Negotiating the Best Website Business Deal
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.