Recently, I was asked by a business developer, in an Internet discussion, the following question: What is your best way of handling the objection of "no budget" when your only objective is to set up an appointment or WebEx? Here is my reply:

I would do a [pattern-interrupt] "Time out Mr. Prospect, you are three pages ahead of me and I am back at the first page." Followed by an [up- front agreement] "Would it make sense to setup a half hour meeting so that I can get a better feel for your concerns and you can get a better idea of what we do? At the end of that meeting you can determine if there is a fit and what the next step should be. Make sense?"

If the answer is "no," disconnect. If the answer is "yes," proceed to setting the appointment. Be sure to go over your agenda with the prospect in your confirming call, and be sure to ask if there are any concerns that the prospect would like to add to the agenda. In the reply, there are two tricks-of-the-trade; pattern-interrupt (PI) and up- front agreement (UFA) that need further explanation.

When your prospect is in a negative mindset, or just trying to blow you off, use PI to reset his sour outlook to something more positive from which you can regain the sales initiative. The best way to have an effective PI is to quickly establish a UFA, clearly promising the prospect a "what's-in-it-for-me" benefit for agreeing to meet at a later time. If your PI strays from your objective, even though it might be positive, the prospect will become irritated and the game is over.

Even though the UFA looks casual in its language, there are very specific things stated, that must be done to make it effective. The first thing, is to establish a specific length of time for your meeting and pose it as a question (pretend you are playing the TV game show Jeopardy!). In the example, the proposed meeting is a half hour, and it allays the fear by the prospect, that the seller will overstay his welcome.

Because the seller asked, there is honest dialogue and an agreement on when and for how long a meeting should take place.The next part of the UFA is to mutually agree upon the seller's purpose for the meeting. There are too many sales calls being made where the purpose of the meeting is fuzzy or misunderstood altogether. When you define the purpose and it is agreed upon, you are not only effective in your PI, but you are quickly establishing bonding and rapport-the first step, and most crucial, in an effective selling system.

In the example, the purpose is to have a mutual discovery meeting. It is understood that budget talk is premature at this stage, yet the seller should ask intelligent questions to find out what exactly is the "budget" issue. From the prospect's view point, there is a genuine desire to understand better what the seller has to offer; without fearing that the meeting will turn into a buyer-seller dance.

To be effective, all UFAs must reach a mutually agreed upon decision at the end of the meeting. When you discuss ahead of time what the expected outcome is, with the buyer, you eliminate games being played or bombs going off, later in your selling system.

Did you notice, again, how the expected outcome in our example meeting is posed in the form of a question? Now there are no surprises and the question gives the prospect the feeling of control. If either party strays from the agreed upon and discussed rules, then the other party can call for a reset-or the game is over. (The days of blowing smoke at each other are over!) The UFA is a great way to qualify a prospect. If the prospect will not cooperate, disengage: You have a suspect. Too many suspects in your selling system will kill your career.

When you are successful in establishing a UFA, always do a confirming or reminder call, two to three days before the meeting. Repeat what you have agreed upon and briefly summarize the main points of your agenda. Always ask the prospect if there are additional agenda items that should be added. Remember, it is a mutually agreed upon meeting. Both sides are prepared and ready to act and you now have the momentum to proceed to the next step.

Don't make the critical mistake that many mediocre salespeople do; announcing (instead of asking) what is coming next and failure to listen to what the other person is saying. PI and UFA techniques are effective only in honest win-win negotiations. Misuse the techniques, and you will lose the relationship and any potential business later on.

Buyers are looking for sales leadership from professionals who understand their pain, problems and desires. Master PI and UFA and you will be in the top ten percent of earners in your sales field.