Game On: Selling Yourself, Networking & Research Through Challenges

A Discovery Core Experience

May be taken as BCORE 115 (Social Sciences)

About This Course

This course explores the evolution of modern selling, influence, and persuasion in complex environments where traditional relationship-building is no longer enough. We begin by examining the limitations of conventional sales approaches—such as relationship selling, consultative selling, and SPIN—and why they often fail in high-stakes, multi-stakeholder decisions.

The course then introduces the Challenger model, focusing on how top performers differentiate themselves by teaching insight, tailoring communication, and taking control of customer conversations. Students will analyze how value is created not through likability, but through the ability to reshape thinking, challenge assumptions, and guide decisions.

Finally, the course expands beyond sales into broader applications of influence, including leadership, organizational politics, ethical persuasion, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in decision-making. Students will explore how these skills apply across business, entrepreneurship, public policy, and professional development.

What Will We Be Doing?

Throughout the course, we will develop the ability to think critically, communicate strategically, and influence effectively in real-world situations. Students will practice asking better questions, delivering insights that challenge assumptions, and navigating complex human dynamics such as resistance, risk, and competing incentives.

Class sessions will combine discussion, role-playing, and applied exercises designed to simulate real sales, leadership, and interview scenarios. Students will learn how to create constructive tension, tailor messages to different stakeholders, and maintain control of conversations without relying on authority or position.

We will also explore how these skills extend beyond sales into leadership and everyday influence—whether presenting ideas, interviewing for roles, managing teams, or navigating organizational politics. In addition, the course will examine how AI is reshaping information access, and why human judgment, conviction, and communication remain critical differentiators.

Students will have opportunities to apply concepts through live simulations, peer feedback, and a final capstone experience where they demonstrate their ability to teach, tailor, challenge, and lead a high-stakes conversation.

Victor Barr, MBA

School of Business

About About Victor Barr

  • Teaching: Business Policy and Strategic Management, Intro to Microeconomics
  • MBA, University of Washington Bothell

Victor Barr is a sales and strategy professional with a background in national sales, finance, and entrepreneurship. His work focuses on helping students and professionals develop practical skills in communication, influence, and real-world decision-making. He brings industry experience into the classroom through applied exercises, role plays, and scenario-based learning.

His teaching emphasizes the idea that leadership is not about authority, but about taking responsibility for outcomes and helping others succeed. He is particularly interested in how modern tools, including AI, are reshaping business, sales, and career pathways.

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