As a Domain Broker I spend a lot of my time contacting end-users about domain names. Since our industry is relatively unknown I also spend a great deal of time explaining to people what Domaining is, and where they can reference domain prices. At the end of the day, end-users are essential to the success of our industry but many Domainers still spend all their time trying to sell their domains to other Domainers.
So why are end-users so important? As many of you know I love analogies so I’ve developed one to explain this concept a bit better. Suppose you are trying to sell your car. You could always put your car up for sale in a dealer auction or try to sell it directly to a dealer. The problem is that a car dealer is looking to buy your car at its wholesale value. This is what it’s like selling your domains to a Domainer. Anyone who spends their day buying and selling cars will know how to get the lowest price for a car so they can make the maximum amount of profit – the same is true for Domainers.
Now suppose you put an ad for your car in the newspaper with a description of the car and some relevant information about what makes it valuable. You are contacted by a Doctor who lives in the area that wants to take it for a test drive. Here is someone who spends their daily life saving other people’s lives. They most likely are not trying to buy a car at wholesale but instead want the specific car they are looking for. They can be picky because they have a reasonable budget and will pay more for quality.
Let’s take this analogy one step further – this is where it gets fun. You can assume that the Doctor knows that there is a car industry. You’d be pretty surprised if when arriving at your house she says, “so are people actually buying and selling cars?” This is where the Domaining industry is different and why selling domains to end-users takes a lot of careful planning. In most cases you are trying to sell an asset that almost nobody understands – so it is up to you to educate them!
Maybe ten or twenty years from now everyone will know about Domaining and have a good understanding of domain value. Until then, it is up to us as Domain Investors to educate end-users and help them understand why our domains are valuable – especially if you think you have a domain that might be particularly useful to them!
I make a power-point presentation for each of the domains I am looking to sell and I’ll share that with all of you later this week. A presentation can be an incredible tool when you are trying to explain our industry and domain value to an end-user.
Share your thoughts! How do you approach an end-user? Have a selling tip you think could help everyone? Stuck with a domain you can’t seem to sell? Comment and let your voice be heard!
