I've spent much of my career training salespeople to sell better: to understand their clients' needs, to develop insight and business acumen, and most of all, always to trade value for their client's time. Through it all, though, I made myself a promise: I would never provide strategies or tactics that might let one person take advantage of another. I am all too familiar with the high-pressure, hard-sell tactics of the past, and I have seen a number of colleagues train salespeople to do “whatever it takes” to manipulate their prospects.

At a recent conference, for instance, I watched two hustlers maneuver three prospective clients into buying a program that they didn't need by pressuring them in front of a room full of people. I was so upset that I charged out of the room, checked out of my hotel, and caught an early flight home. What I saw was not only unconscionable, but also unnecessary. These men didn't have to rely on dirty tricks. They could have made the sales without forcing their clients (read: victims) to risk their egos and professional identities simply to decline an offer.

While the idea of being a One-Up salesperson is provocative, at its core it speaks to an ethical obligation to serve others. So, as you read this book, I hope you'll consider both tactics and ethics as you develop your own One-Up position. Use them to serve, to share, and to guide your clients—but most of all, to create value for them because you've been there before. The basic script goes like this: I know something you don't know. May I share it with you?