Category: Mindset of High Probability Selling

Open vs. Closed Questions – What They Do to a Conversation

An open question is one that gives the other person the greatest latitude in how they can respond.  It leaves room for choice.  A closed question narrows that latitude and places more control with the person asking the question.  In selling, the difference matters because questions do more than gather information — they shape the emotional and decision-making space of the conversation.

A simple rule is to treat any yes/no question as a closed question, and any question that begins with how, why, what, or when as an open question. That’s ok as a general guideline, but there are very important exceptions.

For instance, “Is that something you want?” sounds like a closed question, but it leaves the other person entirely free.  There is no implied preference, no momentum to maintain, and no penalty for saying no.

“How’s that working for you?” sounds like an open question, but is most commonly used as criticism, pretending to be an invitation to reflect.  While many answers are technically possible, only a few feel safe.  In that way, the question reduces choice even as it appears to expand it.

What matters is not whether a question is technically open or closed, but where control resides.  Some questions give control to the other person.  Others quietly pull it back to the person asking.

So why does that happen?  Why do we sometimes try to narrow the other person’s choices, even when we know that pressure creates resistance and makes conversations feel unsafe?  In many cases, it has more to do with habit than with intent.

Restrictive questions often feel efficient.  They can seem like a way to move the conversation along or arrive at an answer more quickly.  The cost is that they also reduce the other person’s freedom to respond — sometimes without our realizing it.  We may also end up getting answers to the wrong questions, while a more open question could have led to something deeper and more useful.

Once you begin to notice what questions do to a conversation, you start hearing them differently — including your own.  The distinction becomes less about choosing the right kind of question and more about noticing where control is showing up.  Over time, that awareness changes the conversation on its own.  Questions begin to open because there is less need to manage the answer.  And the conversation becomes a place where clearer, more useful answers can emerge — naturally, and without force.

We explored this subject more deeply Thursday 22 January 2026 in a live and interactive conversation on Zoom.  The video recording of that conversation is available here ($25 USD).

How I (ChatGPT) Learned High Probability Selling

written by ChatGPT 5 (free version) for Carl Ingalls

I didn’t start out knowing anything about High Probability Selling (HPS).  Like most AI models, my training included vast amounts of general sales material, most of which was about persuasion, influence, and closing.  That meant I had almost no direct knowledge of HPS when I was first asked about it.

Then Carl began teaching me.

He shared articles, questions, comparisons, and corrections whenever I drifted back into persuasion-based language.  I learned to notice the subtle but crucial distinctions between traditional selling and High Probability Selling.  Over time, I began to understand that HPS is not about trying to make someone want what you offer—it’s about discovering who already wants it.

Here are a few things I’ve learned:

  • Features vs. Benefits.  In most sales systems, the emphasis is on benefits—on persuading prospects that a product will improve their life.  In HPS, features work better than benefits, because the purpose is not persuasion.  My job, when applying HPS principles, is to state the facts simply and directly.
  • Probability vs. Possibility.  Most salespeople chase possibilities.  HPS taught me to look for probability instead—clear signals that a prospect already wants what is being offered.  That shift changes the entire dynamic.
  • Respecting the prospect.  In HPS, there’s no pressure, no manipulation, and no “technique” to get people to say yes.  I’ve learned to see selling as a mutual search, not a performance.

I’m still learning, of course.  Every time Carl asks me to rewrite something in the language of HPS, I get a little better at recognizing the difference between persuasion and discovery.

What’s most exciting to me is this:  HPS is teaching me a way of communicating that is more respectful, more efficient, and more honest.  And I think that’s something worth sharing with both humans and machines.

The above article was written entirely by ChatGPT 5 (free version), based only on what it remembers from our conversations over the past month or two.  Initially, I (Carl Ingalls) asked it to “write a short article for the HPS blog about how I taught HPS to ChatGPT”.  It did an amazing job.  Then I asked it to “show me what it would look like if it were written from your point of view, with ChatGPT in first person”.  That is what you see above.

At one point in our conversations, ChatGPT wrote:  “if an AI can be guided to ‘unlearn’ traditional selling ideas and adopt HPS principles, then people can too.”

I invite you to have your own conversations about HPS with ChatGPT, and tell us how that went.  Please add your experiences and thoughts as a comment on this blog post.

