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

 

[JoshuaPz]

I'll add two tips:

(1) If you don't have a website, create a LinkedIn profile. It takes 5-10 minutes, will get indexed by Google within a week, and will help establish your credibility. A LinkedIn profile particularly helps if you graduated from a well-known university and/or have worked for an established corporation. At minimum, every other end-user you e-mail will Google your name before considering whether to respond.

(2) Constantly update your e-mail pitches to include time-specific information and/or current events. This bit of extra effort, which may amount to practices as simple as signing your e-mails with "Best wishes for the New Year" and the like, indicates you're a human being and invested in your sales.

Exercising these two sales tips caused a 5% jump in my response rate over the past week. In total I've locked up $3000 in agreed-upon end-user sales over the past four days. I will report a handful of these sales once they close.

 

[Punkin877]

Thank you, Wanda. That was a wonderful explanation and I appreciate your email example. With your advice, I should have no problem. All I need is to make sure I can answer all transfer questions and I'll be fine. Thank you!

- Laura (a.k.a. Punkin877)

Presentation..
Presentation..
Presentation..

Finding "potential" end users/buyers is step 1. You do this by conducting a google search for the main keyword /s which your domain name serves/represents.

You then, take the time.. to find the "contact" email on these pages..
and you then,
create a positive, non atrusive msg. to send to theses "potentials"..
basically, an informative, courtesy msg. to make them aware that your domain is for sale.
* don't waste your time on a lengthy sales pitch.. out of respect.. a wise biz owner, will know and recognize the worth of a specific domain..
* simply make this domain web address available for "acquisition".
* be short.. and polite.. and NEVER, underestimate the intelligence of the end "reader" of your email.
* ALWAYS tell the end reader "who you are.. USE YOUR REAL NAME

My msg's go something like this:

Hello,
I am Wanda Cox, owner of the web domain: Whatever.com
I am currently offering this domain "for sale".
Should your organization, have interest in acquiring this domain, please
feel free to contact me.
************************

ALWAYS list a contact email AND A CONTACT PHONE NUMBER.

In your closing signature.. it's good measure, to list your professional website address. (one which relates to your domain listings is best)

AND DON'T FORGET TO OFFER YOUR PHONE NUMBER.

I have rec'd a good # of phone calls, by offering my phone number. Folks wish to speak to the person they will be dealing with. be prepared to answer "domain transfer" questions..

GoodLuck!

 

[NP41215]

That's an easy one. If you can't find similar domains to compare to on NameBio, try BuyDomains.com. They've got a massive selection of names in all major TLDs and it's extremely unlikely you won't be able to pinpoint a name similar to the one you're selling there.

For example, if I were selling PorticoProperty.com (a domain I'm about 10 minutes way from flipping -- just waiting for payment), I might search BuyDomains for domains beginning with Portico- or ending with -Property. You could use BuyDomains.com's advanced search functionality to perform these two searches.

While namebio.com shows no public reported sales of domains containing Portico, BuyDomains.com has a dozen of 'em n its tank.

Hi, Josh:

Do you have to be registered member of BuyDomains.com to use the search features your described?

I don't seem to be able to find the link at BuyDomains.Com that gives reported sales. Can you post a link as an example? Many thanks.

 

[copper]

I think he means that you can use their for sale prices.
Their price is rather high, so, you can say...
Their price for similar_domain.com is $xx,xxx
My price for my_domain.com is $x,xxx

I used this method successfully for $x,xxx sale.

Hi, Josh:

Do you have to be registered member of BuyDomains.com to use the search features your described?

I don't seem to be able to find the link at BuyDomains.Com that gives reported sales. Can you post a link as an example? Many thanks.

 

[JoshuaPz]

I think he means that you can use their for sale prices.
Their price is rather high, so, you can say...
Their price for similar_domain.com is $xx,xxx
My price for my_domain.com is $x,xxx

I used this method successfully for $x,xxx sale.

This is correct. Use their listing prices as reference points in exactly that way. You can find Advanced Search under the Find Domains Menu.

I tend to cite NameBio reports when pitching to small groups and BuyDomains listing prices when selling to mid-sizes companies / large corporations (or when no NameBio sale reports are available for the keywords in the domain I'm offering).

And congrats on your sale, copper!

 

[bgmv]

This is correct. Use their listing prices as reference points in exactly that way. You can find Advanced Search under the Find Domains Menu.

I tend to cite NameBio reports when pitching to small groups and BuyDomains listing prices when selling to mid-sizes companies / large corporations (or when no NameBio sale reports are available for the keywords in the domain I'm offering).

And congrats on your sale, copper!

