This approach could be the best of both worlds.
NamePros is introducing a new feature for its free “for sale” parking pages, and I think it’s brilliant.
Domain investors typically choose between “buy now” and “make offer” landing pages. The former displays a price on the page, and people can instantly buy the domain. The latter requires the potential domain buyer to fill out a form and either make an offer or request a price.
Buy now landers offer many benefits:
- Buyers can see the price immediately
- Buyers don’t waste the seller’s time with lowball offers
- Instant checkout = higher conversions
But there are two drawbacks:
- Buyers will ignore a domain with a price too high; you don’t get a chance to negotiate and explain the value
- Sellers don’t capture the potential buyer’s contact information
Make offer/request price landers offer these benefits:
- Buyers don’t get immediately scared away by a high price
- Can force the buyer to make the first offer
- Seller captures the buyer’s contact information
- Seller gets a chance to explain the value to the buyer
Alas, there are downsides to make offer landers:
- Many buyers will just move on; they don’t want to deal with inquiring
- More unqualified prospects
Putting this into practice, consider what happens when someone lands on Afternic’s request price lander. They can fill out a form and are promised the price within 24 hours, or they can pick up the phone and call. I suspect many people perusing domains just move on to another domain at this point.
What if there was a way to capture the person’s contact information and reveal the price to them immediately?
That’s the idea behind a new NamePros feature.
NamePros, the popular domain forum, began offering free sales landers last year.
The service now includes the option of adding buy-now prices. In a couple of weeksNow, the workflow for buy-now domains will include a form capture to see the price.
NamePros gave a scenario for how this could come in handy:
You price your domain name at $2,500. For years, hundreds of interested buyers want to buy it, but the price is too high for them. They don’t even try to contact you because they don’t realize that the price is negotiable or may change. Years later, you decide to lower the price to $995. How many previously-interested buyers would buy it at this lowered price? You’d never know — until now!
With our new Buy Now options, you can finally contact those previous buyers to increase your sales opportunities.
Here’s how:
Our landers require buyers to confirm their email address before they can see the price. Once confirmed, the price is available to them and their email address is available to you. Simple and effective.
I think this is a brilliant approach, and it will be interesting to see how it works in practice.
UCMJ says
Ohhh I’m going to try this!
NamePros Moderator says
Excellent! We’re available to help if you need anything.
Voke says
But many people are lazy to fill in forms. Can we say “price will be shown in the next page to serious buyer” ?
NamePros Moderator says
That’s the idea. Thanks for sharing your suggestion with us!
Rob says
Okay… (not).
So people have to give their details just to get a price?
That sounds like the online retailers where you have to register an account and/or provide your address before they give you a shipping quote – I either just close the window and move on, or I use fake details. If I really wanted a price I’d set up a temp email account and then just close it down afterwards. Then again for all that hassle I might not even bother.
Look, the simple truth is that some domains (repeat: SOME) are overpriced, and you just need to reduce the extortion amount or allow offers to get a feel for what people are willing to spend. Lowball offers, missed sales, and negotiating are just part of the game.
NamePros Moderator says
We also have a “make offer” lander as an option for the reasons that you’ve outlined.
It’s great option if you want to maximize the amount of leads that you receive and take a more hands-on approach.
From there, you’re able to educate buyers, overcome their objections, and close deals.
Mark Thorpe says
Sounds like a good idea but I find using Namepros a hassle.
NamePros Moderator says
Hey Mark, we just reached out to you directly. Hoping to discuss and find a way to provide you with value. Thanks.