Tag: High Probability Selling

The Small-Town Agent and the Circle of Relationships

In a small town, every sales conversation echoes. In High Probability Selling, manipulation is not just ineffective — it’s dangerous. The small-town agent learns to stay truthful, respectful, and part of the same circle they serve.

Selling in a small town is different.  You are not the chicken dropping an egg and walking away.  You are the pig at breakfast — part of the meal.  Your life and your reputation stay inside the same circle. 

In that environment, High Probability Selling is not optional; it is survival.  Every conversation must be free of manipulation, because every prospect is also a neighbor.  A single attempt at persuasion can ripple for years. 

The small-town agent learns to qualify quickly and clearly.  “No” is not a failure; it is maintenance of peace.  Disqualifying someone for what you offer does not remove them from your circle.  It keeps the circle intact. 

The discipline of neutrality — saying exactly what is so, no more and no less — becomes a way of life.  Respect replaces performance.  When you treat each conversation as part of your ongoing community, not as a transaction, you stop chasing trust and start living inside it.

Adapted from a conversation between Paul Bunn and a student of High Probability Selling.

Protecting the Conversation: How to Keep the Container Clean

Every conversation has a container — an invisible boundary that defines safety and purpose. When persuasion enters, it becomes contaminated. In High Probability Selling, our goal is to keep that container clean so truth can be spoken without defense.

Every conversation has a container — an invisible boundary that defines safety, clarity, and purpose.  When manipulation enters, the container becomes contaminated.  The goal in High Probability Selling is to keep that container clean.

If you bring a subject-matter expert or partner into a meeting with the prospect, make sure you first tell the prospect, “I’ve asked this person to help with the details.  I’ve told them not to try to convince you of anything.  If they slip into selling, I’ll stop them right there.”  Then tell the expert the same thing.  That single statement protects everyone involved. 

A clean container allows each participant to speak truthfully without defense.  It turns the conversation from a contest into an exploration.  When people know they will not be persuaded, they begin to listen differently.  They relax.  They tell the truth.

The salesperson’s job is not to control outcomes but to maintain integrity within the dialogue.  When you respect the container, the conversation itself becomes the proof of who you are.  No presentation can match that.

Questions and Comments from Our Audience, 2021-06

Steve Alexander wrote:

I was thinking about High Prob Sell vs Go for No.  I believe both systems are based on the two holy grails of life – 1) Whatever you resist persists, and 2) whatever you pursue eludes you.  I have noticed these two universal truths everywhere in life.  It’s amazing how simple things become once you “get it.”  Want to sell something?  Stop trying.  That’s basically how it works.  If you stop trying to sell, people will buy, assuming you have something people want.  If they don’t want it, you’re better off being quiet.  Sometimes, prospects will talk themselves into a sale, but you never will.

Adam Ruplinger wrote:

I love HPS!  I do not sell well when experiencing anxiety.  HPS eliminates my anxiety.  I cannot find a company that lets me use it.  Can you provide a list of companies using it I could apply for work?  Thank you!

Carl Ingalls replied:

I don’t have a list of companies that use HPS.  In general, large companies do not support it.  Also, when a company pays a salary to a salesperson, I take that to mean that they are paying the salesperson to sell the way they tell them to.  However, when the compensation is commission, the salesperson is generally free to use whatever method he or she chooses, as long as they get results.

When applying for a sales position, I recommend that you say the following, “I use my own sales method.  Will that work for you.”

Only mention High Probability Selling if asked.  Never try to talk anyone into it. 

Published here with permission from the authors.