Well another day and another dollar right? Well, as you all have read, I decided about two weeks ago to track my focus, build my business plan, and start making everything that I do profitable. Part of the process included cleaning out my project closet by selling a few websites that I’ve acquired or had for quite some time. The obvious choices was SitePoint and this articles talks a little bit about what I learned.

The Decision to Sell

The decision to sell something that you’ve invested your time, heart and money – is is a hard one. I’m not aware of one web entrepreneur that at once point or another either regrets selling, or regrets selling for what it went for. None the less, it’s pretty darn important that we as business people, accept that decision and understand the deeper reasons for needing to let go. This proved to be the hardest part for me but now that it’s done… I couldn’t be happier.

To some, like the Website Flipping master, building websites to sell is a mere routine. To others like myself, it’s a hard decision made for the greater good of our over all goals. Now I’ve bought a number of things from SitePoint before, but listing a site for sale was very new to me and I knew I had lots to learn and I’m happy I did it.

The Style of Your Sales “Pitch”

At first, I was a bit lost here. I had no clue how I should or could sell something while conveying what I think it’s true value really was. I’m a passionate kinda guy, and I really really wanted to let my bidders know it.So how the hell can you show your passion and love for something in a string of text? Good question, but I think I figured it out.

I knew what I wanted. I wanted all my bidders to know that what I was selling was no joke. It wasn’t some half baked idea that I built simply to make a quick buck. It was a business. Something that was developed as a long term income stream that took my time money and dedication. And though the site was a great income generator (making it worth something), more important for me was to pass the torch to someone who would give it all the attention it deserved and respect it as much as we did. How the hell do you convey that in a sales letter of all things?

Researching the Market for Unique Auction Page Ideas

Like any good business does, especially start-ups, you research your customer base… or at least you should! SitePoint buyers are not excluded here and I mean it. I wanted my auction to stand out, be different. Be memorable and of course successful. So how would I do that? Simple. I’d do what few others ever do… and that’s be as detailed and fair as I could possibly be. Honest is likely the best word for it. So I’d say… the key to a refreshing auction page could simply be widdled down to, keeping it honest.

Anyone perusing SitPoint for more than five minutes can see that nearly every listing has a major coating of crap that has been sprayed with perfume to mask the oder. Stand out from the crowd by scraping off the poop and being real with yourself, and your bidders.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Being honest not only makes you feel good, but helps you build good relationships. Anyone who reads my articles knows that I’m all about 100% organic blogging. Hell I’m 100% organic in business too, and it pays off! Not just financially either. Being a good business person isn’t just a right… it’s our duty! As entrepreneurs, we should do everything that we can, to help maintain the sanctity and possibility that the internet currently offers the virtual entrepreneur. So when it came to my auction, I wanted my mantra to stand out and attract the right type of business people… not just the typical SitePoint junky looking for the next get rich quick scheme. In short, my sales page found him and I’m thrilled.

Be prepared for the haters!

Haters… now that’s a bit sharp, and maybe not 100% accurate. But one very important lesson I learned is that you’ll have some people post comments that are a bit… ugly. I’m not implying they were rude per-say, but lacking tact is a little more like it. Here is exchange between one commentator and myself, just to give you an example of how harmless comments can make or break the success of your auction should you not be prepared for it.

Commentator: You say you moved hosts in May to justify lack of stats.
But the stats shown DO have numbers for March and April.
Can you explain that?

Also, you are caught in the usual problem sellers face here:
You cannot disclose your advertisement methods but you need to somehow PROVE that the net is what you claim. I can create a site that makes 10K a month but if I pay 11K for advertisement it’s a loosing business – so you need to somehow prove to us your NET profit.

Like I mentioned above, this isn’t really rude… it’s just something that could be damaging had I not responded. So with five minutes of deep woo-saaa breathing, I thought about my reply  and hit submit.

So what do you think? Pretty good considering I didn’t get a bid from this commentator and he never returned to refute my reply. Knowing that, you can see where a comment like this can get under your skin. Did he/she just write this to stir the proverbial pot? Or were they genuinely interested in making a bid? I’m voting for a snipe job here, but I could be wrong. Fact is though, that his comment, and my response, may have actually contributed to the sale… who knows and maybe – I’ll never know. Regardless, You should be prepared for those pesky SitePoint comment snipers with a smart well prepared response, or if that’s not handy… a Whiskey & Coke should calm your nerves.

Don’t Under Estimate Your PM bidders!

To be honest here, I was always a bit weary of folks that refused to place a bid and went straight to the PM to open a dialogue. Boy oh boy was I ever wrong! After the last few auctions, I’ve sort of determined that bidders go from auction to auction and place minimum bids just to see if they can catch a deal. To the newbie like me, it’s what I naturally expected to see for a successful auction… BIDS… Wow what a novel idea!

Ha ha… that was a quick lesson learned! All of my serious inquiries came from private messaging… so make sure that you take notice of those who ask questions in private. It could mean the make it or break it for your auction.

Don’t be afraid of the Phone.

In business, communication is key. More important though is proper communication. I had a numer of serious bidders and I was fortunate enough to sift through and find the one person that sounded real. I know you don’t always get such a blessing, but in this case I did. After I decided who I wanted to get the win, I offered up my cell phone number for a firendly conversation. I’ve not asked him if this helped the sale, but maybe I will. It would be neat to know. I think it did. So I’ll just say that I think making yourself, and your phone available to a serious someone… is pretty darn important.

The Smell of Success

In the end boys and girls, I found a great new owner for the site I was selling, and hopefully even a friend. I love building healthy relationships and I’m sure with a little sunlight and water, it could grow into a great one. I’m proud of the results, I’m proud of the new owner, and I’m proud to have been the owner of such a profitable little site for so long. But as you all know, it’s time for me to move on to some of my other projects, and selling off that business, was just one more step to becoming closer to my business plan goals.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think, or tell me about your SitePoint experiences. If you liked the article… a Stumble would be a nice way to show it!