Dan Smith是一位美国的健身用品商家，来向Robert Liu的公司采购货品。这是他们首次交手。在短短几分钟的交谈中，双方都感到他们是久经沙场的老将。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 cosplayts 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 businessvolume sales（大笔买卖）that will slash3 your cosplayts（很多减低本钱）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
