strategy Selling domain names - Answering emails PART II

[heavend]

Hello All,

First part was about initial potential customer reply. If interested, please visit the discussion here: Selling domain names - Answering emails PART I

Second part starts when you reply and get some feedback. Usually it goes something like this.

Your original reply from part I went something like this:
************************************
Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. Our asking price for domain name X is $X,XXX. If we can agree on the price we will setup an escrow transactions and proceed from there.

All Best,
Name Here
*******************************************
and you sometimes get an answer:

I'm very sorry for late reply, but my budget was $ X,XXX. Will be willing to sell it?

Mr. X
********************************************

So the question here is how to answer them?
Now, in this case, we can assume that the offer received is much lower (I found on average about 1/4 to 1/2 of what you were asking), but it's not so low that you want to just delete the mail from your mailbox.
So, let's say for this example - in your original email your asking price is $5,000 and they came back with $1,500.

Obviously this is a business and we always want to sell it for the most money we can, while hopefully keep everyone happy, including the buyer. Now, let's further assume that while you would like to make more money, you are willing to sell this particular domain name for $1,500.

Question: How do I reply to these kind of emails without loosing the potential customer.

(Btw, if it helps any, I am in the process of negotiations for the domain name right now, and I am trying to use the helpful suggestions you guys coming up with, to change maybe the tone of the emails, possibly some small details, which would make a difference.)

Here is my own possible replies (please let me know what you think:
*************************************************
Hello,

Thank you for your offer. How about $2,000 (or $2,500) and we have a deal. This is extremely rare domain, (bluh bluh bluh.. - one sentence here of explanation why you think it's so rare, and it varies depending on the name) We have purchased it ourselves for $1,700 (I am actually not sure about including this line - have been experimenting with and without)
Finally you want to end here with: Please reply by or please let us know soon, (or something else - or maybe nothing at all here, the less the better).

Thank you,
Name Here

**************************************************
What do you guys think? any better suggestions? let's say that for this particular sale, you would be ok with selling it for $1,500, but you would be happier with $2,000.

Basically once again, just like in Part I, I would like to talk about average, but promising case here. Not some extremes where the asking price and offering price are so far apart, you do not even have to consider it and not when it's close enough where you just may as well accept an offer and be done with it.

 

[heavend]

If you know the name (you usually do not), but if you do - you can start with Dear Mr. X.

 

[biggie]

Hi

is this in reply to an outbound solicitation?

if so, and you're willing to sell for $1,500 and they offered that much, then sell the name

or inbound inquiry, where an offer was initially made?

if they offered $1,500 and you were willing to sell for $1,500, but you want more, then ask for more.


but leave all the "how much you paid, and other blah, blah about how rare or beneficial it is.

as for losing a potential customer, if it was an inbound inquiry, then most likely they or another party will inquire in the future.

imo....

 

[heavend]

Hi

is this in reply to an outbound solicitation?

if so, and you're willing to sell for $1,500 and they offered that much, then sell the name

or inbound inquiry, where an offer was initially made?

if they offered $1,500 and you were willing to sell for $1,500, but you want more, then ask for more.


but leave all the "how much you paid, and other blah, blah about how rare or beneficial it is.

as for losing a potential customer, if it was an inbound inquiry, then most likely they or another party will inquire in the future.

imo....

Basically, to summarize: you replied to their original inquiry and asked for $5,000. They came back with reasonable but lower then you wanted offer of $1,500. Pretty straight forward. While you can accept $1,500, you wish to get a little more out of the sale without loosing the customer.

The question here is how to ask for more, if they say their budget is $1,500. We all realize our budgets are stretchable to some degree but you have no idea about this customer and their true budget.

 

[heavend]

btw, just to be clear - I am a seller here. This whole thread has nothing to do with how to purchase the names. It's only about how to sell them and utilize limited information about the potential buyer, while making the most profit.

 

[biggie]

The question here is how to ask for more, if they say their budget is $1,500. We all realize our budgets are stretchable to some degree but you have no idea about this customer and their true budget.

the only way to get more.... is to be willing to walk away for less.

imo....

 

[heavend]

the only way to get more.... is to be willing to walk away for less.

imo....

