Whether you are flipping websites that are startups or are established, instilling trust in buyers is a critical part of the process. If buyers don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you. It’s that simple. Here are 12 things you can do to instill trust in buyers to increase interest in your websites and to make more sales.
Note: Most of these tips are aimed at selling on Flippa, the largest website flipping marketplace right now. However, the principles can be applied to just about any marketplace or avenue you choose to sell your sites.
1. Just the facts ma’am (to coin the slightly altered catch phrase from Dragnet)
Don’t exaggerate or lie in your listing description. If you made one sale of $30, don’t multiply that by 30 and then state that the site makes $900/month. Don’t even say it has the potential to do that. If you only made one sale then that’s all you can say – period. Example: So far the site has made one sale for $30.
2. Add plenty of screenshots
In my book, you can’t have enough screenshots. You should have screenshots of everything that is applicable in the sale – and I’m not talking just traffic and revenue here. Do you have a mailing list? Show me! Do you have a unique admin page for this directory? Show me! Anything your buyers can’t see or confirm on their own should have a screenshot.
3. Add video walkthroughs
Thanks to free and super-easy-to-use tools like Jing, there is no excuse not to include videos in your listing. Videos are even more convincing than screenshots as they are much harder to fake. Same rule applies here – what the buyers can’t see and verify on their own, there should be a video walkthrough.
4. Provide ALL contact information
Your name and email address is a start but it’s not good enough. Include your mailing address and a telephone number – or at the very least your telephone number. Also provide links to your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts so buyers can see that you are a real person.
5. Respond to ALL comments (both positive and negative) in a timely fashion
Respond to all comments – even those nasty ones. Never delete comments! If you don’t know how to handle negative comments, read this post for help. You’ll come across as a real professional if you respond to all comments – both good and bad – in a timely fashion.
6. Respond to all private messages in a timely fashion
Same goes here – respond to any type of message you get from buyers sooner than later – be it through a private message or email.
7. When buyers ask questions, give them thorough, detailed answers
Nothing turns me off more than getting a one-sentence, incomplete answer to a question I have. As an example, I was following a $10,000 auction the other day where the website had a trademark in the domain. I asked the seller if this was an issue with the trademark owner. His exact response? “The domain is fine.” See ya…next auction, please.
8. Provide a real picture of YOU
This is a big pet peeve of mine and one that makes me suspicious of a seller right out of the gate. What is the seller hiding? Most of us don’t look like Brad Pitt so who cares? Post your damn picture! And don’t be lazy and post a stupid logo or some picture you think is cool. Of these three sellers, which one would you trust the most – just based on the picture?
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9. PLEASE, for the love of god, use your real name
This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine – not just with website sellers but with people online in general. I once did an entire transaction with a seller – including followup emails after the sale – who never once gave me his name. I won’t give you his real username, but it was something like Tsu098SX. Not only was it a pain in the ass to type his name every time I sent him something, but I felt like I was dealing with a robot. Unless you are a friggin robot, please…at least give your first name!
10. Humanize your listing
Tips #8 and #9 will go a long way in accomplishing this, but also include a paragraph or two in the opening of your listing telling me something about you or the history of the website. I don’t need a book here or some sappy story that you have medical bills to pay (although I do find those entertaining to read).
11. Boost your trust rating
If you’re selling on Flippa, there is no excuse not to have all the trust factors that you can control such as connecting your Linkedin and Facebook accounts with your Flippa account.
12. Include a link to a bio about you
If you’re working online – even part-time – you should have a bio page. Think of it as an online resume. This can be a simple one-page website or an about me page from your personal blog. Either way, you should be able to give your buyers a link where they can go to see who you are. Put this link in your listing and if you’re selling on Flippa, you can also include that link on your profile page as well. Here is an excellent example of a bio page/resume site.
If you implement all of these tips, not only will establish yourself as a true professional in the website flipping arena, but buyers will flock to you in droves.
