On demand

The Art of Listening:
A Critical Skill for Sales
and Life

According to Gartner, 33% of B2B buyers prefer to not interact with sellers, in part because humans don’t like being “sold to.” And thanks to the easy access to detailed information, buyers increasingly don’t need sellers.

Therefore, as B2B sellers, we have to focus on providing as much value as possible. And what do buyers value most? Being understood.

In this interactive course, we’ll learn all about the powerful listening frameworks and practical tactics used by therapists, nonviolent conflict resolution experts, and the very best sales professionals.

Course details

Enrollment type: On demand
Open to: Executive and Associate Members

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Ryan Vaillancourt - The Art of Listening

Ryan Vaillancourt, Instructor

Ryan Vaillancourt is VP of Sales at Revenue.io, where he consults revenue leaders on scaling coaching programs to support exponential growth. Prior to a career switch into software sales, he was an award-winning journalist, covering Los Angeles politics, business and poverty. Turns out, the day-to-day of a newspaper reporter - curiosity-driven interviewing, cold calling people who didn’t ask for your call, and effective communication - translate well to sales. Ask him about bikes, and breakfast burritos in LA.

Connect with Ryan

Course curriculum

This course is designed for sales professionals at every level, including individual contributors looking to improve their sales craft, as well as managers and leaders looking to improve their listening skills. The skills are equally as applicable to internal communication as they are to customer engagements.

Session 1:
Reflective Listening

We’ll start with an introduction to “Reflective Listening,” the high-level framework honed by therapists, conflict resolution experts, professional negotiators, and the best sales professionals. What is it? Why does it work? What does it sound like? We’ll model variations on this technique, and practice with live role play. Guaranteed to spark the best dinner-time convo later that night.

Session 2:
Tactical Habits to Start Using Now

Stuck below the power line? Prospect gone silent? Procurement grinding on price? Get used to it. Every deal worth doing includes a No. Working in Enterprise? Most big deals blow up many times before they close. In this module, we’ll focus on two advanced listening techniques to lean on when the stakes are high and your big deal is at risk.

Session 3:
Applied Listening

Reflective listening is more than just repeating back what you heard (though, make a habit of that alone, and you’ll outperform most of your peers). In this module, we’ll dive into 3 repeatable tactics to improve your listening, and how to apply what you’ve learned.

Expected Results

After taking the course, students can expect a significant shift in their sales conversations that results in a deeper understanding of their customers. This better understanding leads to more and larger deals.

Enroll on demand

Course FAQ

: This program is included in the cost of a Pavilion Membership. Not a member? Join now.
: At this time, this program is open to Pavilion Members only. Join Pavilion to enroll for free.
: Enroll on demand at any time.
: Due to this course being on demand, you can participate in sessions at your own pace.
: We ONLY offer Executives the opportunity to get certified in On Demand offerings, and we currently only offer certificates for these Executive-level offerings:

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