Sold a Domain? Check on your buyer!

So you’ve been browsing around the domain forums for a while and went ahead and decided to post that wonderful domain that you registered a few months ago. Within seconds you receive a few replies expressing interest in the domain. Everything from, what registrar the domain is currently registered with to does it receive any traffic or revenue? One of the offers is one that you can’t resist and the buyer follows your directions by sending payment immediately to your paypal account. You’ve received payment and pushed the domain to your buyer’s domain account. VICTORY! It’s time to celebrate, you’ve accomplished your goal and now it’s time to move onto the next domain right?

WRONG, there are way to many domainers that operate in this fashion on a day to day basis. We tend to forget that one of the biggest incentives we can receive within a transaction can actually occur after we have sold the domain. By following one simple rule! Check on your buyer! Yes, how many of you can say that you have actually done this? Since the majority of our business is conducted within a virtual world, we tend to drive ourselves off of the money which enters our online accounts and not customer satisfaction. For most of the domainers out there, we simply forget about the buyer and continue to play the domain game.

I personally feel that if a person purchases a domain from your portfolio once, they are more than likely to do it again. Follow the following rules:

1. After a transaction, simply send an email or PM to the buyer simply thanking them for the purchase. Also in this email express that if they need anything feel free to contact you. Make sure to provide an email and a phone number. You are laying the foundation for a business relationship and a repeat purchase, by doing this.

2. After two to three weeks, simply send an email or PM checking in on the buyer. Perhaps ask a question which pertains to the domaining world. A great question would be, how are things going with your domain portfolio lately? This is the perfect question to ask, because it will provide a line of communication which will let you know whether the domainer wants to proceed forward with the business relationship. If they answer the question, you are ready to roll! Don’t be discouraged if they don’t answer the question. If this happens, simply move on and proceed to the next step regardless.

3. After a month or so send another message, which states that you might have a few domain names that would be of interest to the buyer. No need to list the domains in your line of communication. You don’t want this to appear as a SPAM message. You want to effectively communicate that there could be a potential that another domain might be suitable for the buyer’s portfolio. Everyone likes personal attention and if this is done correctly this will spark interest and the buyer will ask what the domains are. Only move to step four if the buyer expresses interest.

4. If the buyer expresses interest, you simply jump back into sales mode and provide the information that the buyer has requested. Provide a few of the domains which you feel are suitable for the buyer’s portfolio. All of a sudden you have opened up lines of communication for a second sale to take place. If the domains do interest the buyer, they will have no problem with forking over the money needed for the second transaction.

These four steps work quite well. I’ve been fortunate enough to utilize these steps in past transactions, paving the way for repeat customers. Simply checking on your buyer unlocks a wealth of potential.

Best Regards,

Jason Thompson