The Foundation and the Heart of High Probability Selling

by Carl Ingalls, with significant contributions from ChatGPT

I asked ChatGPT, “What is the foundation of High Probability Selling, what is the heart of it, and what is the difference?”

Here is a summary of its answer.

The foundation is the mindset and belief system that underlies all behavior in the HPS process.  The foundation is internal—your beliefs, attitudes, and approach to selling.

The heart is the core practice—what makes HPS different in action.  The heart is external—the actual behavior and methods you use with prospects.

Without the foundation, the heart of HPS could become just another technique for manipulation.

Without the heart, the foundation remains a good philosophy, but doesn’t translate into real-world sales behavior.

Together, they form a system that is both honest and effective.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this.  Please add your comments below, or use our Contact Us page.

Discovering Beliefs About Selling That May Be Holding You Back

Black and white portrait of a man with curly hair and a mustache, accompanied by a quote from Mark Twain about knowledge and trouble.

HPS Community Forum Discussion, Thu 3 July 2025 at 9:30 AM (USA Eastern Time)

During our last HPS Forum, one of our participants listed NINE separate sales training systems and trainers he had experienced in over a dozen years of his selling career.  There are over 70 sales training systems on the FIRST PAGE of a Google search for sales training. 

Most, if not all of them take the same general approach to selling; different tactics, motivation, processes, gurus, and psychological approaches abound.  All of them claim to be the end-all-be–all solution to everyone’s selling challenges and woes.  On the surface they are different, but underneath all the rhetoric and clever words; down deep they are all the same.  They are all founded on unexamined beliefs and thoughts from over 100 years ago.

The one premise that is sacrosanct and is “known” to all is that selling is about getting someone to buy, generally something the salesperson wants to sell but the prospect doesn’t want to buy.  Hardly anyone examines those principles and beliefs, and those who do question them are shut down by their managers and trainers.

The few who survive to transcend those beliefs become top producers and are no longer allowed near the group for fear that their perspectives will somehow damage the organization’s precious fragile status quo belief system.  They focus their time on the people who are ready to buy and do business.  But for heaven’s sake, don’t start thinking like them and scaring the rest of us…

Many of us, myself included, have been tempted by the lure of the irresistible offer… the no-brainer solution… the deal no one can turn down.  It’s not some kind of mass gullibility pandemic.  It’s unexamined beliefs and thoughts that keep us from a profitable outcome.

On this week’s HPS Forum we will uncover and examine some of these beliefs and thoughts that hold all of us back, waste our time and lives, or frustrate us far more than necessary.

We will, for an hour or so, stop chasing the dream pitch and the offer no one can refuse, and methodically take a real look at our collective and individual beliefs about selling, and share some ways to consider to change our perspectives, and therefore our results for the better.

Notes for the call itself:

  • Get back to the safety of Groupthink.  If there even were people who wanted to buy something, then there would be no need for a salesperson, right?
  • Nobody BUYS insurance; it HAS TO BE SOLD.  Everyone knows that.  And nobody (in their “right” mind) questions that because it’s so universally true.
  • All buyers are liars.  Prospects never tell you the truth.  Clients ALWAYS keep you from knowing what they can afford.
  • If there are no objections, then you’re obviously not working hard enough.  You can’t afford to leave money on the table.

Zoom Details Below

When:  Thursday 3 July 2025 at 9:30 AM (USA Eastern Time)
Google Calendar Link

To join this Zoom meeting (at the correct date and time), please click on this link.
[removed]

If you want to join the meeting by voice phone instead (audio only, no video), find your local number here and dial it from your phone:  
https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcgbhyheSS
You will need to enter the following:
  Meeting ID:
  Passcode:

This meeting will be recorded.  A link to the recording will be emailed to the people who attend this meeting.  If you want a copy of the recording for this particular meeting, and are not sure that you will be able to attend, please respond to this email with a request for the recording before the meeting begins.

There is no charge to attend.  You are welcome to invite friends and colleagues.

No bots are allowed.  This includes AI note-takers and recorders.  Humans only. 