Hey Josh, I have picked up what I thought to be very enduser worthy domains. I researched all the possible contacts and sent out nearly a hundred emails this morning. I got a few responses but once I quote the price I never hear back from them again. I dont know if I am asking for too much or if they just lose interest or forget.

I usually send a follow up email asking if they had time to consider the offer and if they have more questions just ask; but I never get a response back. I had one domain: Myrtle_Beach_Commercial_Real_Estate_net that where 3 people contacted me, i quoted 3 different prices based on size of company and never heard back. i sent a follow up and stil nothing. what is my next step? should I call or lower the price? any help would be appreciated

Cheers,

Ben

 

[JoshuaPz]

Hey Josh, I have picked up what I thought to be very enduser worthy domains. I researched all the possible contacts and sent out nearly a hundred emails this morning. I got a few responses but once I quote the price I never hear back from them again. I dont know if I am asking for too much or if they just lose interest or forget.

I usually send a follow up email asking if they had time to consider the offer and if they have more questions just ask; but I never get a response back. I had one domain: Myrtle_Beach_Commercial_Real_Estate_net that where 3 people contacted me, i quoted 3 different prices based on size of company and never heard back. i sent a follow up and stil nothing. what is my next step? should I call or lower the price? any help would be appreciated

Cheers,

Ben

I'm not too surprised. My conversion rate after initial follow-up is only about 33%. Many potential buyers will respond "how much?" out of curiosity and then ignore you unless you quote a reg. fee. price like $20-$30.

Here's what I'd do: If you gave one of your prospects until Day X to respond, send them an e-mail reminding them of your offer on the morning of day X - 1. If don't hear from them that day, call them on day X to gather their thoughts on your original price. If they say "no thank you" without counter-ing then ask them what's the most they'd be willing to offer, adding that if it's a serious amount you'll consider it after contacting your other candidates. If their counter is only a few bucks below your asking price I'd recommend accepting it on the spot.

I personally don't take the step of calling in because I'm constantly overwhelmed with the volume of domains I have to sell. Over the past couple of month I've been collective domains far faster than I've been able to pitch them. But if I DID call in my quote-to-sale conversation rate would definitely top 33%.

 

[bgmv]

I'm not too surprised. My conversion rate after initial follow-up is only about 33%. Many potential buyers will respond "how much?" out of curiosity and then ignore you unless you quote a reg. fee. price like $20-$30.

Here's what I'd do: If you gave one of your prospects until Day X to respond, send them an e-mail reminding them of your offer on the morning of day X - 1. If don't hear from them that day, call them on day X to gather their thoughts on your original price. If they say "no thank you" without counter-ing then ask them what's the most they'd be willing to offer, adding that if it's a serious amount you'll consider it after contacting your other candidates. If their counter is only a few bucks below your asking price I'd recommend accepting it on the spot.

I personally don't take the step of calling in because I'm constantly overwhelmed with the volume of domains I have to sell. Over the past couple of month I've been collective domains far faster than I've been able to pitch them. But if I DID call in my quote-to-sale conversation rate would definitely top 33%.

Awesome, I will definiltey try sending the pre-offer expiration email and see what happens. What do you do with domains you buy and cant flip? Ive been amassing a collection myself...

 

[JoshuaPz]

Awesome, I will definiltey try sending the pre-offer expiration email and see what happens. What do you do with domains you buy and cant flip? Ive been amassing a collection myself...

Sell them to NameMedia (a.k.a. BuyDomains.com). They'll often pay $10-25/domain for double-keyword generic com's.

Also, just because you fail to flip a given domain by soliciting prospects yourself doesn't mean you won't sell it in the end. Over the past 4 months I've received four Sedo offers and four non-Sedo offers out of the blue, and I merely own around 400 domains.

Good luck!

 

[bgmv]

Thanks for that info about BuyDomains, didnt know they bought domains as well.

Let's say you found a nice domain and the .org and .biz are available. Do you ever buy both and then sell/market them together? I have been trying to do this whenever applicable and it seems to soften the blow on the asking price b/c the buyer is getting more for his money.

 

[JoshuaPz]

Thanks for that info about BuyDomains, didnt know they bought domains as well.

Let's say you found a nice domain and the .org and .biz are available. Do you ever buy both and then sell/market them together? I have been trying to do this whenever applicable and it seems to soften the blow on the asking price b/c the buyer is getting more for his money.

