Top five tips on completing sales

22/08/2011 // Domain Sales // Netfleet // 2 Comments

I thought I’d take a moment to share a few tips given to me over the years by the most successful .com.au sellers I know.

1) Add a “for sale” banner to your website
This is an obvious one, but is often overlooked as it requires some effort/planning.

If your domain is less than 6 months old, put up a notice that you are intending to develop the site and a contact form for anyone wishing to be made aware once you go live. Put a reminder in your calendar to review your plans after 6 months and if your development plans are not already underway (which happens quite frequently) then put a notice that the domain is now for sale.

If you have a website, or even a parking solution make sure that you can get a banner or link advertising that your domain is for sale. Most potential retail buyers do not know about whois, so make sure you have a site up that is able to be used to contact you or even just direct them to your listing on Netfleet.

2) Always counter-offer
There is no excuse for not counter offering…. The .au aftermarket is still establishing itself as a market and it is difficult to determine the exact value of a domain, with this in mind we built Netfleet to start ALL domains at $100 and let the process of offer/counter offer build up a domains value over time. To ignore the so called “tyre kickers” offering $100 is counter productive and leaves your market wondering if you are really selling. The lower the offer the faster you need to respond with a counter-offer so the buyer knows you did not even have to think about their offer.

3) Utilise Social Media

Harness social media networks to promote your listings across as many channels as possible.   All of our standard listings now include an easy to use Google +1 and Facebook Like button – clicking these will promote your domain name for sale across these networks.   Twitter is great too, so tweet your message out to the masses!

4) Be professional
When you email a buyer, ensure you include a signature with an ABN/ACN/Business number, Address and phone/fax number. This will immediately make them feel more comfortable with the sales process.

Produce a proper tax invoice, include your ABN/ACN/Business number, Address  and phone numbers. Ensure you include details of the payment methods you prefer/are will to accept. Make the invoice a PDF if possible for portability.

If you are using a domains@freewebsite.com email address during the bargaining process, I suggest switching to a realname@mybusiness.com.au email address instead as it increases trust.

5) Once a sale is agreed, communicate all step up front, and keep communicating.
There are approximately 13 steps to completing a sale depending on how you do it. Here is my list, feel free to copy it and personalize it with your preferences so you can send it to a buyer as part of the initial communication so they feel they understand what needs to be done.

1. Seller sends email to buyer with TAX INVOICE attached and outline of preferred process, waits for feedback or payment.
2. Buyer either gives feedback on process, or proceeds with payment of TAX INVOICE. Once payment is made Buyer advises Seller of progress and waits for feedback/confirmation of payment received and EPP Key.
3. Seller checks for payment received as frequently as possible, as soon as payment is received they make the buyer aware. Seller then can proceed to provide the Buyer with the EPP Key at the very least.
4. At this point the process varies greatly depending on who initiates the Transfer (Change of Registrant) process and which Registrar performs the Change of Registrant. I will outline the most complicated steps possible at this point, and then you can remove the ones you don’t need. For this example the buyer wants to use Registrar X and the domain is currently at Registrar Y. The seller is supposed to setup a new account at Registrar Y, and request transfer of the domain.
5. Registrar Y is supposed to email the Registrant Contact (from the whois data) and ask for permission to proceed with the transfer.
6. Seller need to approve the transfer request from Registrar Y.
7. Registrar Y will initiate the transfer, and wait for approval from Registrar X or the Registry. If Registrar X does not approve the transfer out, then it takes 2-3 days for the Registry to approve the transfer automatically.
8. Once approved Registrar Y can now proceed with the Transfer (Change of Registrant) process. Each registrar tends to have their own process, some initiated by the seller and some by the buyer, but the basic requirements are the same and require input from both parties. The registrar needs an approval from the seller that they are the owner and are agreeing to the transfer. This agreement can be sought via email, fax or even postal.
9. Registrar Y then needs agreement from the buyer that they are eligible and agree to certain auDA requirements. This agreement can be sought via email, fax or even postal.
10. Registrar Y will generally require the EPP Key as proof of ownership from one of the parties before proceeeding.
11. Registrar Y will perform the Transfer (Change of Registrant), and most often remove the nameservers, change the registrant contact details, change the technical contact details. This process resets the expiry date, so the new owner will typically have 2 years registration included in the price.
12. Once the buyer has completed the Transfer (Change of Registrant) it is good to contact the seller explaining that the process is complete and they are now the legal owner of the license.
13. As a courtesy the seller should do a whois on the domain name to ensure the sale has been completed correctly, as there is lots of confusion between “Transfer of Registrar” typically called just transfer and a “Transfer (Change of Registrant)” typically called COR, since a transfer is free sometimes the buyer fails to complete the COR… resulting in a domain which is technically still licensed to the seller and might cause confusion/liability further down the line.

NOTE to BUYERS: The price for the Transfer (Change of Registrant) varies from $330 down to $39 depending on the registrar and varies from completely paper based to fully electronic. Some registrars even require photo id of the seller. Both the cost and the quality of the support you get during this process need to be factored, as with most things in life try find the middle ground and aim for a registrar charging $70 – $90 so you can be assured of good support.

NOTE to SELLERS: Try ensure you have at least 4 weeks registration left when you agree to a sale as if it expires during the process you have to pay the renewal fee and then do the change of registrant, which is a waste of two years fees. If it is nearing expiry make the buyer and their Registrar aware of the deadline.