Phrases That Make Me Cringe — Domain Industry

by Brian Null

[Brian Null has built and sold a number of successful businesses on category-killer domain names. His latest venture is MO.com, where you can learn from other successful entrepreneurs. In this post, Brian talks regarding a couple phrases that make him cringe. -Andrew]

If I wielded the kind of influence that Andrew Allemann can throw around, I would invoke a moratorium on the phrases:

“When will they get it?!”

or

“They just don’t get it!”

In lieu of that, I can only implore folks to ‘modify’ the phrase to something like:

“The Internet strategy of that Fortune 500 Firm with 55,000 employees does not align with my own entrepreneurial vision to use killer domain names to increase market share online.”

Some of the Fortune 500 firms may have been started by entrepreneurs but there is a crossover point where they go from being that speed boat that can turn on a dime to the behemoth that needs tug boats to guide them into port.

The 100 vice presidents (and 500 junior vice presidents) of the firm are typically judged on their quarterly numbers… what have you done for us lately. It’s going to take some courage, incredible persuasive skills, and a world-class ability to teach in 30 minutes or less to get that $2 million buyout cost of a domain name run through committee.

Even when we think a firm ‘gets it’… do they really?

See: Loans.com

An entrepreneur sees huge opportunity to build that property out and parlay it into an additional means for client buyout.

Bank of America seems to view it merely as a means to block anyone else from owning it, as it is simply a redirect to their main banking website.

Sure, there are exceptions.

See: Toys.com

Toys-r-us gets i… um… I mean… “The Internet strategy of Toys-r-us aligns with my own entrepreneurial vision to use killer domain names to increase market share online.”

But don’t get used to that.

For the most part, end user buyout of killer domains will be done by modest to mid sized firms, with entrepreneurial leadership still in place… entrepreneurs that can still steer the ship without ‘going through committee’