This 30-page article bears from my research, consulting, direct selling experience and coaching within global corporations over a twenty year period. The companies I worked for directly, or in a freelance capacity with, included: IBM, Cisco, Accenture, Xerox, American Express, Standard Chartered, BP and Reckitt Benckiser. Within you will discover how and why top salespeople outsell 'moderates'. Summary bullet-points: Customers fundamentally only ask four questions: 1. Do I trust you? 2. What value do you bring to the table? 3. Are you the right person/organisation to do business with? 4. How does it work (i.e. feature/benefits) or how will we work together? Moderate performing salespeople often answer these four questions in reverse order. Top performers do things better and differently; they... - Focus firstly on Questions 1 and 2 - Ask better questions that nurture insight and instil passion - Guide customers sensitively on a spiral journey in and out of the problems they face. The dualistic nature of this journey inspires action. - Engage the customer to evaluate the consequences of both action and inaction. - Understand and apply what CxOs expect and value from business relationships Top salespeople know the answer to a CEO's first question, "Why am I, personally, talking to you?" The future of sales will rely more on truth than trust To raise your organisation's like-for-like sales performance by 20-30% or more