I try to lead by example. Look at the Domains I buy & look at the prices I pay for them and what I sell them for. $655 for TurboTutor *com meets my criteria. Let me go over it point by point.
So let me share my thought process. I don’t have to worry about when I’m going to sell it. All I have to know is that it’s salable. It’s brandable. It’s demandable.
Can someone build their dream on my domain name? That’s the #1 question I ask.
If this was the only domain name that I had, can I build my dream on it? That is the 2nd question I ask and most of the time it is the first question I ask before I actually pull the trigger.
YES!
Is it meaningful?
YES!
Does it communicate what you’re going to get or do I have to guess?
YES!
Is it easy to spell and easy to remember, does it pass the radio test?
YES!
Can this domain be the next World Headquarters for an important company or even my own?
YES!
Is this domain worth at least six or seven figures?
YES!! It already is!
Lastly, does it sound good and have a good ring?. Easy to remember so it's easy to tell others? Regardless of what techies believe, word-of-mouth is still the number one advertising medium in the universe. Online or Anywhere. If you want to amplify, you actually need a great domain to amplify. If it does not make sense or is confusing, GAME OVER!
The Domain game is about picking domains. Meaningful DOTCOM domains. Dotcom domains are the biggest and greatest franchise the world has ever known. Think about that. Let that marinate for a moment before dismissing or disagreeing. If you do, you lose!
No other item or government in the history of the world has leveled the playing field economically more than dotcom domain names. No matter where you are or who you are you can plant your dream for as little as a Happy Meal and be on the Main Street of the business universe!!
It’s a game of accumulation of gems. If you pick your gems right, the sales will follow. You don’t have to get desperate.
Value is determined by who you’re selling it to!! If you’re selling it to a local tutor that makes $30 an hour he or she will not be able to pay you too much. That’s a hard pass! Run! Don’t even answer. Disappear.
On the other hand, if you’re selling it to a company that’s going to make something life-changing that’s where the value comes in. You find that out by the conversation.
I just believe everyone who contacts me is Amazon. I ignore mom-and-pops. I don’t care about mom-and-pops. They are not my target audience. They shouldn’t be yours either! I target those end-users that want to join the Fortune 500. Those that have dreams and want to shoot for the stars. Those that wake up breathing what they do. No passion = NO SALE!! I only deal with end-users!
They may even fool you into believing they are a mom & pop. Don’t fall for it! It’s not for the kid either! Don’t believe any of it.
They are Amazon, Apple, and Netflix. Assume they are a Fortune 500 or 1000 company 100% of the time. You shouldn’t believe anything but that. That’s how you should be answering every inquiry. That's how I answer every inquiry if I answer at all. You are NOT compelled to answer everyone. It would be a waste of time to engage 98% of those inquiries. But if you do.....
Their job is to get a price. Your job is to start a conversation. You must win here or you lose. VERY SIMPLE!!
But you have to be 100% consistent and 100% determined, 100% of the time!!
If you can’t get a conversation going, here’s an easy one. Tell them your plans. Tell them you have plans for the domain. You did buy it for a reason! Right? It has value to you! Right? I don't buy a domain unless I can attach a money-making idea to it. So start building the value for you! That helps build value for them.
When the value is too much & they are out of their league, that’s when you simply walk away. You say no and walk away cuz you’re looking for someone with a passionate dream. A BIG dream based on reality not fantasy. Pretty easy to tell the difference if you pay attention to what they say and how they say it. The words they use and the thoughts they have.
Now, if I was a flipper, you don’t think I can turn TurboTutor around pretty quickly for a lot more than what I paid for it?
And if a domainer were to sell something like that for $5000, they are insane and also would also be celebrating. And that would be insane. How many dollars are you willing to leave on the table?
I buy things for $500 that are worth $100,000 or Millions. That’s the domain game. It's a true gut ability few have to see such things. But that is my gift and I recognized it early on and have exploited it.
It isn’t about what you paid for it. I learned that antiquing. You can buy a Picasso for $2. It doesn’t mean you sell it for $5. People buy things for very little money and sell them for fortunes. That’s the Domain game if you play it right. That's Real Estate and stocks and all types of commodities if you play it right. The difference here is you are selling or buying a unique asset that can not be replaced or reproduced. You are buying or selling something that can come to life and be life-changing. You are buying something that you can turn to priceless as it becomes your recognized World Headquarters.
So, just worry about collecting the gold & the gems & everything else will fall into place. Domain game is about acquisitions, not sales. Sales are the residue of great acquisitions. But 95% of domainers have that equation upside down.
They let valuable domains slip through their hands cuz they don’t know what the hell they’re doing, and they end up buying Pigeonshit and worthless extensions for more money than I buy my priceless gems for. Go figure!!
They NEVER tell the buyer about the pitfalls and extra costs of attempting to put their World Headquarters on a non-dot-com extension. That is why they are forced to upgrade and the rebranding process is long and expensive. By the time they figure it out, they have lost a LOT of business via confusion that often leads to the competitor. The competition gets stronger while they get weaker and actually work against themselves.
I try to teach them how to become wealthy, they try to convince me that they have to sell/buy for chump change. Cheap buyers and know-nothing sellers are a recipe for disaster.
They have a chance to learn a chance to advance, instead, they reinforce their past failed ways.
I cannot help those people. They are stuck & they’re never going to progress. They are arguing & reinforcing failure instead of jumping on success. That’s why I say I know what they’re going to do before they know what they’re going to do.
And to get to the true value of a domain name you MUST be able to ask this question and the potential buyer needs to know the answer. Without that info, everyone is flying in the blind. "What is the lifetime value of a new customer?" It ALL starts there!
As you can see, I am talking to both buyers and sellers. There is nothing to hide. It's about laying your cards on the table and putting a winning hand together for both parties. If you do it right, it won't be adversarial. You will both seek and find common ground as you build value.
If not, you simply walk away. The domain you pick for your World Headquarters will make you look brilliant if you do it right or will make you look like a cheap fool if you do it wrong. Both will reflect heavily in your sales and whether your company makes good decisions or not. Companies that make bad decisions usually disappear.
And lastly, let me leave you with this. A company can lease a GREAT domain with an option to buy for as little as a lease on one of their Mercedes. So if their Mercedes is more important than the longevity and health of their company......RUN!!!!! A Founder knows the difference, a CEO might not!!
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
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