Why Your Lead Says “Stalled” (And Why That’s Not a Bad Thing)

If you’ve ever checked your Afternic Lead Center, you may have noticed some leads marked as Stalled, sometimes for weeks, months, or even years. It’s a status that can raise eyebrows or even frustration: Why is this lead still here? Is it ever going to go anywhere?

Let’s look at the data: 36% of all Afternic sales in 2024 came from leads that were over 30 days old. These deals didn’t close quickly, but they closed. That’s why we use the term Stalled instead of a more common CRM label, such as Closed Lost. The lead isn’t dead, it just may need more time.

Why Leads Stall 

Many domain buyers aren’t knowledgeable. They come in curious but unfamiliar with premium domain pricing. When they see the price, sticker shock kicks in, and they hesitate. Sometimes they disappear. 

But over time, things change. Buyers get funding. Priorities shift. They revisit the opportunity with a new perspective. 

Why These Leads Still Close 

They close because we don’t give up on them.

Afternic’s brokerage team brings deep experience to every negotiation, with a follow-up process first developed at Uniregistry and continually refined to re-engage buyers at the right moments. It’s a system built on data, timing, and buyer behavior, not guesswork. And at Afternic’s scale, even a 1% improvement in stalled lead conversions can unlock thousands of additional sales, creating meaningful impact for sellers across the entire ecosystem.

We’ve learned when buyers are most likely to reconsider. We don’t just send reminders, we reach out strategically, often after months, or even years, of silence.

The result? Stalled leads regularly come back to life. And they convert into sales.

Proof It Works 

In 2024, over a third of our sales came from leads that were already a month old. Some had been stalled for much longer. 

Here’s how long it took for leads to convert into sales: 

What You Should Do 

Think of a Stalled lead as a positive signal – it means someone took the time to go beyond browsing and submitted their contact information. That’s more than casual interest. It’s a meaningful data point as you evaluate your portfolio and consider pricing across your domains. 

While it can be frustrating to see a lead sit in Stalled status, staying patient can pay off – especially when paired with the continued follow-up and strategic outreach our team is doing behind the scenes. 

It’s not lost. It’s Stalled. And that’s often just the beginning.