Ways I Identify a Prospect Inquiry

Elliot Silver
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15

It probably goes without saying, but it is important to identify who is inquiring about one of my domain names. I want to be able to know if a major corporation wants to buy my domain name, if it really is a college student working on a thesis project, and I need to gauge any risk if a lawyer is contacting me. I want to share some ways I try to identify who is contacting me.

When someone inquires about one of my domain names via my Embrace.com landing page, they are required to input their name and email address. I ask for a phone number, but it is not required in order to submit an inquiry/offer.

The first thing I usually do is run a Google search for the person’s name. This usually doesn’t give me enough identifying information since the majority of inquiries either only have a first name or have a common enough name that I can’t identify the person with certainty. I then try to search Google for the email address. This works better and can lead to a plethora of information, including domain registrations, website and/or forum posts, and other pieces of information that can prove to be useful.

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Don’t Use a Toll Free # For Whois Records

Elliot Silver
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5

Many people use a separate phone number on their Whois records than they use for their personal needs. They don’t want their home or cell phone ringing at all hours, or they want to know specifically when the phone is ringing for a possible domain inquiry.  I know a few people who use a toll-free number for their Whois records, and I don’t think this is a great idea.

During the last couple of years, it seems that there has been a massive increase in the number of spam robocalls that are being  made. I believe some spammers are targeting phone numbers on Whois records, especially on new domain name registrations. My belief stems from the fact that I get a ton of spam text messages after I register a  domain name, and I also receive  quite a bit of junk mail addressed to new domain registrations. I think spammers assume new domain names mean new businesses are starting, and they believe their plethora of loans, SEO help, and other website offerings  would be well targeted.

There are a number of toll free phone number services that are easy to use and setup. Most if not all

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How I Would Choose a Domain Broker

Elliot Silver
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7

Domain brokers can be very helpful. Some of the best  domain name brokers sell millions of dollars worth of domain names each year. Brokers can be an essential part of the process of selling domain names, and there are quite a few domain brokers I respect and would use.

It is very easy to become a domain broker. There are no qualifications required, there are no certifications needed, and literally anyone can call themselves a domain broker without any industry background or experience (do a Google or LinkedIn search to see how many there are!). As far as I know, there are no requirements for people to identify themselves as professional domain name brokers. It is because of this that due diligence is required before choosing a domain broker.

I am fortunate to know quite a few exceptional domain brokers, but I thought I would share some thoughts on how I would go about choosing a domain broker if I did not have these contacts.

For the purpose of this article, I am going to assume that a domain broker made the first contact with me to ask about selling one of my domain names or I did a Google/forum/blog search to find the names of domain brokers. Essentially, the assumption is I know the name of a broker but know nothing about that broker.

The first thing I would do would when contacting a broker

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When in Doubt, Call Former Owner

Elliot Silver
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1

Performing due diligence is a critical step in buying a domain name. I never want to purchase a domain name that turns out to be stolen from a registrant, so it is important to me to do as much as I can to ensure a registrant is the rightful owner of a domain name.

I use a variety of tools to verify proper ownership, and the main tool I use is DomainTools’ Whois History Tool. If there is ever a question in my mind about the ownership of a domain name I am interested in buying, I will try to contact a former owner to verify that the domain name was sold to the current owner.

Importantly, it is critical to ensure the correct owner is called. If the entity that owned the domain name sold it to someone else and the domain name was stolen from that person, the phone verification of a previous domain owner doesn’t help. This is why I need to make sure I call the right person to not get a false sense of security.

When I make a phone call to a former domain registrant,

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Domain Industry Recruiters Need to be Discreet

Elliot Silver
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10

The domain name business is small, and the business of domain investing is even smaller. It seems that most people involved in the domain space  know each other or know of each other. This can pose challenges for people who work  in the business and need to be discreet. One such example is job recruiters / head hunters.

Enough time has passed that I am comfortable sharing this story. A while back, a recruiter reached out to me about a job opening at a domain industry company. I am pretty sure she found my information on LinkedIn, although I am not sure why she felt I was qualified for the position. The strangest aspect of her recruiting email was that the position was currently  filled by someone I know. This person apparently didn’t know the company had engaged a recruiter to find a replacement.

Generally speaking, recruiters need to be discreet because most people aren’t comfortable discussing other job opportunities over their work email or while in their offices. The onus is typically on the job applicant to be discreet when communicating with a recruiter, although a good recruiter should also be discreet.

When it comes to hiring within the domain industry,

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Not Always Great to Buy a Domain Name for Someone

Elliot Silver
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1

The most difficult part of a domain deal is often the domain name transfer. This process can be especially frustrating when dealing with a buyer who is not all that experienced with domain name transfers and doesn’t know how to facilitate one. This can be even more frustrating when the value of the deal is lower than usual.

The other day, I posted a poll asking people if they have ever given a domain name as a gift to someone. The majority of people who participated in the poll were like me and have bought a domain name for someone else as a gift. Sometimes, buying a domain name for someone else isn’t such a great idea.

Nearly all of the time I have bought a domain name for someone, they have not taken possession of the domain name from me. Either they don’t have the need for the domain name (yet), or they simply don’t know enough about how to actually get the domain name. If I were to guess, most of these people have never even owned a domain name before and they wouldn’t know how to open a registrar account and initiate an account change or a transfer.

For the most part,

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