Replying to Inquiries with a Text Message

For most of my highest value domain names, I send prospective buyers to an Embrace.com inquiry form. These domain names are generally unpriced, allowing me to assess market and business conditions at the time of the inquiry. On the form I use, I require a name and email address, but I also request a phone number.

I try to reply to purchase inquiries in a timely fashion. I think it makes sense to negotiate a deal when the buyer is most interested. I use a stock email reply that is individually crafted for each domain name. This makes it easy to reply to inquiries no matter where I am or what I am doing.

Lately, I have been sending a follow-up text message shortly after replying to the inquiry. I have found that some people are interested in having a discussion about a domain name right away. They may be particularly interested in moving forward with a project and would like to understand if the domain name is obtainable. It feels like a text message conversation is more personal than an email exchange.

I’ve had several good discussions about domain names via text message. Exchanging ideas and throwing out numbers for a payment plan – for example – can be more efficient over text message. Even being able to casually suggest a payment plan in the course of a text conversation feels less desperate than a follow-up email.

Typically, I will send the text message a few minutes or an hour after replying to the email. For people who receive and review emails on their phone, it will give them a bit of time to read my reply with the price to understand if the domain name is even worth discussing. If I send a text message a day or two later, it feels like I am appearing desperate – like a “hey, you didn’t reply yet!” kind of thing.

For my business text messaging, I use the web version of Google Voice. I don’t have a Google Voice app, so I need to visit the actual web page to send and respond to messages. This takes it away from my personal phone messaging platform so I can respond on my own business time. I don’t want to be receiving or sending messages at a soccer game or while we are having dinner.

I’ve worked out a few deals via text message and prefer this approach to a phone call. It’s sort of a nice middle ground for me since I dislike chatting on the phone.