Step 7: Make an initial offer

Okay, real strategy time. The initial offer is the first date. It's the first proposition to go on a date. Without using too many sex metaphors, it's an attempt to show your virility and willingness to copulate, while demonstrating a respect for the beauty and intelligence -- and a hope for reciprocation -- of your prospective partner. The key here lies in the foundation you've laid in the previous six steps:

You've identified your needs, your strengths, and your excesses, and you've matched them against your prospective partners needs and excesses, and
You've identified the best-case and worst-case scenarios with respect to actually making a trade.

Don't frick this up.

Send an initial offer which is either at your best-case scenario, or close to it. Just which offer to make is beyond the scope of this tutorial, and requires experience and familiarity both in terms of trading and with your prospective partner. If you know the guy well, you can parlay your familiarity into cordial banter and make a shitty initial offer. If you don't know him well, you will have to be explicitly courteous. You can't simply offer Chris Ivory and Marvin Jones for Matt Forte because the other guy just lost Reggie Wayne, unless you make it clear that 'obviously, this isn't a real offer.' In fact, I often find that the higher the caliber of the player you wish to receive, the more you should lowball on your initial offer -- let them know just who you're after without tipping your hand as far as what you're ultimately willing to offer, and do so in a manner which is clearly not meant to be seriously considered.

Most FFL sites allow added communication with your trade offer -- always make use of this. If your site does not, and simply sends the actual offer, make sure you can communicate directly and privately with the owner in question before or concurrent with the initial offer. This is critical: you are buttering them up by pointing out that you recognize their needs, and you're showing them what you're after. Note that "what you're after" isn't necessarily the player you're after, but often the position you're after. If you want a running back, request a running back, but don't necessarily blow your load by asking for Forte off the bat -- start slow and ask for Bilal Powell.

Important point: Never, ever, under any circumstances, make an offer you want to be refused

If you do want e.g. Forte, and you do initially request e.g. Powell, make an offer you can live with if accepted. If you really don't want Powell, make sure the offer is lowballed such that it would not be accepted under any circumstances, and include in your communication an explanation that this is merely a 'feeler' -- you intend on starting a conversation.

Always, always encourage your prospective trading partner to return with a counter-offer. If your initial offer is not accepted, that's fine -- it was never expected to be accepted -- but if it doesn't at the same time generate a conversation, you've failed.

Step 8: Patience

If you can communicate with your prospective trading partner directly, do so, and then wait patiently while he considers your offer and his response. If you can only communicate indirectly or via your FFL site, try to maintain patience, and see if you can gently nudge them via Facebook, email, or some other medium. If your initial offer is total bullshite, make sure you let them know it's not serious even in this separate correspondence. If your offer and note were successful, you'll receive either a counter-offer (which will ideally be somewhere between your initial offer and your worst-case scenario), or you'll at least receive some constructive criticism. You're looking for an indication of your prospective partner's willingness to copulate.

Step 9: Refine, and repeat Step 8

The initial offer sent, received, and probably rejected -- but with feedback -- now is the time to meet on your side of the middle. If you want Forte (but requested Powell), and your partner has indicated what he wants from your roster (and you're willing to give it up for Forte), then bolster the offer. It may take several attempts to get anywhere, and success is by no means guaranteed. In some cases -- many cases -- a workable deal won't actually be realized. Patience. This is a process, and while it's entirely possible to work out a trade in one or two attempts over the course of a couple hours, it's also entirely possible that no deal will be made even after a week of constant back-and-forth.

It should be obvious when you've reached a point at which it is clear no agreement can be had, and if that's the case, back away and let your prospective partner know that unfortunately you can't make something work -- but do so in such a way that there remains a possibility for future copulation. You never know when you or he will suffer from injuries, benching, or whatnot, and one or both of you may have to come back to the table.

Step 10: Rosterbate

If all of the above works out, you should pull off a trade in which you 'win.' You will have your needs satisfied while minimizing the excess you give up in return. In most cases, your trading partner will have suffered season-ending injuries, benchings, or other significant roster difficulty, and you will have taken sweet advantage. In times of misfortune, you will each suffer from such setbacks, and the benefits will be more mutually enjoyed -- but in all cases you must feel as though you've benefited, else what's the point?

The idea, if it isn't clear at this point, lies in spotting weakness and exploiting it. In some cases, you might even snag players off the waiver wire to specifically build an actual excess -- to either trade away or to retain in the wake of a trade -- or to specifically amplify an opponent's needs -- to deny access to waiver acquisitions which would otherwise fill his needs.

With smart and somewhat manipulative offers which follow the above, you can fairly easily reap the benefit of at least minor trade-rape; you can improve your team at minimal cost, and you can manage your way to a championship -- or at least put yourself on track to make it happen. With clever forethought, you can even trade away bye weeks, offload overperforming players with tough later schedules, and nab underperforming players with easy later schedules.

tl;dr:

Identify your needs
Identify your strengths
Identify your excesses
Target potential trading partners
Identify the best-case scenario
Identify the worst-case scenario
Make an initial offer
Wait
Revise and remain patient
Rosterbate