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discuss Rick Schwartz approach to negotiations

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anf

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Hi, recently Rick Schwartz wrote a post about negotiation tactics: https://www.ricksblog.com/2010/09/h...e-part-two-20-ways-to-do-better/#.XxFzOCVRWCg

The first points:
1. DO NOT set a price right away
2. Don’t answer questions
3. Ask Questions
So, is anybody using this approach for $5K - $10K domains? For $10K-$20K domains?
Is it working?

From what I have seen on namepros posts, people quote price right away. I saw also negotiation examples on DNacademy, there price is quoted right away too.

So, what's your experience regarding the matter? What works better? If anyone is willing to provide examples of successful negotiations (like from $200 offer to $10K sale), I would love to see them. Thanks!

P.S. I am talking about inbound leads, outbound is a different story.
 
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I believe he is generally speaking about premium domains and inbound inquiries.

There's a difference between that and dealing with outbound in the xxx-xxx range.

For maximum price on ultra-premium domains, Rick's tactics should be spot on I guess. For all the rest of us. Well, to each of their own. There's no blueprint.
 
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The negotiation is the important part. I see some offer 50% off after 24 hours so often worth a wait for even more.
 
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Even when I approach end-users, I'll never mention a price to start out with. I always get them to make an offer first if I can.
 
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Even when I approach end-users, I'll never mention a price to start out with. I always get them to make an offer first if I can.
How do you do this? for example, you have an inbound email like "hi, i want to buy DomainName.com. How much?". What would be your reply, if this is not a secret?
 
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Interesting read. I find myself following about half of the bullet points he mentioned. I think I might try more of his tactics in my next few negotiations... All of my leads are inbound -- I stopped doing outbound a couple of years ago. I don't set an exact price, but I often provide a vague range such as low-to-mid $xx,xxx (implying $10K - $25K). Or mid-to-high $xx,xxx (implying $50K - $100K).

For my next negotiation on a Premium name, I'm going to bypass my reply with a price range, and instead will ask more questions -- just to see the feedback from the buyer. Maybe he's on to something as it might reveal the buyer's real desire and intentions to buy the domain name?

Thanks for posting!
 
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I give Rick credit for seeing the value in domains, and getting in when he did.

Rick Schwartz is in a strong position because he has top quality domains, and also doesn't need the money. Most people are not in the same position.

When you are in the position of power you are going to make better sales. Negotiation tactics only matter so much when you have marginal domains or a pressing need for money.

Brad
 
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Hi, recently Rick Schwartz wrote a post about negotiation tactics:
You think 10 years ago is recently? Wow.
 
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I like this advice, but Rick gives some absolutely terrible advice, contradicts so himself often and because of that I take a lot of what he says with a pinch of salt, but the other day was having a scroll through his Twitter and saw this tweet about how he's never spent any of his own money on domains, how he got a credit card and when the bill came in for this credit card, the domains paid for themselves.

When someone asked him “If you were to do it now how would you do it?”, his reply was:-

"I would start with the same credit card and BUY TIME!"

Early/mid 90’s Rick could earn all his money back with parking and this is what happened and how he paid his debts on his credit card, this couldn’t happen 2020.

I respect what Rick's achieved in domaining, but this shows me if Rick was to start out domain investing from scratch 2020, he wouldn't do well.

People listen to Rick and listen to advice he gives, so him giving advice basically saying "get a credit card, by loads of domains you can’t afford and go into debt" he should be ashamed and if he isn’t, he’s completely out of touch with reality.
 
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Rick’s success speaks for itself. I think he gives sound advice. He had to get a credit card because domains cost alot more to register then. He never said go into debt.
 
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Rick’s success speaks for itself. I think he gives sound advice. He had to get a credit card because domains cost alot more to register then. He never said go into debt.

He said he would do the same thing now!

People just starting out will read that and think they can achieve what Rick as by doing that, but what they need to understand is Rick did that during a different era and a time where domain investing was a untapped market, a time where you can earn loads just by the domain sat there doing nothing and this is how Rick paid his credit card off early when the bill came in.

Rick thinking he can do the same thing 2020 means he's completely out of touch modern domaining and Rick aka a person who’s made millions in domains (largely from investments in the 90s) saying this is encouraging people to do the same thing, he is encouraging people to take debt on and with that is giving bad advice.

I don't have the same credentials as Rick, so I'm sure people won't listen to me as much but my advice (if interested) is learn about domain investing first and foremost, look what sells and only invest with spare cash that you have, never set debt on investing in domain names.
 
