Domain Name Sale Negotiations, A Quick Overview

If You Like, Please Share

You Have Connected With a Potential Buyer, the Domain Name Sale Negotiation Begins.

There a many posts, with even more advice, and even more opinions about how to manage domain name sale negotiations – so we thought it made sense to share some of our thoughts with our readers.

This is a positive for us at BrandPlease, as well as other domain brokers, services, and domain professionals out there – as it truly demonstrates the value our business and services bring to buyers and sellers worldwide, there is such a disconnect between buyers and sellers in this space.

But, for someone new to domains, website valuation, or maybe just to sales negotiations – we wanted to offer a few helpful tips. These tips are of interest to the buyer as much as they are for the seller, but remember -Seller-it is your responsibility to prepare and educate the buyer. Just like you would expect a real estate broker to do in a physical property transaction. It is the seller’s responsibility to be prepared and help the buyer understand the relevant data and key points.

Domain Name Sale Negotiation Structure and Key Points to Consider.

Unless you really need the money for a business or emergency or whatever reason!

The key to a successful negotiation is patience, it is a fact, yes it’s boring and if you hired me to speak I would find a much cooler way to say it, but if you want to be truly successful at domain name sale negotiations – you will figure out how to be patient as well.

How to be in a position to be patient is related to proper buying, research, valuation strategy, and can be researched in the linked posts for more information: Domain Appraisal Guide, Domain Branding Key factors, Branding & Marketing & Estibot (traffic stats) as well as AiSERP (see the Website Reviewer option).

Most of the offers you get will be very low, maybe only 20% or so the real value (or perceived), truth is they are likely investors looking for a good deal. Dont be discouraged by these low and maybe frequent offers. This highlights the reason to have your research done and data on hand, as a standard response it is smart to include information such as:

Domain age
- if developed how long live
Site traffic
- and supporting data
Advertising type/s and details,
- most importantly verifiable data.

Responding with an (at least a minimum) overview of the domain and relevant facts, as a standard practice, will cut off many of the low-ball offers and scammer inquiries (think broke college student, etc. type).

Remember once you agree to a deal, you are creating a contract, and you are obligated to the sale – if not legally (I’m not a lawyer), at least morally and will likely lose access to the sales platform used if not honored, And it’s just plain bad business and karma to do so. So honor your agreements, respect your clients, and create long term relationships.

Use Escrow services (e.g. Escrow.com, Payoneer, etc.), not only will if protect the seller of the valuable domain name, more importantly, it protects the buyer and may relieve potential concerns about the unfamiliar – to them – domain name transfer of ownership process. The internet’s (& unfortunately some domineers) reputation for potential scams is a true concern, an escrow service is a real solution.

Looking at the Buyer & Seller Relationship during Domain Name Sale Negotiation.

As it always is, positioning (on both ends) play key roles in determining who is negotiating from a position of “power”. The first rule of effective negotiation is: not negotiating from the position of weakness.Be prepared well ahead and never be caught off guard, buyer or seller, have your facts and negotiation data point prepared ahead of time.

In many negotiations, someone (be it the buyer or the seller) signals that they are ready to make a deal and likely do it quickly. As you guessed, that is the party negotiating from the “weak position”. The actual words are a little unfortunate as being in the “weak” position sounds very negative, but it really isn’t – it is simply a fact of the domain name sale negotiation process. Being in the perceived weak negotiation position may be exactly where you want to be. Example: Inventory turn, a sale, wholesale liquidation (e.g. NamePros.com), have bills to pay, etc.. The point is it is just 1/2 of the negotiation party and as long as you are prepared, you understand the process, and taking the steps to verify all information, then your are in a position to continue moving forward with your domain sale.

What neither a buyer or seller wants to be is desperate. I didn’t say sound desperate, look desperate, or even appear desperate – none of that matters and is only what is perceived by others, what you can not be and negotiate effectively is desperate. If you are desperate you will be paying too much or selling too low.

This is the reason why it is recommended that the seller be prepared by having all the relevant site metric, SEO, traffic, operational and finance data on hand (even renewal costs). Being prepared puts the prepared party at an advantage or at least a more equal playing field.

Each situation is different but as a seller, remember to stick to your guns and don’t sell unless you are satisfied with the terms of sale. By being prepared with all the necessary data ready and at hand allows you to better manage this process, your business, and how much the property sells for.