The only instances in which I've packaged other TLDs with my .com domain have been when I've registered those TLDs to protect my .com investment (i.e. so the user doesn't say "You're offering me XXXXXX.com for $500? What a joke! I just grabbed XXXXXX.net for $10 at GoDaddy"), and I might as well include those TLDs in my package as a good measure because I paid so little for them and don't feel sentimentally attached to the XXXXXX keywords. I've never packaged in alternative TLDs to amp up my offers, but it's well worth a shot, especially if both of the following are true:

(1) XXXXXX isn't a keyword with high search volume, and you hold no personal stake in the XXXXXX keyword.
(2) The end-user isn't well-educated regarding the importance of domain names, thus (a) He (or she) feels himself receiving 2x (or 3x) for his money, and (b) He (or she) doesn't know to do a whois lookup and learn you "just" registered those alternative TLDs.

You could also try other creative methods to make your offer appear more tenable, such as allowing the end-user to pay $XXXX in three monthly $XXXX/3 installments.

 

[DNK.it]

I'm thinking to use email marketing tool to have a better view of open rate, bounce, crt and to send email automatically at certain hours of the day. Are you using some email marketing tool? If so, what do you recommend?

 

[bgmv]

You could also try other creative methods to make your offer appear more tenable, such as allowing the end-user to pay $XXXX in three monthly $XXXX/3 installments.

I have been thinking about this, the only thing is how would you go about telling them you could accept installments? Would you send that with the reply to a price request, saying that the price is XXXX but if necessary we will accept installments or XXX per month for X months?

 

[JoshuaPz]

I'm thinking to use email marketing tool to have a better view of open rate, bounce, crt and to send email automatically at certain hours of the day. Are you using some email marketing tool? If so, what do you recommend?

I've heard AWeber.com is excellent. They penetrate all spam filters.

Optimal time to send pitch e-mails is between 8am and 10am on Monday. I've established this empirically.

I have been thinking about this, the only thing is how would you go about telling them you could accept installments? Would you send that with the reply to a price request, saying that the price is XXXX but if necessary we will accept installments or XXX per month for X months?

Yes, essentially. Choose either "We are asking $1500 for XYZ.com" (all up-front) or "We are asking $2400 for XYZ.com and would willing to accept that amount in four monthly installments of $600 if necessary." I've never tried the latter form but I imagine end-users would find these sorts of arrangements very digestible and you'd become wealthier in the long-term. I've also heard escrow.com accepts installments. If the buyer accepts your offer, you forward the domain to his site immediately but don't hand him total control of the domain until the full $2400 is paid.

 

[ripley]

Here's a question: I know it's possible to point one website to another one, say in the instance where someone purchases a traffic domain and just wants to shunt the traffic to their primary location. But if someone needs help doing that, how exactly is it done? I think it's a little more involved than just pointing a nameserver. I'd like to be able to offer that or at least offer instructions where appropriate, in the course of my dealings with endusers.

ripley.

 

[JoshuaPz]

Here's a question: I know it's possible to point one website to another one, say in the instance where someone purchases a traffic domain and just wants to shunt the traffic to their primary location. But if someone needs help doing that, how exactly is it done? I think it's a little more involved than just pointing a nameserver. I'd like to be able to offer that or at least offer instructions where appropriate, in the course of my dealings with endusers.

ripley.

If I understand your question correctly, I imagine you could simply:
(1) Create a Moniker account (if I recall correctly you primarily use Moniker) for your end-user, then push the domain to it.
(2) Configure the domain to forward to the end-user's existing domain.
(3) Hand over that account's username/password to your end-user.

 

[DNK.it]

I've heard AWeber.com is excellent. They penetrate all spam filters.

Optimal time to send pitch e-mails is between 8am and 10am on Monday. I've established this empirically.

Thanks Josh, I'll try Aweber.com soon

 

[bgmv]

(2) Constantly update your e-mail pitches to include time-specific information and/or current events. This bit of extra effort, which may amount to practices as simple as signing your e-mails with "Best wishes for the New Year" and the like, indicates you're a human being and invested in your sales.

I must say that this worked :bingo: I havent got any confirmed sales but the number of replies I got yesterday was about 10% higher than usual, even if it was just a "no im not interested" I rarely got those before. Great Tip Josh! So when are you going to phase out this signature, February?

 

[JoshuaPz]

I must say that this worked :bingo: I havent got any confirmed sales but the number of replies I got yesterday was about 10% higher than usual, even if it was just a "no im not interested" I rarely got those before. Great Tip Josh! So when are you going to phase out this signature, February?

Good sign! A "no thank you" likely means that the end-user at least seriously considered your offer.

I'll probably depart from NamePros around the point my upcoming website launches. I'm aiming for mid-February.

 

[bgmv]

Finally, I have two confirmed offers for today.

One is a LLLLL.net for high $$$ other is a three word .com for high $$

I will post the domains and prices as soon as i complete the transactions