23 Nov One Click
I just spent the last 2 weeks securing assets for a new business venture.
You know, all those little things like web site domain names, Twitter and Facebook accounts and all those other incredibly important items that are so critical to the success (and ultimately, the sale value) of just about any business these days.
Naming, branding and positioning a new business venture can be challenging. Just about every quality .com domain name seems to be taken, or at least has been registered by someone hoping that they might get to resell it for a profit.
The domain name that we wanted for our new venture had been purchased by someone who was sitting on it and hoping for a sale. And, so began the negotiations and lengthy process of securing the asset.
Upon first approach to the owner of the domain name, they advised the purchase price was $3,880.00 – not negotiable! I can see why so many people are just buying domain names and sitting on them. Not a bad return on their investment considering it probably only cost them $7 to register.
Of course I wasn’t going to pay that much, so I went back with my counter offer and at the same time registered several other options. They then came back with their “final” offer at $1,800.00. Still to much, so I made my “final” offer and at the same time advised them that I had registered several other domain names that I was happy with. They then came back and accepted my “final” offer.
Just a few days of negotiations and I saved several thousand dollars and managed to secure a domain name that was already registered.
Then the real fun began. Transferring the domain.
In this technological age of online transactions, I would have thought that this part would have been the easiest part … but oh, no!
Escrow accounts had to be set up, special payment structures and faxed confirmations of credit details had to be provided. A holding domain name host had to be established and each one of these processes took time and cost a few more dollars. It was complex and time consuming but we finally got the name. Worth it in the end!
But one of the interesting takeaways for me from this was how difficult the sale process was. The barrier to entry was very high. High cost, complex negotiation and a difficult and complex payment and transfer structure. There were several times I seriously considered giving up. After all, I had already registered several other names that would have done the job.
At the same time I was managing this deal, I also set up my one click purchasing with Amazon so that I could buy more Kindle books. What a difference. On the one hand, a deal that has taken 3 weeks and, on the other hand, a sales process that took 2 minutes to set up and that will only take one click from now on.
Which one are you? How complex is your sales process? What are your barriers to entry? I reckon if it’s not one click, then you had better start reviewing it now, cause one click is the future!