Retention Foundations Training Course
$428 per person ex GST (Discounts Available)
Delivered via 2 × 3-Hour Online Sessions
Learn how to retain more customers with the Retention Foundations Training Course — a practical, expert-led program designed to give employees the skills and confidence to manage cancellation conversations with professionalism, empathy, and impact.
Participants will develop proven techniques to uncover the real reasons customers want to leave, acknowledge concerns with empathy, and rebuild the value proposition — without relying on discounts or incentives they can’t control.
Delivered live online in short, interactive sessions, this course is suitable for both dedicated retention teams and service staff who handle cancellation calls as part of their role.
- ✔ Purpose-built for customer retention and “save” conversations
- ✔ Designed for subscription, fundraising, utilities, telco and service industries
- ✔ Immediate ROI — retaining even one customer can cover the cost of training
Why Retention Training Matters
Right now, customer retention has never been tougher. With the cost of living crisis biting hard in Australia, people are cutting back on everything from streaming subscriptions to donations, utilities, food deliveries and pet services. When customers call to cancel, every conversation counts.
Most employees are never formally trained on how to handle these critical moments. Without guidance, they fall back on awkward scripts, offer discounts they can’t authorise, or simply process the cancellation. The result? Lost customers, lost revenue, and missed chances to rebuild trust.
The Retention Foundations Training Course changes that. It equips employees with the soft skills and proven techniques to manage cancellation conversations with professionalism and care — uncovering the real reasons behind cancellations and rebuilding the value proposition without pressure or pushiness.
Even saving a single customer can easily cover the training cost. Multiply that by dozens of conversations a week, and the ROI becomes obvious. This isn’t about high-pressure tactics — it’s about teaching your people to keep customers for the right reasons.
Who Is This Course Suitable For?
The Retention Foundations Training Course is designed for organisations that want their people to confidently manage cancellation conversations.
Whether it’s a subscription, donation, utility, or service contract — this training equips employees to keep customers by rebuilding trust and highlighting value.
It’s equally valuable for individuals who don’t see themselves as “salespeople” but still need the skills to turn cancellation requests into positive, professional outcomes.
We focus on soft skills and proven retention techniques that work across industries: uncovering the real reasons customers leave, empathising with concerns, and guiding conversations toward outcomes that feel natural and customer-first.
The outcome is confidence, professionalism, and more customers choosing to stay.
Typical roles that benefit from Retention Foundations include:
- Customer Retention / Save Teams: Staff dedicated to preventing cancellations and improving loyalty.
- Customer Service Representatives: Frontline staff who receive cancellation or downgrade requests.
- Subscription & Membership Teams: Employees handling pay TV, gyms, clubs, and other recurring services.
- Fundraising & Donations Staff: Teams managing donors who want to reduce or cancel contributions.
- Utilities & Telecom Staff: Agents working in energy, water, internet or mobile services.
- Food & Pet Services: Teams handling recurring delivery or subscription cancellations.
- Account Managers: Staff responsible for customer renewals and ongoing contracts.
- Team Leaders & Supervisors: Coaching staff through high-stakes retention conversations.
- General Service & Support Roles: Any employee who occasionally handles cancellation calls.
- Small Business Owners: Operators who want practical techniques to reduce customer churn.
Flexible Online Delivery – Practical, Interactive and Easy to Join
The Retention Foundations Training Course runs live online over two 3-hour sessions, so participants can join from anywhere — home, office, or across multiple locations — without the need for travel.
Each session is fully interactive with role plays, group discussions, breakout activities and live coaching. Employees won’t just listen — they’ll practise handling cancellation conversations in realistic scenarios.
This format also gives participants time between sessions to absorb and apply new skills — building confidence quickly and reinforcing techniques for real-world retention conversations.
- ✔️ Join from anywhere: simple access via Zoom or Teams, no travel required
- ✔️ Engaging format: breakouts, role plays, and live feedback
- ✔️ Immediate impact: skills applied between sessions to boost confidence fast
- ✔️ Customer-first focus: no scripts, no pushiness — just professional, empathetic retention conversations
Prefer in-person training? This course is also available onsite for private groups — see Public or Private Options for details.
Course Modules
The Retention Foundations Training Course equips employees with practical, customer-first techniques to manage cancellation conversations with confidence. Delivered over 2 × 3-hour live sessions, the program blends coaching, discussion and call simulations so participants build real capability they can apply immediately.
Session 1 – 3 Hours
Establish the foundations for effective customer retention. Participants explore how customers think and feel when cancelling, the core behaviours recognised in the ACXPA Phone Quality Standards, and how to open conversations with empathy, ownership and clear intent.
1. The Psychology of Customers
What customers want and need when they call to cancel. Move past what’s said on the surface to what’s really driving the decision. See how top retention agents frame interactions to understand motives and reduce friction.
2. The Core Behaviours That Drive Retention
Explore the soft skills and behaviours that underpin successful retention conversations — including empathy, ownership, intent and clear communication. These are the same competencies recognised within the ACXPA Phone Quality Standards, providing a trusted benchmark for professional, customer-first interactions.
Participants will learn how applying these behaviours consistently builds trust and confidence, helping customers feel valued and increasing the likelihood they’ll choose to stay.
3. How to Engage
Communicate with energy and empathy to create a strong first impression through ownership, intent and personalisation. Manage expectations to build trust as the foundation for discussing cancellation reasons and perceived value gaps.
Includes group demonstrations and extensive individual practice using call simulations to embed the behaviours that set up open, productive conversations.
