Congratulations! After many hours of searching buy-sell website
sites, you’ve finally found the perfect website. It
meets all of your requirements and is definitely in alignment
with your purchasing goals.
But now, you’re completely stuck. You don’t
have a clue of how you can effectively negotiate with the
seller and certainly don’t want to pay more than the
site is worth. In fact, you want to get the best possible
price for your money. Well, sit back, relax, and get comfortable
because in five simple steps, we’re going to teach
you how to effectively negotiate and obtain the best possible
deal for your new website. So, let’s get started!
1. Be a detective. First and foremost,
you have to act as a detective. You should be willing to
roll up your sleeves and do some in-depth research into the
site which will enable you to obtain answers to some important
questions. Now is not the time to be shy because you future
is at stake. You have to delve deep and be willing to find
all the pertinent information that will help you make a great
offer. Here are some questions that you’ll want to
inquire as you become a detective:
a. Does the site have any copyright/trademark violations
or pending law suits?
b. Has the site ever been associated with spam or received
any warnings?
c. Is the site content devoid of any copyright infringement
issues?
d. Will you be allowed to customize the content as you see
fit?
e. What is your monthly bandwidth and costs if you go over
this allocated amount?
f. Will the existing merchant account and hosting service
be transferred to you?
g. Will any technical assistance be available for the transfer?
h. Can you verify the site’s web traffic with independent
sources like Google, Alexa or other engines?
i. Does the site rely heavily on pay-per-click advertising?
If so, how much does it cost to maintain these rankings?
j. Will your designer be able to maintain graphics and current
site technology?
k. Are planned changes compatible with existing software?
l. Will you own the domain name and when will that registration
be transferred?
m. What will be your initial and monthly costs with running
this site?
n. What is your expected monthly profit?
o. Will you be allowed to add additional links or improve
upon existing ones?
p. Will you have access to any auto responders, interactive
features, or programming, which the current owner utilizes?
q. How will you update the site as time passes?
r. Will you have access to website statistics including
page history, existing member lists, and other pertinent
information?
s. When was the site last updated? By whom?
t. Who designed current content and site and are they still
available to handle revision requests?
2. Consolidate information. Once you have
answered all these questions, you’ll have a better
idea of what the site is worth. However, you’re work
is not done. You now have to consolidate all this information
into a concrete number.
Some consultants recommend that you pay no more than five
or six times the monthly earnings of the website however;
we’ve found that each site is individualized and a
simple formula doesn’t work for everyone. Instead,
you should take all gathered information and either hire
a professional website appraisal company or do your own research
to come up with an amount that factors in your site’s
uniqueness.
3. Decide what you’re willing to pay.
Now that you know what your website is worth, you have to
figure out what you’re willing to pay for it. That
is, what is your bottom line figure? What is your high figure?
Once you know these answers, you should be willing to walk
away if you can’t reach a price that you’re comfortable
with. After all, there are literally thousands of sites available
for purchase. You simply have to be patient and hold off
for the site that can meets all your needs and your budgetary
constraints.
4. Feel out the site owner. Now, it’s
time to feel out the site owner. In this step, you must find
out what the site owner’s motivating factors are for
selling the site. For instance, are they concerned with a
lump sum payment or are they more concerned with security?
The reason being is that if they are concerned with a lump
sum payment they will likely not be open to a contingency
plan or won’t be as interested in taking stock in lieu
of cash. However, if they are more concerned with security,
they may be open to a more creative type of financing arrangement.
Once you know this information, you can use it in the negotiating
process.
5. Make your offer. Finally, it is now
time to make your offer. If possible, get the existing owner
to make the first offer and then negotiate from there. If
you make the first offer, make sure that you have factored
in all pertinent information and that your offer is based
on your budget. You should never lowball the owner (unless
you don’t care whether they sell you the site or not)
and should always make a fair offer so that the site owner
doesn’t cease negotiations. If you do offer less than
the current asking price, include your reasons for making
the lower offer.
In conclusion, purchasing a website is not a simple process.
It involves much planning, research, and careful implementation.
However, if you apply the previous five steps, you can walk
away with a great site, peace of mind, and immense pride
in knowing that you negotiated well and paid a fair price.
About The Author
Dennis Blasius recommends you check out
http://www.website-buy-sell.com
