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Best Way to sell domains

Discussion in 'Business Discussions' started by FutureDomain, Feb 15, 2010.

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  1. FutureDomain

    FutureDomain Active Member

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    Hi Everyone

    I decided to start this discussion because I have an ever-growing domain collection and I thought people would like some tips from the experts on how to sell / market domains more efficiently, well and I could always do with some tips.

    Does anyone have any tips on selling generics, product related and other domains? That they want to share.

    Kind Regards
    Leon
     
  2. Domain Forum

    Acorn Domains Elite Member

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    IWA Meetup
     
  3. retired_member13

    retired_member13 Banned

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    Developing generic names & ranking them is one of the most effective ways to sell them - it gets them under the nose of the players in that industry.
     
  4. FutureDomain

    FutureDomain Active Member

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    Great tip, and I have to say, I tend to develop more these days, I am hoping to have around 200 minisites this year.

    Do you ever approach end users, and does anyone have any tips on the best approach, ie how to word emails etc.
     
  5. bens United Kingdom

    bens Active Member

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    I have had some good responses from emailing potential customers directly. I usually spend 30 mins collecting email addresses from people who use Adwords for that term. Anything between 10-40

    The problem i always seem to come across is trying to explain the benifit of a generic domain to people who respond. Usually the response is 'What kind of price are you looking for?' Even when you say you're looking for mid £xxx they lose interest, even though they're spending thousands a year on adwords.

    If there was an unbranded site that i could refer people to like 'the-benifit-of-a-generic.co.uk' that described the advantages or a generic and how to use one, that would be great. Domain prices is a good site but has no real detail other than sale prices.

    If anyone knows of a site like this or is interested in starting one let me know
     
  6. Edwin

    Edwin Well-Known Member

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    I wonder if that's something to do with the price being too cheap? I haven't tried what you've done, so this is all strictly theory, but if I try to put myself in the shoes of somebody managing a six or seven figure (or greater) annual marketing budget, having to stop and think about something that costs a few hundred pounds isn't even worth the effort of switching my brain on.

    On the other hand, if the price was mid-4 figures or up, for example, it just might be high enough for the old grey matter to fire up and say "hey, that's a pretty nifty thing for us to own, that perfect exact-match domain for our business..."

    My other thought is this: why are they left wondering about the price AFTER your approach? I would have thought the easiest if you're really going to the effort of generating a hyper-targeted list of 30-40 prospects would be a simple businesslike email naming a fixed price. All it takes is 1 buyer for any given name, after all - doesn't matter what the non-buyers thought.
     
  7. bens United Kingdom

    bens Active Member

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    Thanks Edwin.

    I usually ask for offers on the domains but i think a fixed price may be a good idea. I'll give it a try on my next emails. The reason i've not done this in the past is that i didn't want to under value the domain.

    I still think end users need educating on the benifits of a generic name before they will fork out thousands. The domains i've been selling are for niche markets really and i wouldn't expect them to command huge prices.

    Although if i sold 'niche widgets' and i was offered nichewidgets.co.uk i would deffinately expect to pay more than a few hundred.
     
  8. FutureDomain

    FutureDomain Active Member

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    great dn selling tips

    Thanks guys, some really useful stuff here, I like the idea of a generic dn benifits page to refer to, there are a few out there but when selling your own domains its probably worth creating your own.

    Edwin, just noticed that your page is on page one of a search for 'generic domains' and it looks like you you have lots of info on the benifits like the below
    Using Generic Domain Names to Improve PPC Search Engine Campaign Results

    I think a lot of people will get the benifit of this thread, I certainly have.

    Many Thanks
    Leon
     
  9. Brassneck United Kingdom

    Brassneck Well-Known Member

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    Edwin

    Are you happy for us to quote your case study in any sales approach emails we use?

    Thanks
    Stephen.
     
  10. Edwin

    Edwin Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I don't mind if you want to quote it. Just make sure you keep the attribution i.e. that it's from MemorableDomains.co.uk and also please don't reproduce the material on your own website (email is fine!) otherwise I might get into duplicate content problems with the search engines.
     
  11. FutureDomain

    FutureDomain Active Member

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    Thank you Edwin,

    I think the message is the important element and that can be worded many different ways, as everyone knows we sometimes get a bad rep as domainers but the fact is we identify value in domains, especially generics and then sell the value to an end user. How we word that sales message is really important and tips from the experts are much appreciated.

    Has anyone got any unusual or funny domain selling stories, i.e. generating a sale without knowingly trying to, 'bus stop' sticker campaign (yes I know someone who did that, he's still doing community service).

    Thanks
    Leon
     
  12. tifosi United Kingdom

    tifosi Well-Known Member

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    I think it's safe to say we all know about sedo...

    S
     
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