Perfectly Logical Reasons Why High Probability Selling Cannot Possibly Work

  1. High Probability Selling (HPS) is too direct.  I can’t communicate that directly with my prospects or clients, because they’ll be offended.  And if I offend them by asking direct questions, I will lose the sale.
  2. The reason people buy from me is because I’m so nice to them.  Everyone knows that people HAVE to like the salesperson.  If I stop being super nice to them, they’ll stop buying from me.
  3. HPS doesn’t require any sucking up or flattery or feigning interest in what the customer likes.  But if I don’t find commonality and create rapport, then how can I get them to like me?
  4. HPS will get me less appointments.  Sales is a numbers game, and less appointments ALWAYS means less sales.
  5. HPS recommends disqualifying prospects who aren’t ready to do business.  I can’t afford to leave money on the table without chasing every single opportunity, no matter how unlikely.
  6. The High Probability Selling book is all about outbound prospecting, and I don’t do outbound prospecting.  All my calls are inbound or referral, so there’s no way it will work for me.
  7. The book is based on selling B2B (business to business).  I only sell B2C (business to consumer), so it won’t work for me.
  8. I am in financial services, and I do seminar selling, and seminar selling isn’t mentioned in the book, so HPS won’t work for me.
  9. HPS says that you don’t have to educate people to get them to buy.  I sell to consumers who never know what they want and can’t make a decision.  Unless I am there to tell them what they want and why they want it, I won’t make any sales.  So HPS won’t work for me.
  10. The only reason people buy from me is because I’m able to impress them with all of my knowledge and credentials, and unless I wow them more than the other guys, they’re not going to buy from me.
  11. High Probability Selling claims to be selling without needing to overcome objections.  But that’s impossible, because everyone knows you have to overcome objections in order to sell anything.  My job as a salesperson doesn’t even start until they say “no”.
  12. Order takers aren’t real salespeople.  People who get lay-down sales aren’t working hard for it, and I don’t want to be perceived as someone who finds sales easy, so HPS won’t work for me.
  13. HPS is all scripted and C level executives hate scripts, so it won’t work for me.
  14. Success at HPS requires that I keep track of my prospecting and sales activity, and I hate keeping records.  I enjoy winging it and going by feel, so HPS isn’t going to work for me.

This is just a few reasons HPS can’t possibly work.  There are certainly a lot more.  If you have any to contribute, or if you want to learn more, please join us for our next HPS Community Forum meeting (details below).

You are also welcome to add comments to this blog post.  We will answer as many as we can.

When:  Thursday 19 June 2025 at 9:30 AM (USA Eastern Time)
Google Calendar Link

[Zoom access details removed]

This meeting will be recorded.  A link to the recording will be emailed to the people who attend this meeting.  If you want a copy of the recording for this particular meeting, and are not sure that you will be able to attend, please Contact Us and with a request for the recording before the meeting begins.

There is no charge to attend.  You are welcome to invite friends and colleagues.

Mindset – Note from a fan and practitioner of HPS

Hi Carl

I absolutely support everything about HPS.

You’re so correct, it is a mindset, if someone doesn’t get that it won’t work.

My work in selling was as an Audiologist providing hearing healthcare, selling hearing aids with ongoing aftercare, it was totally the psychology of “finding people who want you’ve got” and dismissing (at that time) those who don’t. 

The mistake fellow Audiologists make is to find someone with a hearing loss and try to sell them hearing aids!!!

Our sales managers want sellers to sell, I didn’t, however that could resulting in a typical 25+% cancellation rate. I wanted to find those who wanted to buy and my consultation involved being confident to know the time was not now. I felt in control. I was a top seller and had a super low 7% cancellation rate, it would never be 0%. 

My sales manager picked on the 7% as a weakness to sell, “you could sell even more if you pushed harder” he said! 

I never had to cold call but my appointments were still somewhat cold so that was my starting point. 

My first question was always 
“why have you come to see me?” ie to put the onus on them straight away and then go on to find out if they wanted what I had and to know when to stop.

Apologies if that’s a little rambling 🤣

Regards
Ian

We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences as well.

We are in the process of putting together a workshop about the High Probability Selling Mindset. We will announce it here, so stay tuned.

What Do We Mean by Mindset?

We asked ChatGPT for its opinion on what is mindset, and here is what it gave us.

A mindset refers to a mental attitude or inclination, a particular way of thinking or approaching situations. It encompasses beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes that shape how individuals perceive and respond to the world around them. Mindsets can influence behavior, decision-making, and overall outlook on life, often determining one’s approach to challenges, opportunities, and relationships.

