something a billion times in this thread, given that there are only about 2,500 replies as of latest count.

 

[Archangel]

Hyperbole, my compatriot

I think it is statistically impossible for someone to have mentioned something a billion times in this thread, given that there are only about 2,500 replies as of latest count.

 

[GiftedDomains]

Ok here is probably something new and i am pretty sure maybe only a handful of domainers did this worldwide, if any. It will cost you some money and time and hours of walking. Plus, you need to be quite self-confident face2face. i.e. act like a real businessman. You can't do this with a pyjama and laptop from your bedroom.

Put on a suit, print some businesscards and attend big Fairs / Exhibitions of a specific industry, if you have a lot of domains related to that industry (or few premium category defining domains related to that industry).

In each exhibition stand you will find the important people of that specific company (i.e. managing director, marketing manager, etc.).
No Phone needed. No emails needed. No search needed. You have them all collected in one single place and you have the right and decision making person there to talk to. And you have companies with money. Such stands are not cheap.

I did this once in Germany back in 2008 and sold 3 domains in the x.xxx range. One directly in the fair (we signed the contract which i had prepared already in advance incl. NDA, etc.). And two later after i talked to the Marketing Managers there and we agreed to talk about this later. Note that many serious business don't want details of such sales to be published and specially not in a forum, etc. So prepare your sales contracts in a professional way and include NDA paragraphs, etc. This will make it more professional.

And my names were not one word premium names, etc. I had bought them all for reg fee and/or in the xx - low xxx range from snapservices.

In total i had about 400 dollars costs and made 5k win in two days.

Note: it will help if you know details about the specific industry (Hobby, jobs in the past, etc.), that way you can talk more about that industry, once you are having a conversation there with someone.

You will need to prepare yourself, practice such discussions, write down all possible question which could be asked and prepare your answers, practice in front of a mirror and/or with a relative/friend, etc.

Another great thing about such Exhibitions is that you collect hundreds of business cards from Marketing Managers, Managing Directors with exact details (direct phone, email. etc.), so later when you have other names or even later with the same names you had in the fair, you can contact them again via email.

Most of the people there are surprised about your offer, since probably they never experienced such an offer in any fair they attended (they probably only experienced a lot of email spam though!). So many (not all) are interested to sit down and listen to you.

 

[Kate]

...

Put on a suit, print some businesscards and attend big Fairs / Exhibitions of a specific industry, if you have a lot of domains related to that industry (or few premium category defining domains related to that industry).

...

In the past I have advertised in industry magazines like aviation for example. The aim was to reach qualified end users for domains related to that industry. I have had mixed results.

Your approach has merits but it takes good presentation and salesman skills - not everybody can do it well.

I think the crux of the problem is that there must be a present need for your domain name. End users don't stockpile domains for later use. Maybe they will need one - but not now.

I think the best scenario is an end user with an average or mediocre domain, and you offer a much better domain, that is an obvious upgrade to what they are using right now.

Sadly, not all businesses get 'it'. Many won't see the point of changing because they have always been known by a crappy domain after all :tri:

That being said, I'm sure that some industries are more receptive than others.

 

[surprise]

I think it is statistically impossible for someone to have mentioned something a billion times in this thread, given that there are only about 2,500 replies as of latest count.

irrelevant , as it could be mentioned many times in each post , technically speaking ....

 

[GiftedDomains]

In the past I have advertised in industry magazines like aviation for example. The aim was to reach qualified end users for domains related to that industry. I have had mixed results.

Your approach has merits but it takes good presentation and salesman skills - not everybody can do it well.

I think the crux of the problem is that there must be a present need for your domain name. End users don't stockpile domains for later use. Maybe they will need one - but not now.

I think the best scenario is an end user with an average or mediocre domain, and you offer a much better domain, that is an obvious upgrade to what they are using right now.

Sadly, not all businesses get 'it'. Many won't see the point of changing because they have always been known by a crappy domain after all :tri:

That being said, I'm sure that some industries are more receptive than others.

The Fair i attended was about steel industry. They are normally absolutely not receptive in this regards. Almost non of them had any generic domain in their portfolio. Almost all had only their brand as their website name. But i didn't sell (and market) the domain as replacement, but as an addition to their web presence. Never mention that they should chose a new name and never mention the disadvantage of non generic brands, etc. They are all very proud on their brands and names. Always mention that it would make a great generic addition to their web portfolio and redirect interest and sales to their already established name. Gladly also many domain names were available for reg fee or cheap backorder, because normally domainers are not able to sell a lot to these type of industries. Insurance, health, beauty, internet, etc. are the type of fields were most domainers are active.

If there is no present need, you can create that need through your marketing skills.

 

[sofiapartner]

I always put the domain (keyword(s)) without the extension. Only the domain. Usually it is closely related with the business of the person I am emailing - so I am sure that he will open it.

For Sale? Nooo. No way.

What has worked best for all of you as for Subject line in your emails?
Do you use,

1. Only the keywords of the domain? Domain Name
2. Only the full domain name? DomainName.com
3. The full domain name plus a notation? DomainName.com is For Sale
4. Something else?

Thanks