Replying to an email from a prospective buyer who is inquiring about your domain is an art in itself.
Your reply can make all the difference in the world, as to how successful you are in closing sales.
That being said, it IS NOT DIFFICULT. In fact, it’s actually very easy. You do need to understand the dynamics and some of the psychology of the process though.
First and foremost, don’t be intimidated. Don’t panic, and don’t worry that you’re not perfect in your reply.
That’s all stuff that can only be learned through experience. Every situation is different, so your replies will be very different in many different scenarios.
In this session, let’s talk about some of the factors involved in an effective reply, regardless of who initiated the contact.
1) You’re in charge. It’s your domain name, and you have something of value that you’re willing to sell for a fair price. Don’t be bullied into straying too far from your expected price.
Listen: You have full discretion in how much you’ll accept for your domain. After all, anything above what you paid to register it or acquire it is profit.
However, realize that most people who are claiming “they can’t afford it” are usually straight-out lying.
When I get a reply that uses those types of excuses, I simply reply with something like:
“I’m sorry you’re not able to afford this premium domain name. This clearly isn’t a domain you should buy, since your resources are so limited. If you’d like, I would suggest registering ThisAlternateDomain.net for yourself”.
Do you see what I did there? I took the candy away from the baby and gave it a sucker.
It is usually the same domain but with a .NET or .ORG extension, just to make them realize I’m not going to stoop down to their price on the .COM.
If they’re a legitimate buyer who wants your .COM badly enough, they’ll continue the negotiation.
2) ALWAYS be friendly and cordial. Don’t let any argumentative attitudes bring you down to their level. If they get too rough or abusive, remember you’re in charge and you can choose to not reply back.
Fortunately, most potential buyers are very friendly and genuine. Of course, they’re going to try to negotiate, sometimes fiercely, but that’s business. That’s not an argumentative or abusive conversation.
Again, you’re in charge. There are far too many potential buyers to work with than to deal with the few with poor attitudes. NEXT!
3) If this is a reply to an email you initiated, always reply IMMEDIATELY or as soon as possible. The speed of this first reply is important.
You need to correspond while it’s VERY fresh on their mind, and they’re still in a buying frame of mind.
Once you get deeper in the conversations, there are many times when you should delay your response a few days, even a few weeks. I’ll get into the reasons for that in an upcoming session.
There are a few points in negotiation I want you to always remember.
1) If you’re the first one to mention a price, you have the disadvantage in the negotiation. It is far better to get the potential buyer to mention a price first.
You never know what they are thinking – they may understand that it’s a valuable domain and offer you a price higher than what you intended to ask.
You’d be leaving that extra money on the table if you mentioned your price first.
2) Potential buyers NEVER tell you the price they’re really willing to pay up front. So the first price they mention is always substantially lower than what they’ll agree to pay.
I’ve been offered $500 for a domain I sold to that same prospect for $4,000. The difference is usually not that extreme, but keep that in mind.
I find the first price the prospect offers is usually about 50% to 70% of what they’ll end up agreeing to.
“I haven’t set a price, because I’m offering this to several ______ and am considering all offers”.
That reply will annoy some people, but that’s just the way it is. They may reply with something like: I don’t know what to offer, let me know what you want for it and I’ll think about it.”
Those who don’t bid will certainly not have a chance.
Others will reply with a low-ball offer. If the offer is far lower than your expected price (which only you know at this point), then you can thank them and let them know it’s far less than the value, but you’re waiting on other offers.
However you reply, be sure to keep the conversation flowing. Try to word your reply so as to make them want to reply back to you.
October 10, 2022 / by Michael McPherson /
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