How I Sold A Domain Name Through A Text Message…Sort Of

I know you may be asking yourself “How can you sell a domain name via a text message”? Well, I kind of did that several months ago and wanted to share with you exactly how I was able to work a domain deal via the telephone.

First off, I have to put it out there that this is most likely not typical at all. Most domain sales are usually done through places like Afternic or other sales venues. But in this case, I guess you can say I beat the odds.

So exactly how did I get this done?

The first thing that made this possible was FOLLOWING UP with an interested lead. As I’ve mentioned in other POSTS, I always follow up with interested buyers. Nearly all of the domains names that I currently own are parked and forward to some sort of sales lander. The landers that I use are from Uniregistry currently because I think they look clean and get the job done.

When a prospect/interested buyer lands on the website for the potential domain they may be interested in, there’s just 3 simple things I want from them:

• Their Name

• Their Email

• Their Phone number (optional)

That’s it.

In the sales business (and that’s what a major part of domaining is), your leads are the blood of your business. Without enough interested buyers, you are not going to be in business to long. So that’s why I always want to make sure that I have some way to follow up with ANYONE who is interested in any domain name that I have out on the market.

Now sometimes, they may provide me with a fake email address and or phone number. My response to this is “who cares”? Keep it moving. On to the next prospect. You cannot get emotional when it comes to selling domain names.

Back to my point though, following up is essential. I’ve actually read that people are against following up with interested buyers because it seems “desperate”.

Whatever.

I will follow up until they tell me to leave them alone. Then I get the point…they probably don’t want to buy my domain name.

Until then, it’s fair game!

So the case for this domain was rather interesting. I had an interested prospect fill out the information on my sales lander for the domain name they were interested in purchasing. I’m pretty sure they did not mention an initial offer when they inquired.

I followed up and quoted them a price and they did not write back. Like I said, that’s going to happen a lot so get use to it.

Thankfully, I have a system where I continually follow up with all of my prospects until they specifically tell me to stop contacting, in which I will remove them from my email marketing follow up campaign.

So after a few months I sent out a follow up email to this prospect and went about my day.

Next thing you know…my phone buzzed.

I was a text message from…THE INTERESTED BUYER!

I was actually very surprised as it was my first time ever receiving a text message from someone who wanted to purchase a domain name that I owned. He basically wanted to know what was the price for the domain name and that he was interested in acquiring it.

Were things stalled (which usually happens) was when I mentioned the price. He simply wasn't interested in the price I quoted and instead, he gave me his offer for the domain.

I told him that was a little below what I was looking for and thanks for the offer. After sitting and thinking about it for a few days, I knew it would be much smarter to flip this domain name for cashflow to someone who wants it, now.

I went ahead and sent him a text message to see if he was still interested and quoted him a lower price than I initially had. He responded, we went back and forth and boom, the sale happened!

He was extremely happy to reach a deal and so was I. The deal was done via Paypal (larger deals should be done via Escrow though), I transferred the name to his Godaddy account after he made the payment.

He had ownership to the domain name and I had that sweet cash in my account and it all came about through a text message.

Summary

• You can sell domain names through various ways and text messages could be one if used properly.

• I suggest you always follow up with interested prospects. All the info you need is their name, email address & phone number (optional)

• Some people will ignore you when you follow up. Who cares?

• Sometimes, your buyer may not want to meet you at your price. You have to consider what the domain name really means to you and if making the sale could help you with your cashflow.

• Don't be scared of the telephone. Whether it's a phone call or text message. Do what you need to do to CLOSE the sale.