Let’s start at the top, if you have a really good website, not just something you knock together (nothing wrong with this, as long as they are sold the right way), you really want to go straight to established companies. Forget Ebay, forget the forums, for Craigslist (unless the target is local) – at least for now.
If you have a quality website, you will get maximum cash for it only by finding the person or company who can make the most of it. If you just post it for sale somewhere that a lot of people can see, that’s not good enough. Maybe 1000s of people will see your site is for sale. Maybe you’ll get lots of offers that seem pretty good.
But, unless your site is seen by the person who could use it most, you’re not going to get top dollar.
Let me put it this way…
Suppose your website is about how to renovate old houses. Lots of interest there from many quarters, I’m sure. But think a minute…who could really, really take advantage of such a site to make money for themselves? I know nothing about home renovation (that’s my wife’s job!), but I could easily guess that a paint or DUI supply company might be able to really take advantage of that site to bring in customers who just happen to be looking for DUI advice. It’s a perfect fit.
So, think about who your visitors are, and what they are looking for. Why do they come to your site? Once you’ve answered those questions, ask what would most of them be willing, even eager, to buy? Find a company that can meet that need, and tell them that you have the ultimate customer generating machine. Better than advertising, and better than sales staff, all of which have to be paid for every single month. Your website serves the same purpose, but once it’s up and running, the cost if minimal. Yet, it’s effectiveness may only increase over time as search rankings improve.
You can find companies by many means. One is simply to search for your visitors most common keywords on Google. Who turns up in the listings? Better yet, who is paying to have Adsense on that Google search page? Check them out, and take notes. If they are paying for pay-per-click advertising now, wouldn’t it make more sense to pay you once for your site and its free listing in natural search?
Aside from Google, you can use Manta.com, Hoover’s, or any of a number of business services to find out more about each company. You want a company that is big enough to pay well for your website. I would say “the bigger the better,” but that’s not always true. The biggest corporations may have deep pockets, but they can be very slow to act, and even slower to recognize an opportunity. Often your best bet is to find an aggressive young company that’s looking for an in. Again, take notes, and go for your best prospects first.
Found some company’s you want to approach? Great!
But, now come a problem….who do you contact??
Most companies these days have general email forms, such as info@company.com to receive inquiries. They generally go to some sales staff. When they read that you are not a potential customer, they will delete your email. And that’s even if they don’t delete it before reading.
You need to find a decision maker at that company, and their address is not always easy to come by. Try pulling names from the company website, and then search for those names to see if you can finds an email. A director of marketing, or vice-president in charge of marketing would be ideal. Avoid the tech staff, as they may see all non-techies as scammers. They don’t have a big stake in the bottom line, either, like the marketing managers do.
When you get a name, see if you can find them on Facebook, LinkedIn or elsewhere. That’s right…become a stalker! The more you learn, the better you can slant your sales pitch. (But be discreet! If you give away that you have been studying up on them, they’ll likely get very creeped out about you.)
To save time, there’s a site called Jigsaw.com that lists contacts in various companies. You either have to pay for these contacts, or earn free points by supplying new contacts to them. A pretty neat system, though, and a big time-saver.
When you contact these people, be short and sweet. Just say mywebsite.com is for sale, site the traffic numbers that it brings in and a couple relevant revenue figures. Don’t go into a big sales pitch on the first contact. Do imply, though, that you are actively looking for a buyer and will not have the name forever (to get them to act more quickly). If they don’t respond, a phone call to follow up a week later might be a good idea.
This should get you started. I know that some will say you’ll get a better price if you wait for the customer to come to you. That’s true. The problem is, you may wait a very long time. Take action, make a profit, and go on to your next venture with your new bundle of cash.
And don’t forget to check out Max for the full master’s course on website flipping. It’s the best investment you’ll make in this business.