I tend to buy my most valuable domain names in private acquisitions. Oftentimes, the domain names I want to buy are owned by companies that no longer need these domain names. I have found that sometimes the domain names were acquired by the current registrant as a result of a corporate acquisition. If I have this information, I like to mention it in my offer or introductory email.
At larger companies, the decision makers don’t always know about specific domain names their company owns. The corporate domain name assets are typically managed by someone in the IT department, and the IT department usually responds to requests made by the employees in the marketing department (ie “change the nameservers” or “set up email on this domain name”). This means a senior executive responsible for business decisions, such as the sale of a corporate asset, may not even know the company owns a particular domain name I want.
From my perspective, when I send a cold offer email to an executive in an effort to buy a domain name, it’s very possible the person does not know anything about the domain name. If I can see the company acquired the domain name as a result of a merger or acquisition many years before, I try to mention this in my email. I think it can give a bit of background to the person who receives my email, and that can provide information that makes it easier and faster to decide whether the domain name can be sold or give information about who he or she would need to contact within the company to understand if keeping the domain name is necessary.
Domain names are sometimes extraneous assets that are acquired as part of a much larger acquisition. The acquiring company may have no need for the domain name, and it could be available for the right offer. When I make my offer, I want to make it as easy as possible for the registrant to make a decision. By mentioning how a domain name was acquired, if I can figure it out, it can help get a speedier response to my offer.
Great insight here Elliot – Thank you!
I agree. Thanks, Elliot
This is the exact same strategy I used when I acquired Strong.com from Wells Fargo.