discuss Outbound on a .co.uk

[MayerT]

This post is more of an informative one, that perhaps some of the newer domainers may be able to gain some value from.

The domain - Veterinary specific domain, [brand name]vet.co.uk, there are 15+ veterinary practices in the UK that operate under the same business name. I picked this up as an expired domain in December 2017, and haven't done anything with it as of yet, apart from create a sales landing page.

This morning I Googled the keywords and noted down all of the companies, their web addresses, principle contacts, and gathered their direct emails where possible. A simple "[principle contact]" "@domain.co.uk" Google search works effectively.

Once I had gathered enough to get started with (11), I sent a basic email to each of the contact I had gathered.

"Hi [Principle Contact],

I acquired ____.co.uk for one of my clients, although they no longer require this domain.

I am reaching out to all of the veterinary practices in the UK that operate under the name [brand name]Vet, or a similar variation, to gauge interest in ____.co.uk.

Do let me know if this is of interest to you, as it will be sold on a first come, first serve basis.

Many thanks,"

When I make further progress, whether it be responses, or additional outbound steps I'll be sure to update the thread.


UPDATE:
Just as I posted the thread, I have a reply! This is from the #1 ranking company with the search term.

"Hi Thomas
What price are you looking at for this domain?
Regards
Jon"

"Hi Jon,
Thank you for coming back to me.
This domain is listed at just £890, which also includes ____.uk.
Many thanks,"

 

[Sumeeth]

Nice email for Outbounding!

 

[MayerT]

Nice email for Outbounding!

Thanks @Sumeeth - it's always good to get feedback.

 

[Pierre Barnard]

I agree with @Sumeeth , really like the wording. Do you send from a professional mailbox (ie non gmall/yahoo)?

 

[MayerT]

I agree with @Sumeeth , really like the wording. Do you send from a professional mailbox (ie non gmall/yahoo)?

Thanks @Pierre Barnard, again, I appreciate the feedback.

Yes I use a professional email, it is ____@xDomain.co.uk - feel free to visit the website, it is in need of updating though.

 

[rohitgoyal]

Thanks @Pierre Barnard, again, I appreciate the feedback.

Yes I use a professional email, it is ____@xDomain.co.uk - feel free to visit the website, it is in need of updating though.

Nice post thanks for sharing. I am also into outbound i receive 5-10 price inquiries on daily basis and let me highlight some points here:-

1. In many cases when you send a price than you would never heard back from the client .

2. Many times people inquire about price just out of curiosity.

3. Even if the deal is finalized than also its never completed till you receive the money in your account.

As per my personal experience 1.5 out of every 10 price inquiry closes.

 

[MayerT]

Nice post thanks for sharing. I am also into outbound i receive 5-10 price inquiries on daily basis and let me highlight some points here:-

1. In many cases when you send a price than you would never heard back from the client .

2. Many times people inquire about price just out of curiosity.

3. Even if the deal is finalized than also its never completed till you receive the money in your account.

As per my personal experience 1.5 out of every 10 price inquiry closes.

@rohitgoyal thanks for commenting, this thread is an inspiration from yours!

Points 1 & 2 - Completely agree, people are just curious and those that are vaguely interested do not value the domains as we do.

Point 3 - Also agree, we're ultimately in this business to put money in our bank accounts - the deal isn't done until I see it in my bank!

With the prospect that had replied, they own 460 veterinary practices in the UK, with 5-6 trading under the same business name as my domain, they currently use [mydomain]clinics.co.uk. They can definitely afford the domain, it's just whether they value it at what I do.

 

[rohitgoyal]

@rohitgoyal thanks for commenting, this thread is an inspiration from yours!

Points 1 & 2 - Completely agree, people are just curious and those that are vaguely interested do not value the domains as we do.

Point 3 - Also agree, we're ultimately in this business to put money in our bank accounts - the deal isn't done until I see it in my bank!

With the prospect that had replied, they own 460 veterinary practices in the UK, with 5-6 trading under the same business name as my domain, they currently use [mydomain]clinics.co.uk. They can definitely afford the domain, it's just whether they value it at what I do.

Its not about being able to afford the domain .... A lot goes behind the picture ..

Anyways wish the deal closes for you. Just a small suggestion from my end , avoid posting about any deal till the time its completely closed as you never know who may try to play spoil sport...

 

[MayerT]

Its not about being able to afford the domain .... A lot goes behind the picture ..

Anyways wish the deal closes for you. Just a small suggestion from my end , avoid posting about any deal till the time its completely closed as you never know who may try to play spoil sport...

That is what I mentioned in my previous post, they can afford it, but it is whether they value the domain. Not just in monetary terms, but whether there is value to their business with the domain.

I've kept it quite vague, removed the name etc, there are thousands of veterinary practices in the UK so I should be ok.

 

[donnied79]

The lie about the acquisition for a client is great, really. I will use it for sure.

 

[MayerT]

The lie about the acquisition for a client is great, really. I will use it for sure.

I wondered how to best implement this line, as I didn't want the prospect to think along the lines... "If his initial client didn't want it, then why would I?"

Although I feel that this would be very easily overcome.

Thanks for the feedback @donnied79

 

[donnied79]

I wondered how to best implement this line, as I didn't want the prospect to think along the lines... "If his initial client didn't want it, then why would I?"

Although I feel that this would be very easily overcome.

Thanks for the feedback @donnied79

I think that the risk of it is lower than the feeling he might have that you're trying to speculate.
Obviously can't be used (imho) for XX.XXX domains. Thanks to you!

 

[MayerT]

I think that the risk of it is lower than the feeling he might have that you're trying to speculate.
Obviously can't be used (imho) for XX.XXX domains. Thanks to you!

Very well put - I feel that I could be an effective opening where there are clearly multiple end users, for the lower price ranges.