Session 2 – 3 Hours
Advance from strong openings to value-rebuilding conversations. Participants learn evidence-based discovery, empathetic acknowledgement, and clear closing techniques that help customers choose to stay for the right reasons.
4. Better Conversations to Reveal Root Causes
Learn the three critical discovery techniques (as used by the FBI) to converse, mirror and confirm the real reasons customers want to cancel and where the value proposition has broken down. Trainer demos across scenarios show how these techniques uncover triggers and what customers may need to remain.
Participants then apply the techniques in call simulations tailored to the cancellations and customer types they handle.
5. How to Acknowledge Concerns With Empathy
Use a scientifically supported method to acknowledge and empathise with key concerns so customers feel heard, understood and cared for in moments that matter.
6. How to Educate, Confirm & Close
Respond with targeted solutions and value checks that maximise the likelihood customers decide to stay. Apply advanced questioning to check comfort, suitability and understanding before confirming the save.
Finish strong with a simple method for final checks, clear next steps and a warm farewell that avoids clunky endings.
About Your Trainer
The Retention Foundations Training Course is designed and facilitated by Simon Blair, one of Australia’s most experienced and respected trainers in customer service, contact centres and customer retention.
With over three decades of industry experience, Simon has coached thousands of frontline staff across Australia in how to manage cancellations, complaints and sensitive conversations with professionalism and empathy. His focus is on building the confidence, soft skills and structured techniques employees need to keep customers for the right reasons — without pressure, scripts or over-reliance on discounts.
Simon is a father of 4 and lives in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. His twin girls keep him busy running around following their footy careers (one is an AFLW footballer with Collingwood) and he has a great love of music.
He does land the odd corporate or private gig around town as an acoustic guitarist and singer belting out rock and pop classics.
He has great adventures with his partner Ines, loves the North Melbourne Kangaroos footy team and every now and then escapes into other worlds when playing Dungeon & Dragons with his mates. He likes to call himself a ‘cool nerd’.
Private Training Options – Tailored for Your Business
The Retention Foundations Training Course provides structured, high-impact training for managing cancellation conversations — helping your people keep more customers while protecting relationships and brand reputation.
While our public courses are highly effective, some organisations prefer private training for a more tailored and confidential learning experience.
A private course allows you to:
- ✔ Schedule training at a time that suits your operations.
- ✔ Keep discussions exclusive to your team for confidentiality and focus.
- ✔ Customise the content to address your unique retention challenges.
- ✔ Train your team together for maximum impact and consistency.
Onsite delivery is also available for businesses looking for face-to-face sessions (minimum numbers and travel costs apply).
📮 Contact us today to discuss pricing and availability for private training.
| Feature | Public Course | Private Course |
|---|---|---|
| Who Attends | Open to all companies and individuals | Your team only |
| Learning Environment | Gain perspectives from peers across industries | Tailored discussions and examples aligned to your business |
| Dates & Times | Fixed schedule for easy planning | Flexible timing to suit operations |
| Content | Structured curriculum covering proven techniques | Customised to your products, services and retention challenges |
| Delivery Method | Live online (2 × 3-hour sessions) | Live online or onsite (2 × 3-hour sessions or customised format) |
| Cost | $428 per person ex GST | Quoted per session – cost-effective for larger teams |
| Best For | Individuals or small groups wanting proven retention skills | Organisations needing a tailored, in-depth approach |
| Minimum Numbers | No minimum – book 1 or more | Minimum of 4 participants |
| View Upcoming Public Courses > | Learn More About Private Training > |
Not sure which option is best? Contact us and we’ll help you choose the right fit.
Looking for a More Flexible & Affordable Option?
Live training delivers the fastest skill development, but we also offer a wide range of Self-Paced Online Courses that provide flexibility when time, budget, or scheduling are tight.
- Short, engaging video lessons you can complete anytime
- Workbooks, quizzes, and certificates of completion
- Courses covering negotiation skills, consultative selling, introduction to selling, closing the sale and more
- Part of a growing library of 300+ on-demand programs
- Accessible anywhere, on any device
Trusted by Leading Organisations Across Australia
Hundreds of businesses — from local councils to national brands — have chosen CX Skills to upskill their teams with practical, real-world customer service training.
Pricing and Payment Options
The Retention Foundations Training Course is delivered live online over two 3-hour sessions, so employees can build and apply skills with minimal disruption.
Book a single seat or enrol multiple employees. Choose your preferred date in the Upcoming Dates section and complete your booking online.
💳 Credit card and invoice payment options are both available.
Seats are limited. Reserve early to secure your place.
Purchase a Ticket to a Public Retention Foundations Course
All publicly available course dates are listed below. Click your preferred session to purchase tickets instantly.
💳 Secure checkout is available via credit card, or you can request an invoice during the booking process.
Got questions about this course?
Want to train your whole team or explore a customised option?
Speak with us on +61 3 9008 7287 (Mon–Fri, 8:30am–5:30pm Melbourne) or send us a message.
December 2025 Retention Foundations
Online via Zoom Price: $428.00 AUD ex GSTLearn customer-first skills to handle cancellations with empathy and confidence in this 2 × 3-hour December 2025 Customer Retention online course — designed for employees who manage customer accounts, memberships or subscriptions.
February 2026 Retention Foundations
Online via Zoom Price: $428.00 AUD ex GSTLearn customer-first skills to handle cancellations with empathy and confidence in this 2 × 3-hour February 2026 Customer Retention online course — designed for employees who manage customer accounts, memberships or subscriptions.
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