: ) Yes, true - but the trick is to get bigger offer and not loose the one you have. I have received a lot offers over the years which ended up in no sale because I thought the domain is worth much more or because the customer was not serious about making an offer. There is also a slight chance that I simply did not know how to answer the emails correctly and some customers walked away because it sounded unprofessional. That is what I am trying to avoid in the future, to hopefully increase the % of offers which end up in sales.

btw, all those people who PM about these threads. Thank you very much!, I appreciate and glad you find this thread informative.

You all are welcome to PM me anytime, of course, but please post your thoughts here as well, so everyone can benefit from all your ideas and new questions which may arise from the discussions.

 

[biggie]

: ) Yes, true - but the trick is to get bigger offer and not loose the one you have. .

the one you have, may not be willing to pay more. that's a fact you will have to accept

so, sometimes you loose that one, and wait for the next.... unless you're willing to take the current offer

or you wait for that buyer to get more money.

because if they really want the name, then each year they don't have it, will be another year of anxiety for them.

but in reality, every situation boils down to that "specific" domain involved in a negotiation.

for some domains, the seller may settle for less than asking price and for others, the seller will hold out for asking price or may decide to increase it.

those decisions are typically based on a variety of factors, like traffic/ppc, acquisition costs, increasing/decreasing demand, quantity of previous offers, uniqueness, subject matter, etc.

when you consider what has to be considered, then quite often, there is no A, B or even a C answer, that will apply to such generic scenarios.


as for sounding professional: when you are "not doing outbound soliciting", then sounding professional isn't a concern.

when you have incoming inquiries, a potential is only interested in the domain and how much it will cost.

if the price is right, then you only have to handle the transaction, in a professional manner.


imo....

 

[heavend]

Any business writers out there? I mean, I am seriously waiting with real client's offer, and would love to use some advice on how to answer him without sounding like a car salesman, yet - I cannot wait forever, as customer will move along. Generic answers are great, but I would love to actually see one or two lines on how other people answer when they would like to sell something for more then they got offered without scaring customer away?

The name I am selling is NNNN type of name., if it helps.
Customer is from China, as far as I can tell, since they are using email address @qq.com
Nothing else I can really find out from this limited communication, not even a real name.

Thank you in advance,
Alex
HeavenDomains.com

 

[SBS66]

Thank you for your offer. How about $2,000 (or $2,500) and we have a deal.

Speaking strictly from the viewpoint of a buyer, if I were to see this in a message, I would stick to the original $1,500.00 offer. In my off-line, non-domaining negotiations, I never counteroffer with anything less than a firm offer, with no room for doubt as to what I am looking for.

But, to quote @biggie ..."imo."

 

[heavend]

Speaking strictly from the viewpoint of a buyer, if I were to see this in a message, I would stick to the original $1,500.00 offer. In my off-line, non-domaining negotiations, I never counteroffer with anything less than a firm offer, with no room for doubt as to what I am looking for.

But, to quote @biggie ..."imo."

I don't get it - how is that not counteroffer with firm offer? I mean I would make up my mind on the actual price I am going to ask, before writing, but I would counter offer with a firm offer, like always. How else can you do this?

 

[heavend]

Are you saying I am going to actually write: How about $2,000 (or $2,500) and we have a deal in the email?. ...
I mean I guess that is what you saying but this would be very unprofessional. Who does it? If someone wrote this to me as a buyer role - I would not answer at all and move on. That is the reason why I placed it in parentheses in my post, so people would know there is a choice here (decision to be made) This is the same thing as the line below: <
This is extremely rare domain, (bluh bluh bluh.. - one sentence here of explanation why you think it's so rare, and it varies depending on the name)>
While I do have and I quote - (bluh bluh bluh,) ... I am never going to use this exact phrase with a customer

Thank you I guess all those people who wrote in PM and thanked me for bringing up this topic. The only issue is - I was hoping some of the business writing experts would actually give us some advice here on the actual lines to write.

I kind of wished there would be more replies, of course, since people are supposed to care about this topic, but it's ok.

I already answered my customer, - couldn't delay any longer, so will see what this leads to.

All best to you in your business ventures,
Alex

 

[usernamex]

What you have is good, everyone has their own style. I did real-life sales all my adult life, and there is no magic formula or phrasing that works for everyone the same. Email is going to be different than if it were live or phone, and more complicated if there is a language barrier.

