strategy Mock Negotiation - Let's negotiate here week #1

[abstractdomainer]

Hi All,

We know how tricky negotiations can be. It is a part and parcel of the domain name business. Even if we get the price for the domain name, that we were expecting, we feel like we left money on the table. And it happens time and again. So why not practise negotiation here:

Step 1: Members share the name which they would be willing to offer for sale
Step 2: I will be the buyer, the member whose domain is chosen becomes the seller
Step 3: We appoint 1 member who doesn't belong to either party. Let's call him referee
Step 4: Both buyer and seller share their minimum and maximum prices which they are willing to accept/offer respectively for the domain name
Step 5: We negotiate here on the thread with proper emails/texts. Everyone can view how you and I respond.
Step 6: Buyer and seller can re-adjust their offer - buyer can increase the maximum that they are willing to offer, and seller can decrease the minimum that they are willing to take
Step 7: Either a deal is made or not
Step 8: The appointed representive (referee) will share the buyer and seller minimum maximum
Step 9: We draw conclusions from the negotiation and the learnings

This is going to be extremely amazing and I am super excited.
Please share your names so that we can pick one and start the process. The negotiation should last 1 week or less. Let's do this. The shortlist will be done tomorrow if we have ample entries.

 

[AEProgram]

Four major formats on the reality of domain offers:

Style 1:

Offer arrives for 100 bucks for a name that is without question worth 2k wholesale

You counter with 4000

Buyer vanishes

Style 2:

Offer arrives for 100 bucks for a name that is without question worth 2k wholesale

You counter with 4000

Buyer counters with 110

You counter with 3500

Buyer vanishes

Style 3:

Offer arrives for 100 bucks for a name that is without question worth 2k wholesale

You counter with 4000

Buyer counters with 1500

You counter with 3500

Some more back and forth and you settle for 2700

Buyer pays

Style 4:

Offer arrives from a domain broker for 500 bucks for a name that is without question worth 2k wholesale

