Selling to Endusers - Part 1

[AlexBailey]

This is ultimate, thank you!

I am pretty new to domaining, so the templates and guides that the DNTrade team produces answer a ton of questions.

I guess it would depend entirely on how broad your target was, but a fifty percent response is much more positive than I would have expected.

Thanks again Ned, eager for Part Two now, haha.

 

[SAXIE]

Very eager for part 2, great reading for all domainers

 

[neddy]

Sorry I never got around to Part 2 - too busy or too slack.

But I do want to share one tip / tool with you. I have been using this with devastating success in recent times. Three premium sales in two weeks speaks for itself, plus a couple on the go at the moment.

That tool is LinkedIn.

It is great medium for connecting to liked minded people; plus a great tool for approaching targeted endusers for specific domains.

Word of warning though. It's like any new tool or toy - read the instructions first rather than jump in excitedly to try and get it going!

I'm not an expert, but these are my tips based on a little experience (and having read the instructions!):

1. Don't use a shotgun approach and click the "Connect" button and send the generic message "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn". Everyone does that - it's a big turn off to a lot of people.
   
   
2. Do send a personal message - mention your previous dealings; or people that you may jointly know - or something else that you may have in common.
   
   
3. Don't spam. If you can't do No 2, then don't bother is my advice.

Using LinkedIn to sell

The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can find out who your prime prospects are for a particular domain, and surgically target them.

My tips:

1. Purchase a premium membership to LinkedIn. They're not expensive in the scheme of things, and there are always deals going (Google it). This gives you increased benefits including my new best friend: InMail's. These are messages guaranteed to get into your prospect's mailbox and be read - and if they're not read, you get a credit back. Seriously good! http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=about_inmail
   
   
2. When targeting a prospect, do not try and "Connect". They don't know you from a "bar of soap", and it is the quickest way to be labelled a spammer and get yourself banned from LinkedIn. The secret is to InMail them explaining why you're contacting them - and what's potentially in it for them. I also always firstly apologise for "reaching out without an introduction". Seems to work for me.
   
   
3. Fill your profile out properly. When you InMail someone, they're going to look at and decide if you're credible or not. That really helps determine if you'll get a message back or not!

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I still use email for a lot of prospects, but unfortunately that medium has its drawbacks. e.g.

1. Send enough of them, and your email invariably ends up in junk mail and never gets read.
   
   
2. Credibility - recipients initially wonder who are you? Are you viewed as someone who ends in "mer" - spammer or scammer or both?

Whereas LinkedIn does offer a far greater measure of transparency and credibility.

Best wishes for your ongoing success.

Cheers, Ned

 

[findtim]

I actually joined the other day, mostly because i lost complete contact with a canadian friend but also because ned has been telling me about it.

great article ned, thanks

tim

 

[Data Glasses]

I had an enduser contact me and my one word domain was in their three word email address ...... i knew i had them at that point

 

[DavidL]

Thanks Ned - great strategy.

Do you think you could modify the strategy and outsource the inmail sending to someone you trust? I'd imagine you'd have to send a fair few emails before you got a bite wouldn't you?

 

[findtim]

i've said this before but it fits in with neds ideas i think.

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i've also found the timing of making contact to be very important for a sale, i've got it down to this structure over the years.

never monday or friday,

T/W/T , 10.30-11.30am and 2pm-3.30pm, this is phone/walk-in/cold-knock & sending an email

and thats IT, step out side those times nad your success rate drops

this is a 9-5 bricks and motar business theory of mine, builders, electricians etc would be different

tim

 

[chris]

Awesome stuff Ned

 

[neddy]

Thanks Ned - great strategy.

Do you think you could modify the strategy and outsource the inmail sending to someone you trust? I'd imagine you'd have to send a fair few emails before you got a bite wouldn't you?

Thanks David - coming from you that's a real compliment.

Personally, I wouldn't outsource these. On a $49 / month subscription you get 10 InMails included (you can buy more if you need); or on the $98 plan you get 25 InMails.

So the cost is about $4 / $5 each - not cheap, so you need to use them wisely. Having said that, they're not expensive either - get a sale, and $5 is nothing.

I haven't used them exclusively to sell domains either. Sometimes I use them to make a contact - and from there, have asked those people if they knew people who would benefit from a particular domain. e.g. I have made some high profile connections in the Real Estate world, and these people have been happy to recommend that I contact certain colleagues of theirs in relation to particular names.

