Your company needs business leaders. Acumen Learning's Building Business Acumen® courses deliver transformative learning experiences to drive leadership, productivity, engagement, financial literacy, alignment… Should we keep going? Request a demo For individuals Here’s the reality – 95% of employees don’t understand their company’s strategy. How can they, then, set the right priorities, allocate resources effectively, or contribute meaningfully to strategic initiatives? They can’t. And the result? Disengagement, misalignment, and ultimately, an organization operating at a fraction of its potential. ​ Fortunately, business acumen can be taught. Request a demo Based on internal Acumen Learning data and research published in Harvard Business Review. Watch the video Ask your CFO… What is a lack of business acumen costing you? Can every team member explain your company's money-making process in such a way that inspires and engages people? If not, you’re losing money. ​ How many decisions are made too quickly or not quick enough? How many of your employees don’t understand what your CEO talked about on your last earnings call — because they didn't listen to it? How many of your leaders are faking it when it comes to finance? Request a demo Ask yourself… What are you waiting for? Lectures from your finance department or Professor Stuffy aren't going to cut it. And don't even get us started on board games and generic simulations – your people deserve better. You need to follow a process that not only develops new skills but reinforces those skills and holds people accountable for using them. Not understanding business is costing you business. So let's get going! Request a demo #1 Wall Street Journal & New York Times Bestseller We wrote the book on finance and business acumen. Based on Seeing the Big Picture by Kevin Cope, our courses instill a deep understanding of how all the moving pieces of your company work together so your employees can better align their efforts to benefit your bottom line – they will think and act more like owners. Understand key business drivers and financial statements ​ Understand how to iterate ideas to improve productivity and profits Achieve alignment with key stakeholders ​ Package ideas and their financial outcomes into well-structured decisions Request a demo Experience, the difference. 34 Fortune 50 companies and 100,000+ learners love what we do 2 2 Based on internal Acumen Learning data and Fortune magazine's annual list of the 500 biggest companies in the United States. Videos Learn more about what business acumen training can do for your company with our video series. ​ Watch Videos Sales Training Our org saw a positive lift with frontline proficiencies in leveraging 10K, 10Q, and annual reports to aid sales meetings. See Sales Training 300% ROI Their analysis demonstrated that business acumen training more than paid for itself with a 300%+ ROI. ​ Read Case Study Test Your Business Acumen Take the business acumen quiz to see if there's a gap of business and financial strategy in your skills. ​ Take the Quiz Request a demo

Webinars & Events Join us for one of our two free monthly trainings: Business Acumen Previews or Earnings Call Webinars . In our Business Acumen Previews, we'll cover a topic from our world-renowned business acumen course or from our bestseller, Seeing The Big Picture . During our Earnings Call Webinar, one of our senior consultants will teach you how to effectively listen to an earnings call. An earnings call is a quarterly event when the company's senior executive team highlights financial performance, progress, and strategy. ​ Look below for the upcoming dates, topics, companies or industries we'll be covering next. How to Listen to an Earnings Call: Mondelez Earnings Call Webinar May 23, 11 am - 12 p m ET 1. Learn a process for listening to earnings calls. 2. Get a free workbook and financial calculator. 3. Further develop your financial and business acumen. Register What Your CEO Needs You to Know Business Acumen Preview July 30, 11 am - 12 p m ET Register Previous Webinars Interested in watching one of our previous earnings call webinars? Salesforce Q4 FY24 Bank of America Q4 FY23 Airbnb Q4 FY23 GameStop Q3 FY23 Warner Bros. Q3 FY23 Comcast Q3 FY23 PayPal Q2 FY23 Lowe's Q2 FY23 Halliburton Q2 FY23 NVIDIA Q1 FY24 McDonald's Q1 FY23 Berkshire Hathaway Q1 FY23 Microsoft Q2 FY23 Shopify Q4 FY22 Starbucks Q1 FY23 Nike Q2 FY23 Visa Q4 FY22 Boeing Q3 FY22 Disney Q3 FY22 Netflix Q2 FY22 Shell Q2 FY22 General Mills Q4 FY22 Costco Q3 FY22 Merck Q1 FY22 Target Q4 FY21 Uber Q4 FY21 Facebook Q4 FY21 Ford Q3 FY21 Verizon Q4 FY21 MetLife Q3 FY22 Chevron Q2 FY21 UnitedHealth Q4 FY21 Raytheon Q2 FY21 Kroger Q1 FY21 AstraZeneca Q1 FY21 General Motors Q1 FY21 Zoom Q4 FY21 UPS Q4 FY20 Walmart Q4 FY21 Google Q3 FY20 Boeing Q3 FY20 Pfizer Q3 FY20 Amazon Q2 FY20 Tesla Q2 FY20 ExxonMobil Q2 FY20

We're stronger together. In honor of our 20 year anniversary, our goal is to spread business acumen to those that may not have the ability to access our program without assistance. Watch the video Committed to Our Community Building a Better Future To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re working with a variety of non-profits by giving 20,000 licenses to our online course access to support everyone to improve their ability to speak and understand the language of business. Learn more Community Engagement 20 Years, 20 Acts of Service Each year we have a service committee that puts together activities and opportunities for our employees to give back to our local community. This year, our goal is to perform at least 20 charitable acts throughout the community. Get service ideas Employee Growth Investing In Our Future We’re committed to helping our staff continue to grow and advance both personally and professionally. Our team

