RENE study plan
RENE · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Negotiation Fundamentals, Styles, and Approaches
Define the five negotiation styles and label the behaviors, risks, and typical transaction situations for each
Diagram BATNA, reservation price, ZOPA, anchoring, and the concession ladder for a sample purchase transaction
Draft opening, concession, and closing scripts in two contrasting styles (competitive and collaborative)
Self-test 25 fundamentals terms to 80% or better recall inside 20 minutes
Your checkpoint
Style-to-scenario matrix (5 styles x 3 transaction types) plus a 25-card flashcard deck, scored at 80%+ on a timed self-quiz
Buyer-Side Negotiation and Counseling
Role-play a buyer intake that surfaces motivation, timeline, financing limits, and decision criteria in under 20 minutes
Build three opening-offer positions from comparable sales and write a one-paragraph justification for each
Script the buyer concession sequence, naming what to trade and in what order
Counsel a hypothetical buyer through a competing-offer situation and document the advice given
Your checkpoint
Buyer negotiation packet: intake notes, three CMA-backed opening offers with justification memos, and a written concession ladder, graded against a 12-point checklist
Seller-Side Negotiation and Counseling
Conduct a listing intake role-play that surfaces seller motivation, price expectations, and urgency
Prepare a pre-negotiation plan for a seller: list price, authorized concession range, and walk-away position
Write counter-offer scripts for three buyer tactics: lowball, inspection re-trade, and deadline pressure
Calculate net-sheet outcomes for three competing offers to support a seller recommendation
Your checkpoint
Seller negotiation packet for one listing: net sheets for three offers, a concession authority grid, and written counter-offer scripts, self-scored against the week 2 checklist
Communication, Listening, and Persuasion Skills
Practice active listening through a three-pass paraphrasing drill across 10 recorded scenarios
Identify five persuasion appeals (reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking) and rewrite each into compliant real estate language
Script question sequences that uncover interests rather than positions for two buyer and two seller situations
Audit your own scripts for filler, hedging, and leading-question habits, then revise them
Your checkpoint
Revised communication script set (intake, objection handling, closing question) plus a self-scored listening rubric from 10 recorded role-plays
Power, Leverage, and Negotiation Positioning
Rank six leverage sources (information, time, alternatives, expertise, relationships, legitimacy) and map each to a real transaction
Construct a positioning plan that raises your leverage without misrepresentation in two scenarios
Diagnose power imbalances in four case vignettes and prescribe a counter-move for the weaker party
Draft language that builds authority through data rather than pressure
Your checkpoint
Leverage map plus two written positioning plans (one buyer-side, one seller-side) with counter-moves for weaker-party situations
Tactics, Counter-Tactics, and Managing Difficult Negotiations
Name and neutralize eight hardball tactics: lowball, nibble, good cop/bad cop, exploding offer, higher authority, intimidation, distraction, and walking out
Write a counter-tactic script and a stop-and-reset phrase for each of the eight tactics
Simulate one difficult negotiation (deadline plus inspection re-trade) end to end and log every tactic recognized
Score your own simulation log against the tactic card to find blind spots
Your checkpoint
Tactic-counter-tactic reference card (8 tactics x response script) plus a transcript log from one simulated difficult negotiation
Ethics, Agency, and Legal/Regulatory Considerations & Negotiation Fundamentals, Styles, and Approaches
Review disclosure, agency, fair housing, and antitrust boundaries as they apply to negotiation conduct
Identify three practices that cross from advocacy into misrepresentation and write compliant alternatives
Retake the lowest-scoring week quiz and close every missed item
Update the flashcard deck with every item missed in weeks 1-6
Your checkpoint
Compliance one-pager (10 do/don't items) plus a closed-gap log showing every missed item from weeks 1-6 resolved
Negotiation Fundamentals, Styles, and Approaches & Communication, Listening, and Persuasion Skills & Power, Leverage, and Negotiation Positioning & Buyer-Side Negotiation and Counseling & Seller-Side Negotiation and Counseling & Tactics, Counter-Tactics, and Managing Difficult Negotiations & Ethics, Agency, and Legal/Regulatory Considerations
Complete two full-length timed practice exams of 100 items and review every miss
Run a 45-minute integrated role-play covering buyer intake, seller counter, and one hardball tactic
Drill flashcards to 90% recall under timed conditions
Write a one-page personal negotiation playbook summarizing your default style, scripts, and reset phrases
Your checkpoint
Two scored practice exams at 80%+ plus a one-page personal playbook and a final flashcard run at 90% recall
Milestones
Week 2: Score 80%+ on a 20-question mixed quiz covering domains 1 and 4, and complete the buyer packet
Week 4: Domains 1, 4, and 5 covered; buyer and seller packets both scored at 80%+ against the same 12-point rubric
Week 6: All content domains covered except ethics; tactic card complete and one difficult negotiation simulated with every tactic in the log identified
Week 8: Two timed practice exams at 80%+ overall with no single domain below 70%, and personal playbook written