 

[MayerT]

UPDATE:

Another reply from the 11 prospects I had emailed. This company currently ranks on the second page of Google.

"Thanks what cost?
Ian"

"Hi Ian,
The cost of the domain is £890 - this covers my costs, and fairly reflects the competition when trying to rank highly in Google for the search term '____ ____'
Many thanks,"

 

[NickB]

Thanks for the informative post.

Can I ask what you mean by principle owners? Managing Director's, Finance Director's, Marketing Director's , any other type of director or a mixture?

Cheers

 

[MayerT]

Thanks for the informative post.

Can I ask what you mean by principle owners? Managing Director's, Finance Director's, Marketing Director's , any other type of director or a mixture?

Cheers

Good question!

Purely dependant on the what size business and the industry it is within.

As the majority of my prospects are single site veterinary practices, I will go on to their 'meet our team' page, companies house, or LinkedIn and get the name of the Director.

For one of the prospects however (the first one to reply), I had to find their Commercial Director, who then forwarded my email on to the Website Manager.

In other instances I would try and find the people that you mentioned above.

 

[NickB]

Good question!

Purely dependant on the what size business and the industry it is within.

As the majority of my prospects are single site veterinary practices, I will go on to their 'meet our team' page, companies house, or LinkedIn and get the name of the Director.

For one of the prospects however (the first one to reply), I had to find their Commercial Director, who then forwarded my email on to the Website Manager.

In other instances I would try and find the people that you mentioned above.

Nice one - I'm based in the UK to and my day job is speaking to directors in the UK and Germany and I know how many directors are out there - to many!

Good point with the veterinary sector - loads of solo/small partnerships around, I like the 3 pronged route when you search for prospects and not just relying on LinkedIn

Good luck with it and I hope you get a quick sale.

 

[MayerT]

Nice one - I'm based in the UK to and my day job is speaking to directors in the UK and Germany and I know how many directors are out there - to many!

Good point with the veterinary sector - loads of solo/small partnerships around, I like the 3 pronged route when you search for prospects and not just relying on LinkedIn

Good luck with it and I hope you get a quick sale.

Sounds very similar to myself! I'm UK based and work with UK businesses as a finance broker, so am dealing with that type of customer day in day out. It's a great foundation for domaining, which I'm sure you've found as well.

 

[NickB]

Totally agree, if your used to dealing with decision makers in your day job domaining just fits in right alongside it.

I still have a lot to learn about this market though, but it is a nice hobby. hopefully building into a secondary income stream.

 

[Kate]

The lie about the acquisition for a client is great, really. I will use it for sure.

I wouldn't.
The next question from the potential buyer could then be: Who was that client ? A competitor of ours ? This is a possible put-off. I would be wary of buying a domain that used to be owned by a possible competitor, because you are not just buying a domain, you are also buying their history and some baggage. It is a decision that should be researched and pondered.
Or they will check archive.org and call you out on your bluff.

 

[MayerT]

I wouldn't.
The next question from the potential buyer could then be: Who was that client ? A competitor of ours ? This is a possible put-off. I would be wary of buying a domain that used to be owned by a possible competitor, because you are not just buying a domain, you are also buying their history and some baggage. It is a decision that should be researched and pondered.
Or they will check archive.org and call you out on your bluff.

Hi Kate - thank you for commenting.

I'd like to highlight what my intention with that sentence was, and the fact that you interpreted this in a slightly different way is great feedback for me, as I will need to re-word the sentence slightly.

The impression I was meaning to give, is that I had acquired the domain name for a client who was starting a new business in this field - although re-reading my sentence after reading your interpretation, I can see how some may take this as it had been used by another company/competitor.

Perhaps the sentence could be revised to something to the effect of: "I acquired ____.co.uk for one of my clients new projects, although they are no longer looking to proceed with this."

 

[BaileyUK]

Personally I wouldn't use any lies or misrepresentation on any outbound. If I thought it worth a capture I would say so, If I'd held it for ten years + I'd say so. I've pretty much got a 100% success on outbound (Not always at the price I would want though) Nevertheless, play straight otherwise say little is my motto.

I do agree a professional, paid-for (recognised) business email address carries weight in every correspondence. as-in your not about losing credibility or doing a runner.

Bullshit wording is what it as always has been - unnecessary filler, and don't think for a moment it isn't clocked

 

[MayerT]

Personally I wouldn't use any lies or misrepresentation on any outbound. If I thought it worth a capture I would say so, If I'd held it for ten years + I'd say so. I've pretty much got a 100% success on outbound (Not always at the price I would want though) Nevertheless, play straight otherwise say little is my motto.

I do agree a professional, paid-for (recognised) business email address carries weight in every correspondence. as-in your not about losing credibility or doing a runner

I see absolutely no harm in saying that a domain had been acquired for another client. Essentially I had registered that domain with at least another client in mind.

I think calling it a lie or misrepresentation is rather strong.

 

[BaileyUK]

then why not drop it from your outbound correspondence. surely you can do better at identifying their association with the domain, then somebody else (past-tense) wanted.

I don't wish to sound over-critical, But many businesses are becoming super-aware of word-plate correspondence. (message isn't new)

 

[MayerT]

then why not drop it from your outbound correspondence. surely you can do better at identifying their association with the domain, then somebody else (past-tense) wanted.

I don't wish to sound over-critical, But many businesses are becoming super-aware of word-plate correspondence. (message isn't new)

That is a fair point - I can see how stating that a previous client wanted it but has not proceeded could have negative connotations attached.

The purpose of that line was simply to soften the cold prospecting email; of which that and similar openings do achieve, but as mentioned above, negative connotations with this particular example.

I'd like to add that I always welcome criticism such as this, it's one of the best ways to improve!