We have launched a great Train the Trainer program. Our Building Business Acumen Essentials® program is a great way to get business acumen training widely across your organizations. Whether you're a trainer wanting to train your teams, an individual who wants to learn business acumen, or a decision maker trying to bring business acumen training to your company, you're in the right place! We have covered many confusing topics and frequently asked questions about our program. For a general overview please click here: What is a Train the Trainer (T3) Program? A train-the-trainer program is designed to equip individuals within an organization to train others in specific skills or subjects. It offers the flexibility to roll out learning and development initiatives according to the organization's schedule and preferences. Our Building Business Acumen Essentials (T3) program empowers facilitators, even those with average financial proficiency, to effectively deliver the course content. What skills do I need to be a trainer of Building Business Acumen Essentials? The prerequisite for becoming a trainer for Building Business Acumen Essentials is some experience in teaching or facilitating training programs. Our T3 program is structured to provide financial business acumen training regardless of your prior experience. Learning and Development professionals, in-house HR consultants and other corporate facilitators can excel in teaching this course, as it's designed to be less dependent on the facilitator's financial knowledge and more focused on empowering the certified facilitator to deliver the material confidently. We give you all the tools and materials to succeed! What does the Building Business Acumen Essentials® course cover? The Building Business Acumen Essentials course covers essential topics such as business acumen, financial literacy, and practical applications within participants' roles and organizations. The course also includes case studies, videos, actionable insights, class discussions, team activities, simulations, and other valuable resources to enhance learning and development. As a trainer, you will be certified to help participants: -Understand the bigger picture of the business -Align their decisions to the corporate strategy -Be more influential within the organization -Build their credibility -Know where to focus their efforts -Create greater engagement for them and their team -Find ways to help the company grow What are the benefits of doing a T3 vs. hiring an Acumen Learning consultant? Our T3 approach offers several advantages. Firstly, it is a more cost-effective solution, allowing organizations to allocate resources efficiently. If you’re hoping to put several hundred people through a business acumen course, T3 might be the option for you! Our Building Business Acumen Essentials T3 program offers flexibility in terms of delivery and scheduling. While there may be some differences in delivery experience between internal trainers and external consultants, the T3 model emphasizes facilitation over teaching, ensuring effective knowledge transfer within the organization. Can I get certified as an individual? The Building Business Acumen Essentials certification process is tailored for organizational deployment rather than individual certification. Essentially, an individual certification is tied to a company AND an individual. An individual will get certified under their company and can use their skills to teach the course within that company they get certified with. What does the certification process look like? The certification process typically spans a 10-hour training session, divided into 2 days. You will first experience the course content on day one and then you will learn how to effectively deliver it on day two. We highly encourage the facilitators to teach the course within the first 90 days to maintain proficiency. Additionally, ongoing support is provided through resources like David Covey, a Master Trainer for the program, and a community of T3 facilitators for continuous learning and development. If this sounds like a great program for you and your teams, reach out: ✅ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more Business Acumen videos! ✅ Follow us on LinkedIn @AcumenLearning to keep up with all company updates! ✅ For more on our business acumen training visit our website! #businessacumen #businessstrategy #financialacumen #financialstrategy #learninganddevelopment #HR #leadershipdevelopment #training #businesssuccess  #businessacumentraining #financialacumentraining #business #furtheringbusinessacumen

Today we have Cam Crockett here today to talk about preparing for a sales call. Cam has a financial background, has been in several sales roles, and is now a financial consultant at Acumen Learning. Let’s get right to it! Question: Cam, can you explain why sales reps are spending more time preparing for sales calls nowadays? Sales reps are dedicating more time to prepare for sales calls because in the world of enterprise selling, it's crucial to come to the call with situational understanding. This level of preparation is just as important as having empathy and consultative selling skills. Think about how likely you are to talk with a salesperson over the phone about a problem you don’t even have. Understanding the person's situation and needs can make or break the situation. Question: What should I do when I have limited time to prepare for a sales call, like 10 minutes or less? I have 4 quick and easy steps that I always do if I don’t have enough time to do a real deep dive. The first thing I do is gather basic information about the company. Find out their industry, the number of employees they have, and their top-line revenue growth. You can get these answers from sources like YAHOO! Finance, Glassdoor, or LinkedIn. The second step is to check the company’s investor relations page. Look for information about