Politeness Goes a Long Way

[Donna Mahony]

I was just browsing the domains for sale thread and saw a person respond to an offer from a buyer in a very curt and rather rude way.

I have tried to help newbies for the entire four years I have been in business and this is one issue I never thought needed covering.

Treat EVERY offer and buyer with RESPECT. There is NOTHING to be gained by rudeness. You never know exactly who a person is in a forum. A simple "I appreciate your offer but choose to pass right now" leaves many doors open. Rudeness closes doors. Not only with the person who made the offer and and was the recipient of the rudeness but with others who saw the post.

Every window shopper is a potential buyer. Every buyer is a potential repeat buyer!

 

[Mr Webname]

Good advice!

 

[Anthony Ng]

Couldn't agree more. Being rude is not only not nice on the personal level, it hurts your business in the long run. But the truth is: I've seen A LOT of people here (or WAS here) and elsewhere who "think" that they are doing good enough and therefore can afford being rude. Stupid!

 

[Jack Gordon]

What goes around comes around. There is never an excuse for outright rudeness. Direct, frank opinions maybe, but not rudeness.

 

[Bob]

Very well said Winnie. I never understood it when somebody was rude either. You NEVER want to close a door. Like you pointed out, you NEVER know who the potential customer is.

Case in point: One customer approached me and wanted to buy a small-ticket domain. He offered me something way under what I wanted. I politely declined and explained why. He said that he understood my point and counter offered (and he was very polite about it too). Eventually, we agreed to a price. He apologized for the lenghty negotiation. I told him that it was actually a pleasure negotiating with him because of respect we displayed for each other. If we disagreed with the other person, we said so, and explained why - all in a respectful tone.

After that first sale, the customer said to me "Alright, I actually want other names that you have, but I just wanted to (I forget the exact words he used but it was something that meant the same thing) 'test the waters' and see what kind of a person you were. "

We wound up doing a nice mid four-figure sale, based on trust. He paypaled me a large sum and did not even hesitate about trusting me.

This is a true story and a very good illustration about how being polite can go a long way. If I had not treated the gentleman with respect, then I am 100% sure that the second (and LARGER) sale would NEVER have happened.

-Bob

 

[Donna Mahony]

Bob, PERFECT example!!! Another pet peeve is when people don't follow the criteria in in a domains wanted ad. I got my first important break when a buyer walked into Afternic chat and said, "I am buying adult domains, please email me your lists." The room turned blue with spam. I EMAILED my list, made a great bulk sale and the buyer took me under his wing and led me to bigger and better things!!

 

[DaddyHalbucks]

Nice ideas.

 

[DomainMiner.com]

I agree, great posts. Hopefully it's read by enough people so some change is made.

 

[TrafficMonsterRRR]

Great thread! I thought it was going to be a whining session at first but it turned out to be very educational.

May I add my experinces?
Never take a counter offer or remark on your asking price personally! If anything, it shows interest in what you are selling, plus some buyers want to enter a transaction with a power punch. In some instances it's best to play "their game" if you want to make a sale at the end of the day.

 

[Steen]

Originally posted by TrafficMonsterRRR
Great thread! I thought it was going to be a whining session at first but it turned out to be very educational.

May I add my experinces?
Never take a counter offer or remark on your asking price personally! If anything, it shows interest in what you are selling, plus some buyers want to enter a transaction with a power punch. In some instances it's best to play "their game" if you want to make a sale at the end of the day.

I think this info may b very useful.

I just dont understand it, could you rephrase plz?

Ty

 

[Domainaholic]

Thanks for this Very important topic

I would also like to add: be patiant with Rude customers and their miserly requests.

 

[TrafficMonsterRRR]

Originally posted by devildude8989


I think this info may b very useful.

I just dont understand it, could you rephrase plz?

Ty

Sure..

In my opinion, your personal pride may have to be set aside sometimes during a transaction...

Instead of saying "you can shove your [rediculously low] offer", you could come back with "we could work something out if you can go a little higher".

This way the buyer assumes he controls the transaction and you could have a sale in the bag (if you need to have one!).

I hope this explains my earlier post somewhat

 

[lawpsych]

Thanks, Winnie and everyone else.

This thread is a breath of fresh air!

And just what I "needed" today.

Smiles,

Sheila