Tara Shuler Reveals How Speaking in Questions Slays the Invisible Monster Killing Your Sales
Most salespeople believe objections are the problem. Sales trainer and convo control expert Tara Shuler says they are wrong. In this episode of the Business of Story podcast, host Park Howell sits down with Tara Shuler — high-ticket closer, corporate sales trainer, and author of Questions Close Deals — to reveal why your objections are a symptom of poor discovery, and how speaking entirely in questions transforms every sales conversation, difficult family negotiation, and leadership challenge you face.
What is speaking in questions in sales?
Speaking in questions is a trained sales methodology in which every response — including objections — is met with a redirecting question rather than a statement or pitch. Tara Shuler has practiced and drilled this technique for 15 years across high-ticket software sales, corporate training, and one-on-one coaching. The result: salespeople who guide buyers to their own decisions rather than pushing them toward a close.
What you will learn in this episode:
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Why your sales objections are almost always a symptom of skipping proper discovery — and how to fix the beginning of your conversation, not the end
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How speaking in questions eliminates the need for objection handling by uncovering the emotional why behind every buyer decision before the pitch ever starts
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How to practice the question-first method starting tonight — with your spouse, your kids, and your colleagues — without telling them you are practicing
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Why sales pressure causes trained salespeople to abandon every technique they know — and how Tara's gymnastics muscle memory framework builds the instinct to ask under fire
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How Tara used sales questioning skills to convince her reluctant mother to move from Pennsylvania to Florida — and what that story teaches every leader about emotional discovery
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Why generic AI will flatten your brand story — and why purpose-built tools like the StoryCycle Genie® deliver the narrative clarity no general platform can match
The episode's core insight:
"You're trying to figure out what their why is, and that's where the questions come into play. And then the arguments don't happen later because now you understand what you're fighting against. Because it's an invisible monster until you understand it." — Tara Shuler (00:12:28)
About Tara Shuler:
Tara Shuler is the founder of Convo Control, a sales training and coaching practice built on one foundational skill: speaking in questions. A competitive Level 9 gymnast turned high-ticket closer, Tara has spent 15 years closing large-ticket corporate software contracts, training sales teams, and coaching individuals to get out of their own way through disciplined question-based discovery. She is the author of three books — Questions Close Deals, Parenting a Parent, and Everything Is Sales — and the creator of the Convo Dojo, a live training format that puts salespeople under pressure so their muscle memory can do what their nervous brain cannot. Find Tara at convocontrol.com.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Questions Close Deals by Tara Shuler — available on Amazon and in audiobook at convocontrol.com
Parenting a Parent by Tara Shuler — available on Amazon
Everything Is Sales by Tara Shuler — available on Amazon
The StoryCycle Genie® Brand Story Grader — free brand assessment at storycycle.ai
About the Business of Story:
The Business of Story is hosted by Park Howell, founder of Business of Story and creator of the Story Cycle System™ — the narrative infrastructure framework used by leaders, agencies, and brands to instill their conviction in their people and install it in their organization. New episodes publish weekly. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Connect with Park Howell:
Website: businessofstory.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/parkhowell StoryCycle Genie®: storycycle.ai