their next earnings release date. Knowing this can provide insights into their budget cycle and priorities for the coming months. Review the slide deck from their last earnings release and their press releases for significant updates. The third thing I would do is make sure you really understand the person you’re going to be talking to. Visit their LinkedIn page to learn about their job title, job description, career experience, and any commonalities you might share, such as mutual connections or interactions with similar companies or schools. And last, I would be overly curious. Put yourself in your contact's shoes. Consider what you would focus on and what your priorities would be if you were in their role. Question: Can you give me an example of using these four steps to prepare for a sales call? Certainly. When I was preparing for a call I had with Delta Airlines, I used these steps. I really quickly gained an understanding of their threefold strategy as they were coming out of the pandemic: brand loyalty, balance sheet strength, and driving efficiency. At the time, they were aiming to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023 using this strategy. This information obviously really helped me to understand which questions to ask and which areas to address when speaking with my contact. Question: Why is it important to review a company's investor relations page and press releases before a sales call? These feel like really long documents to look at for every person you speak with. It’s important to note that when you’re in a consultative sales role, your job is to gain trust and know your contacts. It’s not to make 100 calls a day and talk to random people you don’t know. So for these contacts, reviewing the investor relations page and press releases is crucial because they contain valuable information about the company's financial health, upcoming events like earnings releases, recent acquisitions, new product launches, and key executive hires. Understanding these updates can help you tailor your approach and conversation during the sales call to align with the company's current goals and priorities. Question: You’ve said that you scour their LinkedIn before talking with them. How can looking at your contact's LinkedIn profile help in preparing for a sales call? Visiting your contact's LinkedIn page allows you to gather information about their job title, job description, career experience, and any shared connections or interactions. This knowledge helps establish rapport and find common ground, making the conversation more personal and relevant during the sales call. Question: You mentioned thinking from your contact's point of view. Can you speak on why it’s essential to get curious and think from their perspective before a sales call? Getting curious and putting yourself in your contact's shoes helps you anticipate their needs, priorities, and goals. This perspective allows you to tailor your approach, ask relevant questions, and offer solutions that align with their objectives, making the sales call more productive and engaging. Question: How does business acumen help you prepare for a sales call? Business acumen is a valuable skill that aids in preparing for a sales call by providing a deep understanding of the business landscape, industry trends, and the specific challenges and opportunities facing the prospect. It enables you to approach the call with a strategic mindset, allowing you to ask insightful questions, offer tailored solutions, and ultimately build stronger relationships with your clients. Question: That seems so beneficial! Just last question I want to touch on…Cam, can you give us a tangible example of how business acumen helped you in your sales career? Absolutely. Let me share an experience from a CLO (Chief Learning Officer) event where business acumen played a crucial role in my sales career. I was at this event where many learning and development leaders from major companies attend. During a networking session, I struck up a conversation with a chief learning officer from a Fortune 500 company. As we discussed their company's training needs, it became apparent that they were looking for a way to align their employee development programs with their strategic financial goals. Having sold business acumen training, I better be well versed in the subject. So, drawing from my experience, I could immediately grasp the challenges they were facing. Their company needed a training solution that not only improved employee skills but also directly contributed to their bottom line. I shared examples of how our customized business acumen training had helped other clients achieve precisely that, providing tangible ROI through improved decision-making and financial understanding at all levels of the organization. This discussion resonated with the CLO, as I was able to address a critical pain point, they were experiencing. Our ability to bridge the gap between employee development and financial success, thanks to our business acumen training, not only captured their interest but led to a successful partnership that has continued to thrive. This experience showcased how business acumen can be a game-changer in sales, enabling us to understand and address our clients' most pressing needs and challenges effectively. Activity: Now that we understand how to quickly prepare for a sales call, let's engage in a learning activity you can do during your next team meeting: Exercise: Rapid Sales Call Preparation Scenario Assignment: Assign each team member a hypothetical scenario where they have a sales call in 10 minutes. Provide details about the company they will be calling, the industry, and the contact person. Research: In the given time, ask team members to quickly gather information using the four steps outlined by Cam: Basic company information (industry, number of employees, revenue growth). Check the company’s investor relations page for key financial insights. Review recent press releases for updates. Visit the LinkedIn profile of the contact person for insights into their role and background. 