One of my favorite sales-isms is:
You can't say the wrong thing to the right person and you can't say the right thing to the wrong person.

Go with your gut and improve as you learn. You said you are afraid of losing the potential customer, you can't lose what you never had, if the price is not what you wanted, but you accepted, then you MIGHT regret not making a counter offer. Also, if you counter and they walk away, they might only be using price as an easy out, when really they had a change of heart. KIM sales I know - domain sales I am totally new so take this for what it's worth as I have yet to put in into practice. Just wanted to share some encouragement : smile :

 

[biggie]

The only issue is - I was hoping some of the business writing experts would actually give us some advice here on the actual lines to write.

What you have is good, everyone has their own style.

there is no magic formula or phrasing that works for everyone the same. Email is going to be different than if it were live or phone, and more complicated if there is a language barrier.

One of my favorite sales-isms is:
You can't say the wrong thing to the right person and you can't say the right thing to the wrong person.

Go with your gut and improve as you learn.

You said you are afraid of losing the potential customer, you can't lose what you never had,

if the price is not what you wanted, but you accepted, then you MIGHT regret not making a counter offer.

Also, if you counter and they walk away, they might only be using price as an easy out, when really they had a change of heart.

@usernamex posted some great insights and makes similar points that i was alluding to: in that, where each name is different, there will be different responses

as for seeking "business writing experts", particularly for a nnnn, i don't see where such "expertise" is needed.

one just needs the courage, to stick with their asking price or negotiate down.

Good Luck, Alex

i hope you get the amount you seek.

imo...

 

[heavend]

Thank you. Yes, it's hard to negotiate with customers who most likely translate your emails into Chinese as well. Finding the right words, which google translate doesn't mess up on the way in...
will keep you guys updated...
**************************
Btw, just for those who are reading my threads - the name, which inspired this thread is 9777.org. What do you guys think as far as it's potential value these days?

 

[usernamex]

Excellent name, maybe edit and put in spaces to obfuscate it in case potential buyers are searching

Numerics are interesting, I have 2-7N in ccTLDs, I think they will hold their value and especially a great repeater like that. I would hold out for your ideal price unless you would like to sell now for cash flow

Took a quick look at 4N namebio, not many triple repeat, I would value your name at $2500, $2000 would likely be fair
https://namebio.com/?s=QMxAzM1UDN
9997.org in January for $404 was a steal, 9555.org $780 IMO too low, 1789.org Feb $1691, nice pattern, yours is better.

IIRC 555 isn't ideal in Chip and I am totally NOT the person to know so see if you can confirm that somewhere, that's the only reason I think that one sold for less

 

[heavend]

Excellent name, maybe edit and put in spaces to obfuscate it in case potential buyers are searching

Numerics are interesting, I have 2-7N in ccTLDs, I think they will hold their value and especially a great repeater like that. I would hold out for your ideal price unless you would like to sell now for cash flow

Took a quick look at 4N namebio, not many triple repeat, I would value your name at $2500, $2000 would likely be fair
https://namebio.com/?s=QMxAzM1UDN
9997.org in January for $404 was a steal, 9555.org $780 IMO too low, 1789.org Feb $1691, nice pattern, yours is better.

IIRC 555 isn't ideal in Chip and I am totally NOT the person to know so see if you can confirm that somewhere, that's the only reason I think that one sold for less

I think it's fine. I am fairly sure potential customers do not read in English. Thank you for all your advice, and specially the link. I don't know - I countered, they said - too much. Will have to wait and see, as always. it's not really a great time for sellers - as we all know - so maybe I should let this one go...

 

[heavend]

It still represents 3.5 X the money I paid for it - so it's a win in my book. Anything above 3 X is good

 

[alinask]

In this negotiation part, when you are asking $3000, and they offer you $1500, I think that you easily cease negotiation power when you immediately try to discount your asking price to reflect his offer in the followup email.

If I really believe in the value of the domain, at the follow up email I would not say more than:
"Thank you for your offer. Here's why the domain name can bring more business to you ..[try to find insights about the business the domain can be matched to; if a WordPress related domain, an average development WordPress site costs $700, and I will point it that only 4 projects are needed to complete, so the investment is paid by itself. Those leads come from direct type in, so it cost you nothing to bring 4 new clients in a month! After first month your investment paid itself.]"

