Day 1 · Module 1 of 4

What we sell

You need to describe this thing with your eyes closed, name every material we offer, and pick the right size off a page you have never seen before. Work every tab. The last one is a drill — run it until you stop hesitating.

Anatomy

Four parts, in the order you build them. Click any part of the plaque or any line in the list, and switch the artwork variation below to see how the middle section changes.

The four parts

Artwork variations

One-off articles — by request

Before the award programs, plaques were a newspaper masthead over an article the customer was proud of. No award, no list — just a story they wanted on a wall. We do not market this any more, but we can still do it, by request.

A custom plaque made from a newspaper article

Sunday Gazette-Mail masthead over the article, plate reads the headline, Featured in: The Gazette Mail, and the month and year rather than just a year.

Worth knowing on every call. The marketing email ends by asking whether they were featured in another magazine or newspaper article. This is what that line is selling. If a customer mentions an old write-up, do not say no — say we can look at it, and ask.

Understand this before anything else: we are not selling a decoration. The customer already won something. We sell the physical proof, with their real published feature on it. The artwork is the product. The material is just how good it looks on their wall.

Sizing

The same size grid you will click in the proof generator. Every size we have a shipped order for shows the real plaque; the rest show a scale drawing. Everything here is drawn to true proportions — a 32 × 16 really is that much wider than a 22 × 16.

4.Size

Page layout options will adjust based on the size you pick.

How to describe the size on the phone. Anchor it to the magazine, not to furniture — they are holding the magazine.

12 × 16about a single magazine page, with trim

12 × 20about a page and a half of a magazine, with trim

22 × 16about a two-page magazine spread, with trim

Never say "it's a medium."

12 × 20 is the common one. It is the standard two-page vertical and most of what you sell. 12 × 18 and 12 × 24 happen less often, and the difference does not come up on the phone unless the customer asks. Do not walk a customer through three similar sizes — you decide the size from their artwork, they do not.

The tricky three

This is a proof-generator decision, not a phone conversation. All three have the same cover on top and the profile underneath is the only thing that changes — so you judge the ratio when you build the proof, and the customer never has to think about it. 12 × 20 is the default and by far the most common; the other two are what you reach for when the profile is clearly shorter or clearly longer.

12 × 18

Small profile · less common

Short blurb — headshot plus a paragraph or two. Profile is roughly a third the height of the cover.

Also the usual answer when the cover is square and there is a profile under it. A square cover on its own is a 12 × 14; add a profile and you are normally in a 12 × 18.

cover : profile ≈ 3 : 1

12 × 20

Medium profile · the usual one

Short article — headshot plus several paragraphs in columns. Profile is roughly half the cover.

cover : profile ≈ 2 : 1

12 × 24

Large profile · less common

Full-length article — long-form write-up, often with embedded photos. Profile is about equal to the cover.

cover : profile ≈ 1 : 1

The email

Almost everyone you speak to has already had this. Know exactly what it said, because they are answering it — not starting fresh.

The sample image from the marketing email

The sample image · clear over black

1.What it says

Congratulations on the award. Top Newsbee makes plaques for the profiles each year. Here is how they turned out — if you already ordered, disregard.

That last clause is deliberate. "If you already ordered, disregard" is there so the people who have not ordered quietly assume others already have. It is fear of missing out, and it is doing work before you ever pick up the phone. Do not undercut it by telling someone they are the first.

2.The numbers in it

Lucinda Premium$239.95

Black Deluxe$259.95

Lead time7–10 days

Shipping10%

Ordering twoask about discount pricing

Multi-plaque discount10% / 15% / 20% by quantity

Mini added to an order$119 clear / $139 black

Mini on its own$149.95 / $169.95

These are the numbers the customer already has in front of them. Quote anything different and you are the one who looks wrong.

The email says "ask about discount pricing" — you already know the answer. It reads as an invitation to them; to you it is a published tier table. See the discounts below.

3.The two buttons

Two options, two prices, two buttons. That is the entire offer as far as the customer knows.

4.The Mini strip

The add-on prices live here, under the buttons — which is why so many people ask about Minis before you have mentioned them.

Multi-plaque discounts

We do not offer these. They exist for when a customer asks. Know them cold so that "what if I take two?" gets an answer instead of a callback — but never lead with a discount, and never use one to push a hesitant buyer over the line.

2 plaques

10% off

3 – 5 plaques

15% off

6 – 10 plaques

20% off

More than 10

Talk to Niki

A discounted plaque cannot be returned on a change of mind. Full price is the only thing eligible for a no-reason return — damage and errors are still covered either way. Worth knowing before you discount a nervous buyer into a purchase.

What the email asks them to do

Reply with a preferred style and shipping address, or click a buy button. So a reply in your inbox usually already contains a choice and an address. Read it before you call.

