Negotiate an Inbound Lead via Broker

Successfully negotiating a deal is something I enjoy. The negotiation is an important aspect of why I find domain investing to be exhilarating. It can also be a source of great frustration. Some people are good at negotiating deals and others aren’t as good. When it comes to negotiating a very large deal – one that could substantially impact your business, it may be wise to hand-off the lead to a domain broker who can expertly negotiate on your behalf.

Some of the top domain brokers are willing to take an inbound lead and help an investor close a deal. These brokers would work on a one-off basis, meaning they’re given a specific inbound lead and have autonomy to use their tools to close a deal with that prospect. Doing this would allow the domain investor to stay out of his or her own way.

One-off negotiations like this require good communications between the seller and the broker. The domain registrant needs to be able to trust that the broker will act ethically (see the ICA’s domain broker best practices) with the seller’s interests in mind, and the broker will need to be able to trust that the seller will pay upon the completion of the deal. Sometimes deals can take a long time to close, so the seller should consider the lead to be “owned” by the broker once it is assigned to that broker.

If a domain name seller finds a willing broker to help negotiate a deal with an inbound lead, the two parties must discuss the compensation structure at the outset. Some brokers will offer a straight up commission deal while others would ask for a percentage of the transaction above a specific amount. For instance, if a Fortune 500 buyer offers $500,000 for a domain name, a broker might ask for 25% of the sale price above the $500,000 opening offer.

Not all domain brokers are willing to work like this, and brokers who are will likely have certain requirements. For instance, a top broker isn’t going to help an investor close a $2,000 deal. Some brokers will want to have the domain name under exclusivity to prevent the seller from selling the domain name to someone else while a deal is still being negotiated. Other brokers may have other specific requirements to work like this. Not all brokers are willing to do this for everyone.

I don’t have a list of domain brokers who offer this type of one-off inbound lead negotiation, but you can reach out to a few if the need arises.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

5 COMMENTS

  1. I can’t trust some brokers these days .Not all strong leads should be handed over to some brokers are it get stuck .Speaking from my personal experience .

    A top afternic broker who was supposed to handle a lead,was so weak in response,he told me buyer couldn’t go above his low 4 fig.

    But I followed up and buyer offered more .
    Also Grit brokerage told me their buyers budget was a certain amount, which I refused but same buyer offered me more when I followed up.

    Never depend solely on a broker,research sales negotiation tactics and go with your guts .

  2. Do you gave a real live transcript how the brokers negotiate??

    What is their playbook?
    What kind of training do they go thru?

    In life,everyone is a broker,you broker your life everyday.

  3. If a broker contacts me on behalf of a buyer wishing to buy one of my domains, I do the negotiating.
    But great domain brokers with documented track records can get a higher price, and they can close deals faster because of their experience, cred, and non-attachment to the domain names (many domainers consider their domains to be their “precious babies”).
    I have engaged domain brokers for one off deals, with exclusivity, and the results have been stellar.
    It’s important to conduct your due diligence on domain brokers. If they have been brokering domains for a long time with super results, then they could be good fits. Take into consideration other factors: commissions, exclusivity, compatibility (interactions), their contacts, and more..

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