By the way, you only pay once for an InMail. If your "target" responds, it comes through on email, and you simply reply back via email (it automatically syncs to your LinkedIn account). You could have 10 or 20 back and forths for the cost of one InMail.

Here is a short 53 second video on how they work (click on the tab "Contact Decision Makers":

http://www.linkedin.com/mnyfe/subscriptionv2?family=general&tutorial=&trk=home_level

Cheers, Ned

 

[neddy]

Just read this on LinkedIn's "Inside Tips":

You’re 30x more likely to get a response to an InMail than to a cold call. Why? Your profile is attached to your message; plus, it never ends up in a spam filter.

 

[acheeva]

I have been a fan of LinkedIn for many years. InMail is the greatest networking tool available on the net; their is no measure of CTR (that I know of) but the response rate I get is nearly 50%; even if a courtesy "no thanks"

 

[Cooper Mills DomainLawyer]

Thanks Ned

Fantastic tip! I use Linkedin for business networking and it is a great tool.

 

[neddy]

Somewhat related to this topic, I cannot speak more highly of using the Fabulous parking system. (Same family as Drop.com.au).

The monthly income isn't all that great on parking, but as I'm not a developer, I haven't got the time to immediately put sites up. So suits me.

But the big benefit of using Fabulous are the "For Sale" / "Enquiry" banners they have. I've had four decent 4 figure offers on three separate domains this week. One is sold; the other two under negotiation.

When you got offers like these, it makes you realize there are buyers out there who are willing to pay realistic prices for domains.

 

[Chris.C]

I'm also happy to endorse the Fabulous parking platform.

Like Ned, I don't make much from the parking, but in the 6 months I have been using them I've received 12 offers on various domains!

Not bad for a set and forget system.

Actually the last sale I made was the result of an equiry via their parking platform.

 

[chris]

Elliot has posted a short video on using LinkedIn to find out the names of decision makers. He's also posted some quick tips on finding decision makers that might come in handy.

http://www.elliotsblog.com/video-how-to-find-the-names-of-decision-makers-6368

Cheers,
Chris

 

[asantha]

Thanks to "Domain news" which i got today,, I could read this thread today...

Definitely will try this method, and also what i thought, when i need to buy a domain I just type "is your domain for sale" some thing really short.. and i am getting really high prices... should let them know that I am looking into other domains as well. speaking of buying, there are two domains that i am interested and i know how much they spend (net fleet) should send an email asking how much they want.....


Thanks Ned. will follow your method (email )

 

[neddy]

Just thought I'd share this tip for when you get an objection on price from a potential buyer. It worked me for me.

I'd be interested in what other people say when they get a price objection.

So the initial offer I got was a really good one, and so I wondered if there was any money left on the table. So I counteroffered at about $650 above their offer.

They then came back with a slightly higher offer, but pleaded "budgetary concerns".

And I said this:

Hi xxxxxxxxx,

I appreciate both your honesty and your financial situation.

But good keyword domain names are becoming more and more valuable each month as our market matures and grows.

So may I ask you two questions?

1. For the sake of a few hundred bucks, how would you feel if a competitor of yours owned the domain? (I know I’d feel gutted).
   
   
2. If you got just one extra xxxxxxxxx “job” as a result of owning this domain, wouldn’t that alone pay for the domain? (And everything thereafter is cream on top).

So here’s my final offer to you (which I’ll leave open until noon tomorrow so you can think about it).

$XXXX + GST. That is an absolute bargain imho. I’m not going to go lower. You’ll either grab that or you won’t.

If you don’t, then I wish you all the best in acquiring another name.

Cheers, Ned

They came back to me almost straight away, and these were the exact words they used:

Done deal, my business partner is not even here to discuss but I know you are so right, I would feel gutted if a competitor bought it.

Lets do it, where do I sign?

Hope that helps anyone - feel free to use if you like it.

Cheers, Ned

 

[johno69]

Nice one Ned. I wonder how many google imho after reading it.

 

[neddy]

Nice one Ned. I wonder how many google imho after reading it.

Even an old fart like me knows the term "imho".

 

[asantha]

question after reading another thread in dntrade

Can I approach people to sell a domain, which i havent develop any site, or havent done anything