Bird-dogging - setting up negotiations?

[Account Closed]

I was talking with another investor a few days ago, and he said that two of the most important things for bird-dogging is...

1)  Know if the owner is willing to sell

2)  Setting the owner up for negotiation

I can't seem to understand what number 2 means.  The way I see it, setting them up would be like knowing that they're willing to negotiate the sales price of their house and setting up a future appointment with them.  Or maybe setting them up would mean to somehow convince the owner who wasn't willing to negotiate before, is now willing to negotiate the sales price of their home.  

Of course I can just call him up tomorrow, but I would also love to get more insight from the community here.  What are your thoughts?  How do you transition from the lead to the deal?