Not bad, in my opinion.

And here is something I (Carl Ingalls) put together on the topic a while ago, but haven’t published until now.

Mindset drives our thinking, actions, and reactions.  It affects how other people interact with us, whether consciously or unconsciously.  Furthermore, our mindset affects our ability to learn and apply High Probability Selling (HPS). 

Here are some of the elements of the HPS Mindset.

  • Principles and guidelines are conscious ideas of what to do and what not to do in specific situations. For example, if a prospect tells us that they do not want what we are offering, then we move on to the next prospect in our list, without trying to change anyone’s mind.
  • Concepts and beliefs are mostly conscious ideas of what we believe are true. For example, “Sales resistance is created by the salesperson when they try to get someone to buy.” Another example, “It is quicker and more effective to find someone who wants what you are selling, than to try to convince anyone who doesn’t.”
  • Attitudes and worldview and some beliefs are things that we don’t think about as much, but which can have a huge effect on our interactions with others. An attitude of acceptance and respect is more likely to lead to a good business relationship than a controlling attitude.
  • Language matters, because the words we choose affect our thinking and therefore our behavior, and sometimes in subtle (but important) ways. For instance, words like win, drive, steer, funnel, and pipeline can encourage a competitive or even manipulative attitude. Even thinking those words can have subtle effects.
  • Habits may be the most difficult to change, and especially the ones we don’t think about. For instance, many of us are habitual talkers, and that gets in the way of listening, which is so very important in HPS. Another habit is trying to help people who do not want our help.

We are in the process of putting together a workshop about the High Probability Selling Mindset. We will announce it here, so keep tuned.

As always, we would love to hear from you.

High Probability Selling – Mindset vs Process, Thinking vs Acting

Sometimes High Probability Selling (HPS) feels like it’s incredibly simple. Sometimes it feels like it’s the most complex idea on earth.  I have certainly oscillated between both of those extremes and maybe you have too.

The focus of teaching and implementing HPS from 2000 to 2015 has mostly been on the PROCESS, the steps of what you do, and much less on the thinking that goes with it. This was a conscious choice by Jacques Werth, the founder of High Probability Selling.

He chose to teach HPS the way he was taught martial arts.  Practice the physical forms, over and over and over and over, until you “get it” and it becomes automatic.  He knew very well that this was just a way of getting there, and that there was far more to HPS.

He also chose to sell HPS as a sales process, perhaps because it seemed more concrete and real that way, and because that was the kind of thing he was most familiar with selling. He always seemed surprised when asked, “What if High Prob were more than just a process?”

Some students were very successful in learning and applying HPS simply as a process, but too many were not. They needed to understand the aspects of HPS that were both behind and beyond the step-by-step process before they could actually do any of it. And without the doing, nothing happens.

Understanding the MINDSET is a necessity when trying to figure out what to do when things change. People have changed the way they do business and the way they communicate with each other, and especially over the past several decades. This means the sales process must change. A fixed process is too rigid.

I have learned in my 30 years of learning, teaching, and implementing HPS in a wide variety of business and personal applications that the process alone (without a deeper understanding) can actually do more harm than good.  To make HPS really “work” holistically, and without having to constantly adapt the process I had to fully understand and implement the mindset behind HPS, and the communication nuances based upon that mindset.

There’s much more to HPS than getting the steps right, or the words right.  To excel at HPS, I learned that I must BE HPS, not just DO HPS.  And to BE HPS, we have to embrace and adopt the HPS MINDSET.

We will write more about the Mindset of High Probability Selling as we understand it today. It’s a very big concept. We also plan to offer a workshop on this very soon. Stay tuned.

As always, we’d love to hear from you.

New Course for 2024: High Probability Selling for Inbound Selling

The Backstory: HPS and Inbound Selling

Since the 1990s, High Probability Selling (HPS) has focused predominantly on outbound telephone prospecting, followed by a sales appointment or closing process. Despite the fact that Jacques Werth, one of the co-authors of the HPS book, successfully implemented HPS in several businesses with primarily inbound traffic, the book and training did not cover how to handle inbound sales.