3. Sharing and Discussion: Each team member briefly shares the information they gathered with the rest of the team. Discuss the most relevant and impactful insights for the sales call. 4. Role-Play: Teams engage in quick role-playing exercises where one team member takes on the role of the salesperson and another as the prospect. Emphasize the use of the gathered information to tailor the conversation and build rapport. 5. Debrief: Facilitate a short debrief discussion on the effectiveness of the rapid preparation and how the information gathered influenced the simulated sales call. This exercise aims to highlight the importance of swift yet comprehensive research in sales call preparation, using your time effectively. Teams will grasp the significance of quick, insightful information gathering to navigate time constraints while ensuring they understand the prospect's company and individual roles. It prompts discussions on how comprehending the prospect's situation profoundly shapes the sales approach, fostering an appreciation for tailored conversations aligned with the prospect's goals. Ultimately, this rapid preparation exercise reinforces practical applications of the discussed sales techniques, encouraging collaboration and sharpening the team's ability to think on their feet in dynamic sales scenarios. Continue your Learning... The Impact of Business Acumen on the Sales Process Building Business Acumen for Sales 5 ways to improve your Sales Calls Next Steps... Get a Demo of our Business Acumen Training for Sales: Executive Overview for Sales and Marketing: Test your Business Acumen with this Quick quiz: Download the Earnings call workbook: ✅ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more Business Acumen videos! ✅ Follow us on LinkedIn @AcumenLearning to keep up with all company updates! ✅ For more on our business acumen training visit our website! #businessacumen #businessstrategy #financialacumen #financialstrategy #learninganddevelopment #HR #leadershipdevelopment #training #businesssuccess #finance #businessacumentraining #financialacumentraining #sales #salestraining #salessuccess

Press Release OREM, Utah – December 4, 2023 Download the Business Acumen Press Release: News Facts: Acumen Learning recently partnered with a leading global financial institution. Our collaboration with this esteemed bank represents a significant milestone in fostering strategic learning initiatives within the financial sector. Recognizing the critical role of business acumen in navigating the intricacies of the ever-evolving financial landscape, this forward-thinking institution sought our expertise to instill a comprehensive understanding of not only industry-specific nuances but also the broader strategic perspectives essential for sustained success. We started business acumen training with the groups in the Asia Pacific region and their plan is to expand more broadly in the coming years. The initiative revolved around a transformative learning experience for two distinct groups within the financial institution: the Vice Presidents and their Executive Directors. Facing the challenges posed by a rapidly evolving banking landscape, the bank sought to unite 70 vice presidents and executive directors from these groups. Acumen Learning was enlisted to bridge the gap and bring cohesion by imparting a comprehensive understanding of business acumen, the language, metrics, and macro-level perspectives unique to the banking industry. The collaboration yielded a profound impact, evidenced by the participants’ newfound ability to navigate the complex language of banking and grasp the broader dynamics of the financial institution. Acumen Learning successfully empowered the participants to transition from technical experts to strategic leaders, demonstrating that a comprehensive grasp of business acumen is instrumental in navigating the complexities of the financial sector and driving informed decision-making at a strategic level. As a pioneer in corporate training, Acumen Learning specializes in transforming individuals and organizations by imparting critical business acumen. Our customized programs go beyond conventional training methods, offering immersive experiences that bridge the gap between technical expertise and strategic leadership. This successful partnership exemplifies Acumen Learning’s commitment to equipping professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today’s dynamic business environment. Supporting Quotes: “It’s truly rewarding to see leaders experience a profound evolution, shifting from technical experts to strategic visionaries," says Ben Cook, President of Acumen Learning. "This transformation highlights the power of cultivating business acumen. In today’s dynamic financial landscape, it’s crucial to align and engage leaders with a deep understanding of industry dynamics. Our business acumen training exemplifies the pivotal role this skill plays in navigating complexity and driving organizational success.” About Acumen Learning Founded in 2002, Acumen Learning's highly customized business acumen and sales training programs have helped organizations develop employees who are more engaged, efficient, and effective in their work. To further support its mission, Acumen Learning published, Seeing the Big Picture – Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company, in 2012 which quickly became a #1 Wall Street Journal and a New York Times bestseller. More than 20 years later, Acumen Learning has been trusted by more than 200 organizations on six continents to help employees understand how their company makes money, and to take real steps towards improving that process.