Buy an output. Name the terms.
“Grow my channel” is an ambition. “Edit one video, with two revision rounds and the project file included” is an output. The Sales Floor starts with this distinction because a transaction becomes easier to examine when both sides can point to the same finished work.
The checklist above counts missing documents, not the probability that a seller is honest. A seller with complete paperwork can still do poor work. An unanswered question tells you what remains unknown; it does not prove fraud.
The screenshot belongs to somebody.
A seller’s revenue dashboard tells you something about the seller. It does not establish what customers earned after buying the product. If a pitch makes an earnings claim, ask which buyers it describes, over what period, with what costs deducted, and how many buyers did not reach it. Keep the response with the dated sales page.
The FTC’s consumer guidance, checked on 9 September 2026, advises examining business and coaching offers carefully, including earnings promises, pressure to act, credentials and testimonials. The questions here are a purchasing method adapted from the book, not a ruling about whether a specific law applies.
Make the first job small enough to inspect.
- Write the output, delivery format, delivery date and acceptance criteria before work starts.
- Agree on revision limits, payment milestones, cancellation terms and who receives the working files.
- Commission a bounded paid trial that resembles the work you actually need.
- Compare delivery with the criteria you wrote. Record what passed and what needs correcting before expanding the job.
When the money flows toward you.
A sponsor is buying more than a place in a video if the agreement also permits advertising with your clip, long-term reuse, category exclusivity or use of your voice. Write each requested right on its own line, with its duration, territory and permitted use. Price from your own delivery history and the work involved. This guide supplies no universal sponsorship rate.
Keep payment timing explicit. “After approval” leaves the start of the clock with somebody else. Read the actual agreement, including the approval process and what happens if either side cancels. A large headline fee can cover a surprisingly large bundle of rights.
Adapted from The Sales Floor, chapters 1–7 and Appendix B, the purchasing protocol. This exercise measures documentation gaps and provides general education, not a legal assessment.