30-day negotiation practice plan

Hold your number

“I walk in knowing my walk-away, say my number first, trade instead of caving, and leave with the deal confirmed in writing.”

Who it’s for: Anyone who negotiates pay, prices, contracts or shared resources, from a first salary offer to a supplier renewal.

All 30 days

Each day is one idea, taught in plain words, put to work in a drill and a live conversation, then carried into a real one.

Checkpoint days replay day 1, so you can hear what changed.

WEEK 1 · DAYS 1–7

Measure where you start, know your walk-away option, and find out what the other side actually needs.

01Your first counterToday is a measurement, not a test. Daniel has just made you a job offer; respond the way you normally would, then do a one-minute rep on confident language, because a hedged number tends to get negotiated down.
02Know your walk-awayBefore any negotiation, write down your walk-away option: what you will actually do if this deal doesn’t happen.
03The reason behind their numberA demand is a position; the reason behind it is the interest, and interests are where deals get made.
04What they’re measured onThe person across the table is usually answering to someone: a quota, a savings target, a boss who has to sign.
05Let them fill the silenceInformation tends to flow toward the person asking, and the easiest question is their own words, repeated back.
06Name the pressureNegotiations go wrong when one side feels cornered, and a cornered person defends their position harder.
07Week one replayCheckpointReplay Daniel’s offer at the same difficulty and compare it with day 1.

WEEK 2 · DAYS 8–14

Name your number first with a reason, and make every concession a trade.

08Say your number firstResearch on anchoring suggests the first specific number in a negotiation tends to pull the final result toward it, especially when the other side is unsure what’s fair.
09A number with a becauseA precise number with a reason sounds researched; a round number with no reason sounds like a starting bid.
10Never give it freeA concession given for nothing teaches the other side that asking works, so they ask again.
11Cheap to give, valuable to getMost deals have more currencies than price: payment timing, contract length, start dates, volume, references, exit clauses.
12Everything on the tableAgreeing to one demand at a time is how people get nibbled: each concession looks small, and the total never gets seen.
13Change what’s being comparedWhen someone pushes for a discount before anything is agreed, they’re comparing your number to nothing, or to a figure they heard somewhere.
14Week two replayCheckpointReplay Daniel’s offer at the same difficulty and compare it with day 7.

WEEK 3 · DAYS 15–21

Stay calm through silence, deadlines and take-it-or-leave-it, and keep what you’ve earned.

15Say it onceUnder pressure, most people explain more, and every extra reason gives the other side something new to argue with.
16The pause after the numberSilence after a number feels long to the person who said it, and many people rush to fill it with a concession.
17The raise in a freeze“My hands are tied” is usually true about one thing, not about everything.
18Take it or leave itUltimatums are often opening positions wearing a deadline.
19Hold the line with a colleagueNegotiating with a colleague is harder than with a stranger because you’ll see them tomorrow, so people tend to cave to keep the peace.
20The squeeze, at toughProfessional buyers are trained to squeeze: several asks at once, a deadline, silence, and a second push after you’ve given something.
21Week three replay, at toughCheckpointReplay Daniel’s offer, this time at tough: he’ll push back twice and test your silence.

WEEK 4 · DAYS 22–30

Lead the whole negotiation from the opening frame to a written agreement, and prove it on the tough version of day 1.

22Set the agendaWhoever frames the negotiation tends to shape it.
23Close the gapNear the end, the temptation is to split the difference just to be done, which quietly rewards whoever opened most extreme.
24Put it in writingDeals fall apart after the handshake more often than at the table, usually because the two sides remember different versions.
25Bring it back to the dealLong negotiations drift into old grievances, side issues and stories.
26Your raise, start to finishPut the whole toolkit on the conversation most people avoid.
27Know when to walkStrong negotiators are willing to hear no. When the only deal on offer is below your walk-away, saying so calmly and naming what would change your mind often does more than another concession: “At 20 percent off I’d have to cut the work that’s getting you results.
28Lead with your factsWalking in with your own facts changes who sets the terms: your volume, your history as a customer, your growth, your alternatives.
29The whole negotiationToday you lead a negotiation from start to finish with someone new: frame it, find their interests, anchor, trade, hold, and confirm.
30Back to the first offerCheckpointThe capstone: Daniel’s offer at tough, the same one you answered on day 1.

Included in Leadership Voice, with every other track.

$39a month, or $299 a year

All nine tracks, with live rehearsals and voice benchmarks. Cancel in one click.

Measured or refunded. Six sessions in your first 30 days and no measured improvement? Every cent back. Or ask within seven days, for any reason.

One question out loud, 60 seconds: your pace, your ums and how fast you started, measured on your device. Day 1 of every track begins there.