Principles

What the evidence supports.

• Selling knowledge (beta .28) and adaptiveness (beta .27) drive performance most; role ambiguity drags it most (beta -.25) (Verbeke, Dietz and Verwaal, 268 studies, 2011; strong). Know the buyer's world, adapt each move, know what you own at each stage.
• No independent controlled study shows any named method beats the others. We take the best-supported move from each.
• 40 to 60% of qualified deals end in no decision; 56% of those from fear of making a mistake; arguing against the status quo backfired with indecisive buyers 84% of the time (Dixon and McKenna, The JOLT Effect; proprietary, strong directional). Lower fear; never raise it.
• Conventional closing techniques do not help, and can hurt, in high-value sales (Rackham, SPIN Selling). Every call ends in a buyer action instead.
• Firms with over 75% adoption of their method report 15% higher win rates (Korn Ferry, 2025, association only); overwhelmed sellers are 45% less likely to hit quota (Gartner, 2024). Few moves, used by everyone.

The eight principles.

1. One method, used on every call by everyone: same stages, same record, same moves.
2. Knowledge first. Read what the buyer reads (the SRA's generative AI warning notice, for example).
3. Moves are options, not scripts.
4. Lower fear, never raise it. Buyers fear messing up, not missing out. Take risk off the table instead.
5. Holly is the centre. We sell a colleague that does the work and checks with you first. The trust ladder (Observe, Suggest, Auto-draft, Auto-publish) is the headline.
6. Every claim survives scrutiny. If you would not put it in writing with evidence, do not say it. Maktura has no customers yet, so never "most firms find" or "what we hear": use research with its source, our own business, or the buyer's own words.
7. Every call ends with the buyer doing something: a dated next step, or an honest "not a fit".
8. Honesty about where we are: a minimum viable product, no paying customers, no external references yet. Early customers get a better rate because they use it early and help shape it; there will be rough edges; they have a direct line to the team.

Who sells today. Alex brings relationships and introductions; John Cooper owns sales conversations and inbound; both also run other businesses. Until Dom provides a fictional demo workspace, only Alex or John run demos. The method lets a part-time seller run a clean process, and lets anyone who joins pick it up on day one.