Domain negotiation : Dealing with the buyer’s limited budget

When negotiating on a domain sale, one of the most challenging moments is when the interested party declares the domain as being beyond their budget.

Depending on the domain’s valuation, you might have the ability to offer the asset at a discount.

However, it’s best not to do that right away, or even at all, and here’s why.

First and foremost, your goal is to maximize your return on investment.

You can only sell the domain once, and your asking price might eventually arrive from a different party, other than the one whose budget doesn’t stretch that far.

There are times, however, when a tweaked offer can increase your chances of completing a sale, and there are a couple of ways to achieve this.

An option would be to offer the domain with a payment plan. Lease-to-own options can materialize via Escrow.com, that offers such plans at a minimal cost.

Dealing with the buyer’s limited budget can also be handled by seeking equity in their planned ventures.

Quite often, start-ups or small ventures don’t have all the capital they need up front, but getting the perfect domain can take them to the next step up: getting venture capital. A great example of this was my sale of 100.org.

Depending on your ability to demonstrate the value of the domain to the buyer, you might be able to convince them to shift funds from a different part of the business towards the domain’s acquisition.

Emphasize the fact that domain acquisition costs are valid business expenses, at taxation time.

Lastly, you can offer additional services into the deal. These can range from professional services such as development, design, branding or SEO, to sharing the news of the upcoming service within your community.

A limited budget is also an opportunity to sharpen your negotiation skills. Don’t opt for one-liners, have a conversation with your buyer – they have the money, and you have the domain.