Category Impact Accelerator

From insight to influence - making recommendations stick

Who this course is for
Category Managers with early to mid‑career experience (typically 2-4 years) who want their work to lead to decisions and action, not extended debate or rework.

This course is designed for participants who already understand category principles, but want to increase their impact and influence in complex commercial organisations - without relying on formal authority.

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​What this course is about
Too much category work stalls because the decision is unclear, the recommendation is poorly framed, or the organisation is not ready to act.

This is rarely a data problem.  It is a decision design problem.

This programme focuses on how Category Managers increase their influence by designing recommendations that fit how organisations and commercial teams actually make decisions — across Sales, Marketing, RGM and Finance.

​The emphasis is not on doing more analysis, but on creating decision‑ready outputs that leaders can understand, debate and commit to.

"Simon helped make our pitch more commercial and category-driven.

​I could see that the buyer was so much more engaged with what I was saying because I was using their ‘language’."
​Managing Director, Nimble

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

• Identify the real decision behind category work — including ownership, success criteria and timing.
• Distinguish clearly between analysis, insight and recommendation, and avoid overloading stakeholders with charts.
• Synthesize fragmented data into a single, unified commercial narrative that supports a clear decision.
• Design decision‑ready recommendations that present options, trade‑offs and implications leaders can realistically sign off.
• Align category recommendations with Sales, Marketing, RGM and Finance realities, increasing the likelihood of execution.

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

1. From analysis to decision
Framing the decision upfront, clarifying ownership, and using decision questions to shape analysis rather than retrofitting conclusions.

2. The unified insight narrative
Simplifying multiple data sources into a small number of clear, decision‑ready messages.

3. Options, trade‑offs and implications
Presenting choices in a way that surfaces trade‑offs between growth, profit, shopper and retailer objectives.

4. Working across functions
Designing recommendations that work for Category, Sales, RGM, Marketing and Finance - not just one team.

​Course format

• 4 × 3‑hour live interactive sessions
• Senior‑led facilitation grounded in real commercial decision environments
• Decision‑focused frameworks, examples and applied exercises
• Designed to fit alongside day‑to‑day Category roles

Between sessions, participants apply tools to live category or customer work and bring examples back for feedback — so learning shows up quickly in real decisions.

Outcomes​
Participants will typically leave the programme with:

• Clearer, more influential category recommendations
• Faster and higher‑quality decision‑making around key category and customer questions
• A repeatable approach for creating decision‑ready outputs across initiatives
• Increased confidence and credibility as Category professionals ready for broader responsibility

Price
£1,095 + 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.