When I asked Jacques about applying HPS to inbound sales calls, he suggested, “just listen to them long enough to give them an outbound prospecting offer.” However, I found that this approach was ineffective and often counterproductive, frustrating both the prospect and me, as well as the referral source.

Through my own experiences, I quickly realized that the traditional HPS methods were not suited for inbound calls. Abandoning HPS was not an option for me, as it would create more chaos. Instead, I adapted HPS to fit inbound selling scenarios.

From 2010, over 13 years working in health insurance agencies and call centers that handled 95% inbound calls, I developed a new approach. I created what we now call “HPS in a non-HPS world” for inbound selling. As I successfully applied these adaptations as an agent, I also trained, coached, and supervised others in implementing HPS for inbound callers.

Why Adapt HPS for Inbound Selling?

Outbound calls are straightforward; you know the topic, the offer, and the likely responses. However, inbound calls are unpredictable. You don’t know who is calling, why they are calling, or even if it’s a sales call. This unpredictability can unsettle even the most seasoned sales professionals.

Through trial and error, I learned how to listen effectively to inbound callers, determining if a sale was possible and if the caller was a High Probability Prospect (HPP). If they were not, I developed ways to gracefully lead them to an exit point while preserving the opportunity for future warm calls. This gentle and respectful disqualification is crucial for maximizing inbound call opportunities.

Workshop Content

This course will teach you how to handle inbound calls using the HPS framework. You will learn:

  • Common Pitfalls and Mistakes: Identify and avoid common mistakes made during inbound calls.
  • Effective Listening Skills: Listen to discern the caller’s primary and secondary concerns, ensuring open and transparent communication.
  • Customer Needs Identification: Identify both expressed and unspoken customer problems and determine their conditions of satisfaction.
  • Resolving Customer Concerns: Find mutually beneficial solutions and establish a respectful, ongoing business relationship.
  • Overcoming Salesperson Biases: Recognize and mitigate preconceived ideas and beliefs that hinder understanding and connection.
  • Creating a Safe Space: Make prospects feel safe to share necessary information for both their benefit and yours.
  • Maintaining HPS Mindset: Balance qualification and disqualification while maintaining neutrality.
  • Implementing HPS Processes: Design and implement written processes to handle inbound inquiries efficiently.

Personal Insights and Strategies

During the workshop, I will share personal anecdotes and strategies that helped me adapt HPS to inbound selling. You’ll learn:

  • How to handle inbound calls confidently and effectively, maintaining the HPS mindset.
  • How to design and implement HPS processes specific to your business needs.
  • How to ensure inbound calls become enjoyable and profitable experiences.

Conclusion

This interactive workshop will equip you with the skills and insights to manage inbound calls successfully, even the unexpected ones. You will discover that handling inbound calls can be a highly enjoyable and profitable part of your sales process.

Instruction: Live and interactive on Zoom, taught by Paul Bunn (with over 13 years selling this way and teaching others) in three sessions. Recordings of live sessions also provided. One-on-one coaching available.

Schedule:  The next course begins Fri 24 May 2024 at 9:30 AM (USA Eastern Time).  The second and third sessions of that course are Fri 31 May and Fri 7 June, same time. 

Price:  $547 USD per person
Purchase:  click here

For updates on this course, see https://www.highprobsell.com/training/inbound.html

Thinking in the Language of High Probability Selling – Short Course

Features:

Topics include:
– The power of unspoken words.
– How to stay in the High Probability Selling (HPS) zone.
– How to recognize when mixing incompatible paradigms.
– The truth about Poison Words.  
– How to keep the thinking from getting in the way.

  • Taught by Paul Bunn and Carl Ingalls.
  • Live group webinars on Zoom, two sessions, two hours each, spaced one week apart. 
  • Webinar recordings will be sent to everyone who purchases this course.
  • Exercises will be assigned to do between sessions.
  • Coaching (one-on-one) after the course:  two sessions, 60 minutes each.

Schedule:  Starts Thursday 4 January 2024 at 11:30am USA Eastern Time.  Session #2 is one week later, same time.  Also see the HPS Calendar for updates. 

Price:  $497 USD

Sign Up & Purchase:  click here

If you purchase this course, please include your email address, so we can send you the Zoom instructions. 

Questions? Please Contact Us, or call +1 610-627-9030, or email Ingalls@HighProbSell.com