A few years back, i saw a ceo duck a person with whom he was supposedly involved in a substantial service arrangement. The last time I saw this fellow, he'd beamed while telling me how he had gotten this industry heavy to sign on with his service. Now, he didn't look so proud. What happened? ''I thought I had a deal -- I mean I shook on it with the guy,'' he said. ''But even though it felt like he was shaking my hand, I guess it was somebody else's.'' After that, he'd never been able to arrange a follow-up meeting.

As someone who prefers to consider a deal done when the two top parties agree to shake hands on it, I'm pained to hear this sort of thing. But, of course, it happens. Every executive will suffer from occasions where their opposite number gets cold feet. For ceos, this is more than particularly galling to experience, because each time a seemingly done deal diminishes our fund of reputation -- the personal capital with which we make the most of our leverage.

In every negotiation, the first question you should ask yourself is this: Who's really minding the store? For reasons of tact, your answer is likely to be obtained indirectly, by asking around, but you should definitely do that homework. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where, having hammered out each and every detail, you find your opposite number suddenly receding into the background -- leaving you to start over at the next level.

With a ceo, there should not be a next level, theoretically. But it may happen nonetheless that, upon concluding a deal, your new partner will let it drop that henceforth the business will become the responsibility of a subordinate. When you hear the words, ''Bill will handle the rest of it,'' or some such variation, you should treat this as your cue to keep on negotiating. Yes, you've got a deal. But whether it lives or dies now depends on the after-deal.

The trouble is that a third agenda has entered the picture. It could be a negotiating tactic, a stall, or a simple desire on the part of the ceo to rid himself of onerous details. But you may also now be playing opposite Brutus in Julius Caesar, in which case you shouldn't turn your back just yet -- for fear of having a knife stuck in it.

To negotiate the after-deal successfully, try first to read the executive you're dealing with: Is he making a pro forma decision, one without passion, or do you get the feeling that he would go to the wall to make it happen? Obviously, your task is easier if the latter is the case, but even so you must hold up the feel-good flow until you ascertain just where 'Bill' fits in. Reserve the right to come back to the ceo over any points of contention that may develop. In one respect you will be happier if your ceo is a bit of a dictator, as it will be less likely that his subordinates will attempt to undermine him. If you've got a delegating-type leader on your hands, you will have to make clear before you leave the room that ''delegation'' is not an excuse to start over from scratch.

This is a delicate moment. A ceo used to being taken at his word may bristle; so may a ceo used to hiding behind the appearance of giving his word. Your reading of him or her will be crucial. When the time does come to discuss the after-deal, you don't have to be bloody-minded about it: ''Tell me about Bill,'' you can say. ''Can we bring him in now, so he can hear what we've agreed upon from you directly? It's never too early to get the ball rolling.'' If you sense resistance at this point, then you'd better put away those thoughts of champagne and start thinking in terms of deal memos and other lawyerly things. Sure, it's discouraging, but don't let that stop you. Either you'll nail down the deal, or you'll spare yourself from experiencing rude shocks down the road.