Dan Smith是一位美国的健身用品经销商，来向Robert Liu的公司采购货品。这是他们第一次交手。在短短几分钟的交谈中，双方都感到对方是久经沙场的老将。谈判就在拉锯中开始了。双方第一回过招如下：

    D： I'd like to get the ball rolling（开始）by talking about prices.

    R： Shoot（洗耳恭听）。 I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

    D： Your products are very good. But I'm a little worried about the prices you're asking.

    R： You think we should be asking for more？ （laughs）

    D： （chuckles¹） That's not exactly what I had in mind. I know your research costs are high, but what I'd like is a 25% discount.

    R： That seems to be a little high, Mr. Smith. I don't know how we can make a profit with those numbers.

    D： Please, Robert, call me Dan. （pause²） Well, if we promise future business——volume sales（大笔交易）——that will slash³ your costs（大量减低成本）for making the Exec-U-ciser, right？

    R： Yes, but it's hard to see how you can place such large orders. How could you turn over（销磬）so many？ （pause） We'd need a guarantee of future business, not just a promise.

    D： We said we wanted 1000 pieces over a six-month period. What if we place orders for twelve months, with a guarantee？

    R： If you can guarantee that on paper, I think we can discuss this further