Having Problems Selling Domain Names To End Users? Think Different
One of the major frustrations I had early in my technology sales career is that I was in a position where when selling to a customer I only had one product to position, in other words I lived or died with that one item. The only way to sell more was to hope they grew enough to want more and if they did not want that product you were done, there was nothing left. As domain investors in most cases that is the position you are in, they either want your domain name or not and there is no increasing value with more products, or saving a deal by removing one piece but continuing to sell other components. You are a one trick pony.
Although not exactly the same I think this is part of the reason I have been able to do well selling .NET generics this year, I was able to show additional value by having the domain name on a small website/minisite rather than just selling a "name". Sure we know there is inherent value in the name but as a combined product of website attached to a name people were more comfortable with what they were buying, they recognized it as a business that consisted of a domain name and a website which in turn created a solution to drive more traffic targeted towards their business needs.
I know some people do not like to ever have a site on a domain name they are trying to sell, maybe it has not worked for you, but I can say without a doubt it worked for me this year and that was part of the reason for launching EzDevelop.com (beta going well BTW, hope to have phase 1 launched soon to the public).
Anyway, back to selling a solution, as we talk about this think about solutions you can offer around the domain names you are trying to sell (and I am more talking about people trying to sell outside of the network of domainers).
As I mentioned before, I was working at a company where I was limited to one product, you won or lost, it was an all or nothing deal (look at it as they bought my name or they did not buy my name, black and white). But I was then offered an opportunity to work at a solutions company, a company that worked as a systems integrator that brought together multiple pieces of technology to create a best of breed solution to help companies move their networks forward. What did that mean?
Well first off lets take a high level look at what a typical deal consisted of:
Routers - $15,000
Ethernet Switching - $10,000
Servers - $50,000
Software - $75,000
Ancillary Equipment - $5,000
Access Equipment - $50,000
This is not everything but it gives some indication of the number of pieces. I was not limited to one big component but had a larger set of components at a lower price but no one piece killed the deal. In other words I had ways to create more value (by selling servers instead of just software) but also had the ability to still stay in the game if I lost one piece (lets say they had a direct deal with Sun). Long story short, more value to the customer is created since I provided a solution to a problem rather than just bringing a product (domain name) and based on that I can hedge my bets and increase the deal size at the same time.
I look at marketing in the same way, when talking to customers I am the first one to tell them that they should not throw all their eggs into one basket, I like helping them create a holistic method to help their company (hence my post about marketing offline). Even if it is not all with Missouri.me and Localtek at the end of the day helping them find a solution to grow their business helps everyone.
So, I am sure you have picked up on it by now, but if not your question to me is, "So what does this have to do with selling domain names?"
Well, if you are having problems with end users maybe try a new approach, think of something you could package with the name to show value they understand. Most people are not going to react in a positive manner if you call and say, hey wanna buy a name. It could be a social media package, an ebook, etc. The point is be creative, do not limit yourself, you may just find you have more success by thinking out of the box and creating a solution rather than just selling a piece of the solution.