The Importance Of Quality Over Quantity

There are two different paths you can take in the Domaining world, lots of little sales or a few big sales. When I started out in the industry my focus was power in numbers, how many domains could I sell in a given month. I found-out quickly that the numbers added up and was immediately drawn to small, quick deals. Then I did my first $30,000+ deal and my whole world changed.

What I learned was the importance of quality over quantity. It took me the same amount of time to do the $30,000 deal as it did a $2,500 deal I did a week earlier. To get to $30,000 I would typically have to do 5+ deals which took a lot longer than doing just one big deal. At that point my focus changed, it was a new approach but one that has made all the difference.

I think what most investors miss is the critical importance of the quality of their domains. Yes, there are plenty of deals out there, but a good deal doesn’t necessarily constitute a great domain.

Now let’s get one thing straight before I go any further, I’m not selling a domain for $30,000+ ever month, I wish I was but I dont’ want to paint that picture here. What I do want to illustrate is the lesson I learned from that deal.

It all comes down to your time and how you spend it. Also, it’s not just the sales process, it’s the buying process that matters as well. I found the same methodology applied to buying as it did to selling. Suddenly my focus had changed to also buying less domains, but spending more on the domains I bought, focusing on quality.

My portfolio has fluctuated between about 800 – 1,200 names for a few years now, this year my goal is to bring it down to 500 or less. Less domains to manage means more time, and if in having less domains I am putting a greater focus on quality, then the portfolio has less domains, but a greater value.

This all translates into how I run my internal sales team as well. I have three people that sell domains for me and they’ve always focused on a handful of names each. Now I’m trimming it back to three max, but with better names and more time spent mining data and getting in touch with the right people, each individual deal gets bigger.

It’s the beginning of 2013 and you still have plenty of time to go through your portfolio and make sure you’re focusing on the right names that will bring you liquidity today. I still have plenty of long-term plays but like golf, you need a good long game and a good short game.

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton