set the table
verb1
Literally To arrange plates, etc. for a meal.
2
Figuratively To make a future outcome possible.
- The next step is to 'Set the Table' for the sale by stating your agenda. This is both a method of directing the course of the meeting, as well as a trial close2009, Thomas G. Segrich, The $32M Sales System for Design & Build Home Remodelers and Kitchen & Bath Professionals:
- In a very real sense, PC technology set the table for the prosperity of the nineties.2008, B. A. Marbue Brown, The Clinton Economic Boom, page 107: