Category Based Selling

Turning category insight into customer conversations that influence real retail decisions

Who this course is for
Sales professionals, Category Managers and Commercial teams who are expected to influence retailer decisions, not just present data or brand plans.

This course is designed for participants who already understand category principles and now need to apply that thinking more effectively in real customer conversations.

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​What this course is about
Many customer conversations are supported by category insight — yet still fail to influence outcomes.

Retailers increasingly make decisions based on category roles, performance scorecards, margin logic and internal rules, rather than persuasive storytelling alone.  As a result, well‑intentioned brand or category presentations often fail to translate into action.

This programme focuses on how category thinking is translated into customer‑facing narratives that align with how retailers actually make decisions, improving the quality and effectiveness of commercial conversations.

This is not about learning more tools.  It is about using the tools you already know to hold more commercially credible, buyer‑relevant conversations.

"As a team we recognise so much all the analysis you have done to bring really clear and well thought through recommendations to us.  

​Your insights were so useful to drive growth back into the category."
​Buyer, Sainsbury’s

​What you’ll learn in practice
By the end of the course, participants will be better able to:

• Use category roles and growth models to frame retailer‑relevant opportunities, not just brand plans.
• Read and respond to retailer scorecards, KPIs and decision rules, aligning recommendations with how buyers actually decide.
• Translate brand and innovation strategy into category‑first sell‑ins that land with buyers and their internal approvers.
• Adapt category stories across channels and shopper missions (store, shelf, screen), rather than relying on a single generic deck.
• Work with RGM and promotional levers in ways that support the retailer’s value agenda, not just short‑term volume.

Core themes
The course is structured around four core themes, each grounded in real retailer decision‑making and customer conversations:

1. How retailers really work
Incentives, ways of working, KPIs and decision rules — what buyers are optimising for, and how that shapes category decisions.

2. Category‑based selling and storylining
Structuring narratives that connect insight to range, space, pricing and promotion choices, using the language buyers use internally.

3. Translating brand & innovation into category stories
Moving from brand decks to buyer‑ready sell‑ins that fit category roles, growth models and retailer economics.

4. Selling in a total commerce world
Adjusting stories for different channels, shopper missions and the digital shelf, without losing a coherent category spine.

​Course format

• 3 × 3‑hour live interactive sessions
• Senior‑led facilitation grounded in retailer and supplier‑side experience
• Practical examples, worked cases and reusable templates
• Designed for immediate application in real customer meetings

Between sessions, participants are encouraged to apply tools to an active customer or category and bring examples back for discussion.

Outcomes​
Participants will typically leave the programme with:

• Greater clarity and confidence in customer conversations
• Stronger alignment between Sales and Category through a shared category‑first narrative
• Increased likelihood that category recommendations are approved, funded and executed
• Improved retailer trust by speaking in the retailer’s commercial language, not just brand positioning

Price
£895 + VAT

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If you’re unsure whether this is the right course for you or your team, contact us with any questions and we’ll respond within 24 hours.