The Zero-Base Playbook
About the Book
Written by Sharad Thakore, "The Zero-Base Playbook: How to Win Landmark Financial Deals for a Company with Limited Brand Recall" distils decades of frontline experience in enterprise fintech sales across Australia and the Pacific. The book introduces the Relationship-Based Selling (RBS) framework- a practical, human-centred approach to navigating high-stakes banking deals where brand equity is limited. Through fictional case studies and anecdotes, structured playbooks, and field-tested tools, it guides fintech founders and sales leaders on how to build credibility, influence decision-makers, and close transformational deals. More than a methodology, "The Zero-Base Playbook" is a blueprint for converting relationships into revenue and ambition into market leadership.
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
“As Sharad argues, if you want to succeed in B2B sales, invest in the relationship first and everything else will follow. I have known Sharad Thakore for well over ten years and I have seen him apply the principles and learnings outlined in this book with professionalism and fortitude. I commend this book to all those who wish to approach B2B sales with the same attitude”
-Paul Lahiff
Former Chair of the National Payments Platform (NPP) and UBank
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
“A true partnership emerges when the suppliers are flexible, offering trial periods, proof of concept environments, or even sharing best practices from similar clients. Sharad exemplified this in the truest sense”
Wayne Beckley
Former Banking COO
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
“Why do so many tech sales teams fail to build lasting client value? Because they're obsessed with the wrong thing: the transaction. In a world where a buyer's personal value is twice as important as business value, this is a fatal flaw. Relationship-Based Selling (RBS) is the counter-intuitive playbook for those who understand that the real win isn't the deal—it's the trust that follows. It's how you stop being a vendor and start building a legacy”
Timothy Barker-Simson
Operator and Strategic Advisor – Nakodo, Former Managing Director (Asia Banking Industry) – Microsoft
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
“…to do justice to this book and the author, it is imperative that the RBS framework is explained through the lens of someone who has lived the experience of selling when at zero base. While I will not belabour the RBS framework, which I think is a wonderful capture of the tenets grounded in real world experience, my attempt here is to buttress it further with my observations from lived experience. In other words, the idea is to unambiguously ground the RBS framework in reality”
Suman Mukherji
Head of Banking and Financial Services A/NZ and Oceania, Coforge
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
“This manuscript was so well written. It is clear and succinct, and one of the best workbook-style manuscripts I have encountered”
Lisa Lark
Editor, Green Hill Publishing
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
“A healthy, trust-based relationship across all stakeholders is critical to long-term success. Often, the business sponsor becomes a guide, helping the provider navigate internal dynamics. There are no shortcuts. A deliberate, structured, and relationship-driven approach, one that balances strategic engagement with stakeholder empathy, is key to achieving a true win–win outcome”
Graham Strain
Co-founder Citoplus, Former GM of Deposits and Transactional Products in NAB
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
“Enterprise sales is a profession that is 50% art and 50% science. My opinion remains that successful selling methodology can be learnt and that nobody is a “born seller”. The art aspect of selling is unique to all individuals: it’s a mix of seller’s persona, values, rigour, commitment, the tact for building and nurturing relationships, and the skill of logical and psychological persuasion. And the science aspect relates to: situational analysis, ability to methodically dissect a client’s problems, rational storytelling, as well as religiously following the frameworks described in this book, or others like MEDDPICC”
Tapas Shyam
Former Regional Sales Leader, Temenos