Set

a budget of $100 for your negotiating tuition and look for items
to purchase that total at least $150. Your job is to get the sellers down
to a total of $100 or less for the lot. It is better to practice on many
cheap items rather than a few big items. Be sure to reply to their first
offer with, “What type of discount can you offer?” to let them
negotiate against themselves. Negotiate near closing time, choose your
objective price, bracket, and make a firm offer with cash in hand for
that amount.48 Practice walking away if your objective price isn’t
met. On Monday, call two magazines (expect the first to be awkward)
and use the script on the companion site to negotiate, minus the last
firm offer. Get them as low as possible and then call them back later to
indicate that your proposal was refused by upper management or
otherwise vetoed.
This is the negotiating equivalent of paper trading.49 Get used to
refusing offers and countering in person and—most importantly—on
the phone.

TOOLS AND TRICKS

Sample Muse Test Page

The PX Method (www.pxmethod.com)

This sales template was used to determine the viability of a speed-
reading product, which tested successfully. Notice how testimonials,
credibility indicators, and risk-reversal guarantees are used, as well as
how the pricing is put on a separate page so it can be isolated as a
testing variable. Use this as a reference—it is a simple and effective
model that can be copied. Please do not input your credit card
information, as it is just a mock-up for teaching purposes.

Fast and Simple Website Creation for Non-Techies (and Techies)

Weebly (www.weebly.com)