You counter with 4000

Sells for 3500
~~~~
The drawn out negotiating stories are usually for domains priced in the mid 5 figure and above. There are exceptions, we know.

I found that being short and direct is the fastest way to close sales. The more you talk and pitch the more likely the buyer goes away. One line replies is best, just like how the seller of TeamWork operated according to the buyers testimony.

 

[bmugford]

I think it could be an interesting idea. Negotiation in general makes a major difference.

The problem is that it is hard to simulate a real world scenario.

Brad

 

[FolioTeam]

Buyer sounded like a domainer which isn't the case for the majority of end-users out there. The whole conversation sounded like a domainer trying to buy a domain from another domainer. Just my opinion

 

[karmaco]

The problem here is you guys are replying as domainers not as an end user really talks. Nice attempts though

 

[Joe N]

Yeah, I think the notion of practicing your negotiation techniques is cool. Like Brad says, though, I'm not sure much real experience is gained when nothing real is at stake.

It's like playing poker without putting up any money. Can you learn the mechanics? Sure. Will you become a better player when money is on the line? No... and actually you might be in even bigger trouble when the time comes!

Cool idea, though. I'll be interested to see how it goes.

 

[abstractdomainer]

Here are


Here is the conversation from @abstractdomainer

I am the owner of a small boutique construction company called Vira Group. Our group deals in land purchase/resale, construction, and sale of commercial as well as residential properties.
Number of employees: 90
Annual Turnover: $20 million

My budget for this domain name: Maximum as of now $2000 (can change as the negotiation progress, by 33%). Post that, it is off the table.
Considerations:

1) Vira.com is not developed and can be negotiated at low xxxxx (like $20,000 or so). We don't have the budget though.
2) Do not see many potential competitors for the name
3) All other major extensions taken
4) Group names typically sell for mid xxx as per NameBio
5) I am building an online presence to consolidate all my projects, build my presence online as we foray into multiple other markets, and expand our revenue by 100% in the next 2 years

Here is the conversation from @Soofi

I would not be willing to go lower than $18,888 as I have received dozens of (lowball) offers on this domain name.

There are multiple meanings of the term VIRA and use cases as well. Most of the reasons are listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vira

Thanks for this. Here is what I learnt:

1) Seller had a minimum of $18,888. Buyer had the maximum of something like $3000, maybe $4,000 at max if the seller had budged.
2) There was no overlap involved. Since there was no sweet spot between what the buyer was offering and what the seller wanted, the deal didn't happen
3) @FolioTeam I take that as a suggestion. In the next negotiation, I will make sure that doesn't happen.
4) Sometimes, it is not possible to make a deal. It is alright. That is a negotiation too! Atleast we learned why sometimes something may not work. The buyer didn't have the budget. Seller didn't want to sell low. NO one is wrong! The best output here was NO DEAL.

More suggestions and learnings are welcome. Cheers for being a sport @Soofi @kartikahuja

 

[Soofi]

Reads @abstractdomainer’s email and decides not to respond.

Thanks @Soofi . I did happen to check the BIN price, which seems extremely high. Why do you think the domain name is worth the price you think it is?
Can you point me to the right data/thought process behind the pricing?

 

[Jason Baudendistel]

I still think it's worth it. Practice or learning regardless negotiating is a priceless skill.

 

[abstractdomainer]

Would you want me to share it here or pm?

Share it here. @JordanH Would you want to be the referee?
After @Soofi shares his name, we will both quote this:

1) Soofi will share the minimum that he is willing to sell at - Should be realistic with proper reason given (via DM to you only)
2) I will share the minimum and maximum that I am willing to pay for the domain name. Again this will be confidential and you would be the only person knowing.

Both of us will negotiate here like it's a real deal. After the negotiation, you share the screenshot of our messages and the community discusses the way the negotiation went.
We will derive a conclusion and learning from this sample negotiation.

 

[Soofi]

@AbdulBasit.com @kartikahuja @Bob Hawkes @Ankit Singla
@lock

One of you, interested in being referee guys?

 

[Soofi]

Reads through @abstractdomainer's email and politely ignores it.

Though I have one very important point to justify my asking price (have mentioned it to referee) but I am not going to waste my time with low-ball offers and the reason why I have set my landing page of ViraGroup.com as BIN.

Hi @Soofi

Thanks for the information. I definitely see what you are referring to. In terms of what you have quoted, if we look at the top 100 sales by date, with names like MarsGroup, you would see that not 1 name has sold for more than mid XXXX, let alone XX,XXX. Most are high XXX and very few are low XXXX.

In light of the same, I would still be fair and increase my offer to $999 for this domain name, which I believe is a fair price. I see that the search volume and CPC here are not very significant as well.

 

[frostify]

Username: PawnStars_Rick

"Let me call a buddy of mine down here, he's an expert in domain names..."

"...alright it's real. best I can do is $3.27 for your one word .COM with estibot value $150,000 registered in 1995. It's gonna sit on the shelf awhile, I'll have to get it framed, it's my best price. Chumlee don't drop it! Let's do some paperwork."

 

[abstractdomainer]

All,

The link to Mock Negotiation #2 is here. Entries accepted till tomorrow. Please feel free to bring your .COM domain name.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/mock-negotiation-lets-negotiate-here-week-2.1250841/

In Week #3, we will negotiate a different extension. Cheers and thanks for being such an amazing audience!

 

[abstractdomainer]

Thanks all. Fair point @Joe N and @bmugford. I'd still like to run a pilot, so much so that I would appraise 10 domains/generate leads for 2 domain names, for the volunteer whose domain gets selected. I'm not sure if I could offer a very small cash reward of say $5, for someone who invests their time simulating this with me, but I am not sure if this is legal or against the policies. So I would rule this out.

Now, idk how this would turn out to be but could be a learning experience plus the idea sounds bizarre and interesting at the same time. Worst case, it would be a massive failure and it is alright, I believe

 

[Soofi]

I'd still like to run a pilot, so much so that I would appraise 10 domains/generate leads for 2 domain names, for the volunteer whose domain gets selected.

Pilot yet? I'm all in

 

[abstractdomainer]

Pilot yet? I'm all in

Yes, this is still valid. Please share your domain name which you would want to negotiate over.

 

[lock]

A big tip is find out who buyer is as "John Smith" at hotmail will renge on every deal beating down on price kicking your tires. No name no service. I will know your dogs names before i negotiate.

 

[abstractdomainer]

ViraGroup.com

Thanks, Soofi. This name is finalized - ViraGroup.com.
As soon as Jordan agrees or someone volunteers to be a referee, we each share out minimum and maximum and the rationale behind it, and go from there. Once he/she confirms that they have received out prices and rationale, we begin negotiation here.

 

[kartikahuja]

Thanks for the tag @Soofi Would love to referee it @abstractdomainer

 

[abstractdomainer]

Thanks for the tag @Soofi Would love to referee it @abstractdomainer

Fantastic. @Soofi Ready?

Let's communicate this:

1) Soofi - You communicate the minimum and ideal price you would take for the domain name, and why you value it at such a price - proper rationale as this would be shared.
Send it via DM
2) @abstractdomainer - I will communicate the maximum I will be giving for this domain name and why I value it at such a price. Again via DM.

@kartikahuja As soon as you receive this from both of us, confirm here. I will make the first offer.
Thanks for being such a sport, guys - Soofi and Kartik

 

[abstractdomainer]

ok let's begin!

Dear @Soofi

I would like to acquire the domain name ViraGroup.com. Can you let me know what you are looking to sell this name at?

 

[abstractdomainer]

Hi @abstractdomainer,

Thanks for reaching out to inquire about ViraGroup.com

We do have a buy now price, however please feel free to make a reasonable offer for us to consider.

thanks

Thanks @Soofi . I did happen to check the BIN price, which seems extremely high. Why do you think the domain name is worth the price you think it is?
Can you point me to the right data/thought process behind the pricing?

 

[abstractdomainer]

After waiting for 2-3 days, responds:

Dear @Soofi

I did not get any response from you.
I did some research myself about the domain name and its potential, and I see that most domain names ending in 'group' keyword typically sell for low to mid 3-figures.
In that light, I would like to make an offer of $500 for this domain name.

 

[abstractdomainer]

Waits out a day/two before responding.

Hi @abstractdomainer,

Thank you for trying again and again but I believe you are better off trying your hands @ Vira.com, which in my strong opinion will be nothing below mid-high five figures.

The reason we are asking $18,888 because we have previously received dozens of offers on ViraGroup.com from dozens/multiple interested parties due to the significance of the term “VIRA”. Refer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vira

I’m afraid we’re going to stay at our asking price and wish you to the best in your domain search.

Best,

Soofi

Thanks @Soofi! The negotiation ends here.
The result is NO DEAL.

@kartikahuja Would you mind sharing what our conversation was, from both side?