The idea is to just ignore his lower offer, so he feels that I expect more, without refusing his offer, so I can turn back anytime to his last offered price. Then he feels the low interest from me and he either increase his offer, either mention his earlier offer as hist best offer. Whatever it is, you keep your negotiation power until a later point where things get more clear.

 

[dsant]

I would Replay, adding more value to your domain. adding previous similar NNNN.org sales via Namebio so that the 1500 offer is too low compared the previous sales and I'll simple end with an open question asking for a better offer. something like: as you can see from the previous sales, the value of this specific NNNN pattern is high then 1500, you are not far off but you need to make a better offer. What's your final best price?

Best Regards,

imo...

 

[Donnyd]

Stop emailing and call them direct on the phone. You will get 10x response. Just saying on the phone is much more easy than an email. More than 50% of email does not even make it to the other end. then an additional 40% will not even get to the correct buyer. Pick up that phone and start calling.

 

[usernamex]

^Buyer is Chinese

Might work soon : smile :
http://itranslatevoice.com/
https://www.google.com/search?q=real+time+translation+devices

 

[heavend]

In this negotiation part, when you are asking $3000, and they offer you $1500, I think that you easily cease negotiation power when you immediately try to discount your asking price to reflect his offer in the followup email.

If I really believe in the value of the domain, at the follow up email I would not say more than:
"Thank you for your offer. Here's why the domain name can bring more business to you ..[try to find insights about the business the domain can be matched to; if a WordPress related domain, an average development WordPress site costs $700, and I will point it that only 4 projects are needed to complete, so the investment is paid by itself. Those leads come from direct type in, so it cost you nothing to bring 4 new clients in a month! After first month your investment paid itself.]"

The idea is to just ignore his lower offer, so he feels that I expect more, without refusing his offer, so I can turn back anytime to his last offered price. Then he feels the low interest from me and he either increase his offer, either mention his earlier offer as hist best offer. Whatever it is, you keep your negotiation power until a later point where things get more clear.

Very nice advise, thank you.

 

[heavend]

Stop emailing and call them direct on the phone. You will get 10x response. Just saying on the phone is much more easy than an email. More than 50% of email does not even make it to the other end. then an additional 40% will not even get to the correct buyer. Pick up that phone and start calling.

This particular buyer, and about 75 % of our buyers do not speak a word of english, as they are Chinese. Maybe they even speak english, but they will certainly pretend they dont' thinking they would get a better deal.

So, talking to them on them on the phone is extremely hard. I am not even taking into account - time difference, since my best sales (over $100,000) came at crazy times, 2 - 3 in the morning /each sale over the phone / internet negotiations. However, it is needless to say that it's harder then normal business hours, specially if you have similar type of emails every day.

Anyways, thank you for all advises, I hope this thread will help other people as well - to figure out how to deal with their emails.

As far as this particular negotiations, I agreed to their offer price, but told them there is a time limit of 24 hours to figure out escrow and wrap it up. I mean I would not want to spread this out over weeks of waiting time, and if they are not serious in the first place - price goes up.

btw, I purchased this Gem at afternic about 2 - 3 years ago for $350.

All best,
Alex

p.s. @usernamex - I bet you that is what they use when I send them my emails. ... on the way back. - I of course, translate their emails daily, but this particular buyer actually tries to write in english. (even using translator).

I found out that when Chinese buyers try to use english in their negotiations, they are more serious about purchasing the name. 99% of all those emails which are purely in Chinese - are waste of time, as they usually dont' result in a sale. In fact, when I reply in English to them - they usually reply with Question Marks. Almost funny - if it wouldn't cost me time.

 

[biggie]

after reading a lot of "assumptions" here about Chinese people and their supposedly lack of understanding of english, i'd have say: it's not a rocket science effort, like it's being played out to be.

selling to them is no different or difficult than selling to any other buyer, who knows how to use escrow or sedo., or in cases where it's an "np" or former dnf member, we did paypal.

sold a pair of LLL.net to np member who is also Chinese in 2015 and a couple of "BIN" sales on Sedo that went to Chinese buyers.

i have hundreds of emails from Chinese potentials who have inquired about various names over the years and when i reply with "$ amount via Escrow.com > Buyer Pays Fee", they either accept, make a counter offer or say "too much".

just saying....