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UK-based. Working with sales teams across Europe.
The Sales House

Building Rapport for Account Executives

Build genuine trust with new buyers and senior stakeholders through adaptable communication, active listening and confident rapport online and in person.

You own the number, but not every part of the buying decision. Research competes with meetings, discovery can stay on the surface, and a promising demo can still end in silence. We understand the pressure to create pipeline, earn trust and keep a complex opportunity moving without pushing the buyer. The AE Lab gives you space to sharpen the conversations and judgement behind the result.

Enquire About This Lab Explore the course
Two sellers role-playing a customer conversation while a colleague observes
The Sales House
Explore. Practise. Perform.

Duration

Half day · 3.5 hours per half day

Group size

8–10 delegates

Format

Online or face to face

Price — Face to face

From £1,150

+ VAT

Price — Online

From £900

+ VAT

where understanding becomes useful —

Why this course matters

Trust grows when buyers feel understood, not managed through a technique.

What you’ll explore in the Lab

For account executives, first meetings with new buyers and senior stakeholders demand more than a friendly opening: they require genuine trust, particularly as conversations move online and deals become more complex. This half-day course explores what rapport means in B2B sales and how to establish it without relying on rehearsed small talk.

Delegates learn to read buyer styles, adapt their own approach, listen actively and ask questions that demonstrate real curiosity, whether on video or in person. Through focused practice and feedback, they develop the confidence to make buyers feel heard and create a stronger foundation for productive sales conversations.

a real challenge. a purposeful response.

The challenges this addresses

  • Early buyer meetings dominated by the seller’s own agenda
  • Different communication styles creating unnecessary distance with new buyers
  • Rehearsed small talk replacing genuine curiosity in senior meetings
  • Online conversations missing signs that buyers feel unheard or rushed

What this can change at work

Build trust through how the conversation is handled, not a rehearsed routine. AEs practise reading buyer styles, adapting their approach and listening in ways that make understanding visible. Managers can coach the quality of first meetings and online interactions, not just the agenda covered. That helps create conditions for more open discovery and credible relationships as sellers engage new buyers, senior stakeholders and increasingly complex opportunities.

Openings shaped around buyers

AEs establish what matters to the buyer in the meeting before moving into their own questions or proposed agenda.

Listening made visible

During conversations, sellers reflect back what they have heard and check understanding before moving on to the next topic.

Style adjusted with care

In video and in-person meetings, AEs adapt their pace and approach to the buyer rather than relying on rehearsed small talk.

Explore. Practise. Perform.

Less theory. More application.

What participants will practise

Realistic sales scenarios, role-play and peer feedback around what rapport really is in b2b sales and reading buyer styles and adapting yours. Where helpful, participants work on their own live (or anonymised) opportunities.

What they’ll take away

Take-away materials with the questions, frameworks and techniques covered, plus a short personal action plan for the next customer conversations where the skill matters.

How we help it stick

Reflection and action planning are built into the session. Reinforcement such as manager guides, follow-up labs or coaching depends on the programme you choose and is agreed with you.

How we make learning stick

Inside the workshop

Working in a small group of 8–10, delegates explore rapport in B2B sales before applying the techniques in interactive breakouts and live practice. Peer-to-peer learning and feedback help them refine their listening, questioning and adaptation to different buyer styles, including senior stakeholders. They leave with practical approaches to building trust in first meetings, online and in person.

Make Building Rapport for Account Executives relevant to your business

Tell us where you want to make progress with what rapport really is in b2b sales. We can discuss suitable workplace examples, priorities and access needs before agreeing the scope. Choose live online or face-to-face training for your UK or European team, with delivery arrangements agreed before booking.

Discuss a customised version

What the training covers

The scope below sets out the subjects covered. Workplace examples and practice are shaped around your team within the booked format.

  • What rapport really is in B2B sales
  • Reading buyer styles and adapting yours
  • Active listening and curiosity
  • Building rapport on video calls
  • Rapport with senior stakeholders
  • Practice in breakouts with feedback

What’s included in your booking

Your booked time and format
Half day · Live online or face to face, agreed before booking · 8–10 delegates.
Included in every course
  • Interactive, facilitator-led learningLive, hands-on sessions built around practice and participation.
  • Group discussionsShared conversations about real situations, so people learn from each other as well as the facilitator.
  • Breakout exercisesSmall-group practice, role-play and problem-solving, online or in the room.
  • Take-away materialsCourse materials, tools and templates to use back at work.
Facilitated learning and practical application
The subject coverage, exercises and facilitator feedback described above, with space to connect the learning to relevant workplace situations. The workshop description sets out the specific plans, prompts or tools developed in this course.

Follow-up coaching, refresher sessions and additional delivery days are not automatic inclusions; any additions are agreed in your proposal. Travel, venue arrangements and any software licences are confirmed separately where relevant. Prices exclude VAT.

Outcomes

The capabilities delegates work towards through the training and practice:

  • Build trust quickly in first meetings
  • Adapt your style to different buyers
  • Listen in a way buyers notice
  • Build rapport confidently online and in person

the next conversation is where it counts —

Take it back to work.

Choose a real situation where you want to apply the learning. Use it to turn an outcome into a manageable first step, then reflect on what changes.

Choose

Start with one priority: Build trust quickly in first meetings.

Apply

Try the approach in a relevant task or conversation. Note what felt useful and what you would adapt.

Review

Reflect on what happened, seek feedback where appropriate and choose your next step. Follow-up support can be discussed separately.

Bring this topic to your next event

We can discuss adapting Building Rapport for Account Executives into a keynote or large-group session, focusing on the themes most relevant to your audience. Depth, activities, timings and any follow-up depend on the format and package you choose; an event session is not a substitute for the full course.

Explore Speaking & Events

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Course synopsis

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3 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Outcomes — you'll be able to

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your sales team. your priorities. your programme. —

Build your own sales programme.

Combine courses, focus on your skills gaps and shape the learning around your sales cycle. Standard workshops run with 8–10 delegates; BDR and MEDDPICC sessions have a maximum of eight; Sales Leadership workshops run with 6–8. Smaller bespoke cohorts can be discussed, with pricing agreed for your programme.

Your people. Your priorities.Ready to sell better? Build your programme.A programme shaped around your people — and the progress you want to make.

Where better selling begins.

Your team doesn’t need more slides. They need skills that stick.

Know you need help? Book a relaxed, no-obligation 30-minute call. We’ll talk through your team and challenge, and you’ll leave with an honest view of the options — no brief or programme needed.

Book a Discovery Call Enquire about this course