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Don’t take it too serious, too much poisoning soup, different time comes out different results, every decisions and strategies may change in different timing, most importantly since he sold a first good quality domain everything will gone smoother that so you have records convince your next customer, and everything comes out from his mouth will sounds all right, especially the reason he got a chance to acquire some quality domains at the very earlier time but I must admit it he knew and saw an opportunity when other domainers underestimate their domains in hands back in 90s, that’s the only thing he’d done right at big pictures of visions. Also definitely he pondered some negotiation skills and buyer’s standing points of view.
 
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Rick Schwartz is the G.O.A.T. Look at his results for proof it works. Like deep-sea fishing, this strategy only goes after the biggest of fish -- the determined buyer with the biggest of pockets. The little fish with their little offers are scared away or ignored.

It means each big sale has to make up for the many little sales that are passed up along the way. You have to have a good portfolio and confidence in the value of your names in the eyes of other people. I meditate on this Rick Schwartz quote, “When you see John Jones through John Jones eyes, you will sell John Jones what John Jones buys.”
 
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My takeaways from Rick's article:

1. Negotiate from position of strength and knowledge.
2. Ask questions, answer question with more questions.
3. Do not set rigid price for your domains. Negotiate price, based on who is asking.
4. Do not be desperate to sell.
 
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Even when I approach end-users, I'll never mention a price to start out with. I always get them to make an offer first if I can.
how do you do that?
 
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Im not one for games. Putting myself in the buyers shoes, I'd have to want the name very bad to put up with that. But then I think that's the point. He doesn't want to deal with a buyer who isn't seriously motivated to make a deal.
 
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How do you do this? for example, you have an inbound email like "hi, i want to buy DomainName.com. How much?". What would be your reply, if this is not a secret?

how do you do that?

I said if I approach end-users. (outbound) I wont mention the price in the first email. I prefer to gauge the interest first.
If I get a reply that shows they are interested, I will do more research on the person/company. I will check again what position the person holds in the company (it could be weeks/months later and I have forgotten who the person is). I only email the decision makers in the company. What other names they own, what they paid for those domains if that info is public. I try not to leave any money on the table. I try get them to make an offer first (yes even with outbound) If they arent interested in making an offer, then I will go back with a price.

If I get an inbound inquiry. I try and find out what plans they have for the name. I act like its one of my children and that I am not desperate to sell the name if the price is not right. If I get regular offers on the name, I will mention that there has been interest in the name. I will ask them to make an offer.
 
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I give Rick credit for seeing the value in domains, and getting in when he did.

Rick Schwartz is in a strong position because he has top quality domains, and also doesn't need the money. Most people are not in the same position.

When you are in the position of power you are going to make better sales. Negotiation tactics only matter so much when you have marginal domains or a pressing need for money.

Brad

if you are not in the position of power
you want to train yourself
to pretend that you are
 
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I like this advice, but Rick gives some absolutely terrible advice, contradicts so himself often and because of that I take a lot of what he says with a pinch of salt, but the other day was having a scroll through his Twitter and saw this tweet about how he's never spent any of his own money on domains, how he got a credit card and when the bill came in for this credit card, the domains paid for themselves.

When someone asked him “If you were to do it now how would you do it?”, his reply was:-

"I would start with the same credit card and BUY TIME!"

Early/mid 90’s Rick could earn all his money back with parking and this is what happened and how he paid his debts on his credit card, this couldn’t happen 2020.

I respect what Rick's achieved in domaining, but this shows me if Rick was to start out domain investing from scratch 2020, he wouldn't do well.

People listen to Rick and listen to advice he gives, so him giving advice basically saying "get a credit card, by loads of domains you can’t afford and go into debt" he should be ashamed and if he isn’t, he’s completely out of touch with reality.


I see it that way:

he basically tells us all the time to act from a position of strength
thats good advice

he has sold only ( I think ) 6 or 7 domains in his life

does that apply to your business?

so why complain about advice somebody gives you
who is in a completely different business?
 
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I see it that way:

he basically tells us all the time to act from a position of strength
thats good advice

he has sold only ( I think ) 6 or 7 domains in his life

does that apply to your business?

so why complain about advice somebody gives you
who is in a completely different business?

I think you should always listen to advice from people who have been there and done it.

But with Rick I don’t know, as said he contradicts himself so often, he’s the Donald Trump of domain investing, says thing one week and says the complete opposite the week after, but then will quote himself what he got right as if to say “I told you so”.

And make no mistake the ‘advice’ he gives, are for his own interests, I remember him trying to influence the market on LLL, saying people should charge more, all this is for his own benefit to make his own LLL more valuable if everyone put their prices up.

Everyone doesn’t have the same bank balance as Rick’s though, Rick is in a position where he can turn down 5/6 and even 7 figure offers without thinking twice about it, people need to do what’s best for them and their own interests without the judgement of a already millionaire saying they should have sold for more.
 
