In March 2020, Yogi Solanki sold his first domain name. Since then, he has caught the attention of many domainers on social media thanks to his almost daily domain sales announcements.
As a full-time domainer, Yogi has managed to sell over $25,000 worth of domains since March by just using outbound marketing. An impressive feat for someone so new to the industry.
Despite his relative inexperience as a domainer, many of Yogi’s followers asked him to create an ebook, which he has now done. “Domain Outbound Marketing” is a $30, 90-plus page manual on Yogi’s overall methods based on his experience, released on November 16th 2020.
I was curious to know more about Yogi’s outbound sales methods, and fortunately, Yogi was willing to share. Here is our conversation:
Table of Contents
Tell me a little about your background. Do you have a history in sales?
I’m from India. I’ve studied marketing, and I do have a sales background. I used to make 400-500 cold calls a day when I was in Australia as a student.
My first week was horrible. I didn’t get any sales, but once I got my first sale, I never looked back and later became one of the best sales agents with that company; that job helped me a lot to get better at sales.
Why did you choose to focus on selling names via outbound?
I’m a salesman by nature and have sold many products and services in different industries. I love making sales.
When I got seriously involved with domain investing, I quickly learned that there are two options to sell a domain – inbound and outbound.
For inbound, one has to wait and wait before getting a sale. To get constant deals via inbound, you need to have a significant domain portfolio of around 4,000-5,000 domains to get a few sales every month.
I didn’t have that much money to build a portfolio of 4,000-5,000 names, and waiting for someone to knock on my door is not the way I do business. That is why I choose outbound.
Also, I’m a full-time domain investor, and I’m not sitting on gold mine like some big investors who can afford to wait. I’ve got to put the food on the table, and without cash flow, it will be hard for me to sustain.
What does a typical day look like for you as an outbound domainer?
My typical day is full of action. Every day I’m either negotiating, closing, or running after prospects who said no.
I treat outbound like a business, and I work from home. Working from home is a luxury, but I have set myself some ground rules like:
- Regular schedule – I start my work at the same time each day.
- Regular breaks – I take regular breaks throughout the whole day; long stretches can create boredom.
- If I hit my weekly or monthly target, I reward myself – this helps me keep going.
As an investor focused on outbound, what is a service that you can’t be without?
There are a few, but the one I like most is ExpiredDomains.net. That is not just a site; it is a gold mine for every domain investor. It’s like an overall search engine for all the different places to find expired domains around the web.
If you do some digging, I’m sure you can find some gems over there. Most of the domains I have bought and sold were found on ExpiredDomains.net.
What type of domains do you sell via outbound, and what sells best for you?
I have sold every type of domain. I have even sold .NET and four-word domains.
In my opinion, it’s better to know your niche, and my niche is insurance. I have experience in insurance. I used to generate leads/calls for insurance companies worldwide by running ads on Facebook and Google.
I’ve sold many insurance-related domains because this is my niche, and I use my existing connections to my advantage to get some sales.
I think two-word .COM has the advantage over three-word .COM. Although a three-word .COM can fetch a good price if it has some commercial value indicated by search volume, CPC (cost per click), and how many extensions have already taken or developed.
For example, I sold this three-word domain MedicareAdvantagesPlans.net for $350; it was expired and available for registration, it has a good search volume with a high CPC.
Where do you acquire those names, usually?
I hardly do any hand-registration and private buys. I either buy them from a drop or by backorder. I have purchased a few domains by participating in auctions too.
Which price point works best for your outbound process?
My sweet spot is the $299-$1,000 price range.
In my opinion, it depends on who my buyers are and how much I paid to acquire a domain. I don’t target big corporate companies. Most of my sales are from small-mid sized businesses.
As I said, it is better to know who your buyers are before buying a domain, and my ideal buyers are small-mid businesses. They don’t have much money to spend on domain names, and based on that, and I don’t overpay for a domain. I keep it very simple. If I’ve paid $12 for a domain, I won’t mind selling that name for $199-$299 all day long.
These small amounts add up. I started with only $194, and now I have sold around 70 domains so far from march end to October 2020, with an average price per sale of $400.
What’s your average hold time for a domain name?
I sell most of my domains in a few days to a few weeks, but getting sales is tough. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don’t. My average hold period is around 15 days, but that doesn’t mean I sell every domain. If I don’t get a sale, I list them on different marketplaces to get some inbound offers.
How it works for me: I don’t buy any more domains until I sell 50% or all of it, and I only buy around 10 domains every 10-15 days.
I’ve divided my workflow into two-parts – buying and selling. Monday to Friday, I spend most of my time selling domains, and during the weekend, I spend most of my time buying domains.
This strategy has worked for me so far. It keeps my expenses under control and motivates me to keep pushing for sales.
What tips would you have for anyone looking to improve their outbound sales success rate?
I’m still learning, and learning never stops, but I’m happy to share a few tips based on my experience.
- Do follow up. The real money is in following up.
- Find your sweet spot. My sweet spot is $299-$1,000.
- Be reasonable with the price. Don’t overprice your domain.
Another cool tip I can give is to search your inbox and look for those prospects who said, “not at the moment” or “can’t afford it.”
Send them an email using this subject line “Let’s take another look” and offer a discount. I’ve sold a few domains like this.
We all have 365 days to sell a domain, be patient in sales; there is an old saying, “Every ‘No’ brings you closer to ‘Yes’” so don’t quit and don’t lose hope.
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This interview has been edited for clarity.
Outbound domain sales should, for me, be something that is performed selectively to a small number of targeted potential buyers. It’s never cool to spam, so please bear this in mind before attempting any outbound sales of your own.
Disclaimer: the link to Yogi’s book above is not an affiliate link. JamesNames.com is strictly an informational website. Please do your own due diligence before using any products linked from JamesNames.com.
Excellent ..