Three lines you have to know

"We are independent."

The email states that Top Newsbee is not sponsored by, endorsed by or affiliated with the publication. Never let a customer believe the magazine sent you. If they assume it, correct them — this is the one thing on the page you must never fudge.

"You have 7 days if you are not 100% satisfied."

This is a closing line, not a rebuttal. You say it after they have paid: we will email you the full terms and conditions, and the one thing you need to know is that if you receive the plaque and you are not 100% satisfied, you have 7 days to tell us.

Never use it to win an argument. Sell the guarantee instead of the product and you are not selling a plaque any more — you are selling a risk-free trial. They say yes to the return option, the plaque arrives, and it comes back.

We do not rebut

If they are not interested, thank them and let them go. Have a good day, and move to the next call. A rebuttal that works is usually a return three weeks later.

Returns come out of your commission

If a customer simply does not want it, the return is charged against your commission. If the manufacturer got it wrong or the plaque arrived damaged, you are not penalised. That is the whole reason talking someone into a sale is worse than losing it.

"Were you featured in another magazine or newspaper article? We can preserve that too."

The last line of every email. One award is one plaque; a career is several. Ask the question — most people have another feature somewhere and have never thought of it.

Pricing

The one thing to understand before you quote anything: price follows the number of pages, not the size. A one-page clear acrylic and a three-page clear acrylic are different prices, even though both are "clear acrylic."

Why the marketing email says $239.95. That campaign was a two-page piece — cover plus profile — so $239.95 clear and $259.95 black are the two-page prices. Quote them on a one-page order and you have overcharged by $20; quote them on a six-page order and you have undercharged by $60. Count the pages first.

Wood and metal stop at three pages. There is no listed price for a four, five or six-page piece in wood or metal. If someone wants one, that is a conversation with Niki, not a quote you give on the call.

Quantity discounts — on request only

2 plaques

10% off

3 – 5 plaques

15% off

6 – 10 plaques

20% off

More than 10

Talk to Niki

Discounts are not offered — they are answered. You quote the full price. If the customer asks about buying more than one, or asks directly whether there is a discount, then you have the numbers above. Volunteering one tells a customer the price was soft to begin with.

And a discounted plaque cannot be returned on a change of mind. Full price is the only thing eligible for a no-reason return. Discounting a hesitant buyer into saying yes quietly removes their way out — which is the same mistake as selling them the guarantee.

The order you work it out

1Count the pages in their feature

2Read the price for that page count and material

3Apply a quantity discount only if they asked for one

4Add the Mini if they want one — $119 clear or $139 black when added to an order

5Add shipping

If the item is not on the sheet, do not price it. The list says it plainly — for unlisted items, call. That includes anything unusual, any custom article piece, and any wood or metal above three pages.

Figures from the Top Newsbee product price list, last updated 05/01/2025. Always check the current sheet before quoting — this module is training, not the source of truth.

Returns

Know this properly. A return you could have avoided costs you money, and a promise you should not have made costs the company one.

A discretionary return comes out of your commission. If the customer simply decided they did not want it, that is on you. If the manufacturer made a mistake or it arrived damaged, you are not penalised. This is why we do not talk anyone into a plaque.

When the customer can return it

Always covered

Damaged or broken on arrival

We remake it free of charge. Photo of the damage by email or text, within 7 days of delivery.

Always covered

Wrong plaque received

We send a prepaid return label and ship the right one free. Sometimes we just ask them to discard it, depending on where they are.

Conditional

They changed their mind

Refundable only if they tell us within 7 days of delivery, the plaque was bought at full price, and they pay return shipping. It has to reach us within 30 days and come back undamaged.

The limits worth remembering

Discounted plaques cannot be returned on a change of mind

Full price only for a no-reason return. Damage and errors are still covered on a discounted plaque — we remake or correct those regardless.

Cancelling after approval is not guaranteed

Once they have approved the proof, checked out, and the plaque is in production, there is no automatic refund — every piece is custom made. Case by case, and not promised.

Promo codes are applied at checkout or not at all

Forgetting a code does not earn a retroactive discount or a partial refund. We may offer it on a future order, case by case. Orders using unauthorised codes get cancelled.

It has to come back in the condition it left

Returned damaged through poor packing or handling and it is not refundable. Refunds are issued to the original payment method within 5–7 business days of us receiving it.

How you say it on the close

◉After they have paid — not before

"I'll email you a full view of our terms and conditions. The one thing you need to know is that if you receive the plaque and you're not 100% satisfied, you have 7 days to let us know."

That is the whole guarantee conversation. It reassures someone who has already decided. It is not a tool for changing someone's mind.

Full policy: topnewsbee.com/return-policy · questions to 727-686-2235 or niki@topnewsbee.com