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I think you should always listen to advice from people who have been there and done it.

But with Rick I don’t know, as said he contradicts himself so often, he’s the Donald Trump of domain investing, says thing one week and says the complete opposite the week after, but then will quote himself what he got right as if to say “I told you so”.

And make no mistake the ‘advice’ he gives, are for his own interests, I remember him trying to influence the market on LLL, saying people should charge more, all this is for his own benefit to make his own LLL more valuable if everyone put their prices up.

Everyone doesn’t have the same bank balance as Rick’s though, Rick is in a position where he can turn down 5/6 and even 7 figure offers without thinking twice about it, people need to do what’s best for them and their own interests without the judgement of a already millionaire saying they should have sold for more.


I think many of us, including myself, like to make excuses for our own shortcomings, and timing is mostly...an excuse. The right person, with the right business acumen and strategy could do similar things today. How many people on this thread have spent more than $5,000 on a domain? Most likely less than 1%.

Back in 2015, after investing in domains for over 10 years, a friend and I put $10,000 towards buying about 800 domains. The revenue for this $10k portfolio climbed to $30k in revenue in 2019 and this year is already at $40k with 5 months left to go in 2020.

As far as Rick, I really don't see how you say he contradicts himself. He gives a pretty clear message as a foundation and that is to extract the most value from each domain sale. Some things that he says are meant to change your way of thinking and not always to take in their exact literal sense. Take for example, his post below.


Before his post, the most I ever spent on a domain that was going to be for resale was about $2,000. Since this, I've purchased a domain for $4,250. How'd I buy it? By my partner and I selling a domain for $3,500 that we purchased for $85, just 9 months ago, then contributing an extra $375 each. My next purchase after this will be a $10,000 domain, then $20,000+, then $40,000+, etc. No credit card needed, and no debt needed.

And make no mistake the ‘advice’ he gives, are for his own interests, I remember him trying to influence the market on LLL, saying people should charge more, all this is for his own benefit to make his own LLL more valuable if everyone put their prices up.

How could you possibly know it's for some type of nefarious purpose? Maybe he simply found that there is great value in these names and wants others to know so they aren't leaving money on the table. I appreciate that he tells me not to sell a certain type of domain cheap, and I think most would much rather have 10X the sale price if they were previously ill informed. An end user looking to buy abc.com from Rick, isn't going to care what def.com sold for, so I think his personal benefit is pretty slim. Besides that, Rick has sold so much in domains that I don't think he has to worry about his income anytime soon. When someone is helping others it doesn't mean it's out of ill-will. He enjoys doing it and mentions it often.

I see people try to take credit away from him by saying it was somehow easier for him because of timing. Did you know for his largest sale, that he bought the domain for $42,000 in 1997? Parking was not even a popular thing in that year. I would suspect very few people on here have purchased a domain for $42,000. For Candy(dot)com he paid $108k, property(dot)com $750k, properties(dot)com $61k, at least 7 others in the $10k-100k range, and several more he paid $5-$7k each. He took a risk with each of those investments, and while that may have been funded by earlier domain sales, can we not do the same thing today? I just sold a domain (PlanToGrow(dot)com) in March for $24,500 that I paid $19.47 for in 2016. So do we somehow not have the same opportunity? If I would have taken that $24,500 and invested it in 1 domain for $20,000 I'm fairly sure it would be an ultra-premium capable of a $1 million+ sale. If not, once I purchased one in the $40-50k range, it would be for sure.
 
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I think many of us, including myself, like to make excuses for our own shortcomings, and timing is mostly...an excuse.

I'm not sure if that was a little dig, but I've recently been involved in a 6 figure domain sale, so i am in that small percentage who can say they have been involved in 6 figure domain sale.

I've no problem with people who see Rick as a role model, can only speak for myself, whilst i read what he says, I can't say i have learned anything from him personally but as said no probs with people who do look up to Rick, his sales speak for themselves.
 
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If you see past the drama youll realize that Rick intends to help other domainers.
From above.
 
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If you see past the drama youll realize that Rick intends to help other domainers.
From above.

Yeah that’s Rick (drama), I said above Rick is the Donald Trump of domain investing, reading something Rick writes is like reading Donald Trump’s Twitter, but as Donald Trump is president of the US and has a lot of followers, some may see that as a compliment.

I don’t doubt he ‘tries’ to help people though but some of this help/advice (in fact a lot of it) I disagree with, for example (and i can give many more examples):- the credit card. Encouraging investors to copy his early 1994 business plan in 26 years later in 2020 and take debt on for domains is terrible advice and no one should do that.
 
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