New Item Launch Presentations: Lead With the Why, Not the What

For most CPG companies, launching a new product is one of the highest-stakes moments of the year. Months of R&D, consumer testing, and internal alignment have led to this point. And then the meeting with the buyer happens. The sales team walks in and leads with: “We’re thrilled to introduce...

Best of Q4 ‘2025 Earnings: How Companies Are Shaping the Story Beyond the Call

Every quarter, we look at what companies are trying, refining, or doing differently around earnings. This past season, we focused on two tools that are relatively nascent but gaining traction: videos and shareholder letters. Both give companies more control over the narrative, but in different ways. Shareholder letters create more...

The Earnings Presentation Framework That Actually Works

Earnings season just wrapped up. If you’re already thinking about what you’d change for next quarter, this one’s worth reading. Maybe you don’t have a structured earnings presentation yet and want one before the next cycle. Or maybe you have one, but it’s not landing the way you want it...

Before You Commit to an Investor Day: 10 Questions Worth Pressure-Testing

We spend most of our time working with IR teams once the decision to host an Investor Day has already been made, helping shape the agenda, story, and materials that show up in the room. This week, we wanted to share something that sits deliberately upstream of, and alongside, that...

Costco Doesn’t Buy Products. It Buys Reasons.

Many of our CPG clients tell us the same thing: selling into Costco feels different from selling into other retailers. That’s because it is, and it’s worth understanding why. Costco doesn’t evaluate items through traditional category-first logic. It doesn’t respond particularly well to brand ambition, long feature narratives, or clever...

What Investors Actually Look for in Your Equity Story: Insights from BNY’s Global Investor Study

We recently heard Karen Bodner on the Winning IR podcast share findings from a global investor study conducted by BNY. The study surveyed 40 investors representing more than $2 trillion in assets under management. When asked what they wanted to see in equity stories, investors did not ask for innovation...

Why Most Line Reviews Fall Flat and a Structure That Actually Works

For many CPG teams, the Line Review is one of the highest-stakes meetings of the year. You have limited time with a powerful buyer. Big decisions are on the table. Distribution, space, innovation, merch / promo plan and investment levels are all in play. And yet, many Line Reviews don’t...

How Investors Are Using AI Before They Meet You

AI is already changing how analysts and investors review investor materials, and research companies. Many are using tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to analyze disclosures, frame questions, and identify gaps or inconsistencies in a company’s investor story before they even speak with IR teams. In a recent Enquire podcast episode,...

Earnings Season Prep: 3 Resources Worth Checking Out

Earnings season is underway. We pulled together three resources to support Q4 earnings preparation. Scan and pick what’s useful, from guidance framing, to ideas for building a repeatable earnings prep system, to Mark Hayes’ take on pressure-testing what belongs in your Q4 materials. How guidance placement sets the tone Drawing...

Best of 2025: Sales & Category Insights You May Find Helpful as You Plan for 2026

To kick off the year, we pulled together the articles that resonated most with Sales + Cat Man leaders in 2025. If building better selling stories is on your 2026 list, you’ll find practical frameworks here for top-to-tops, new item launches, and more. Scan it, bookmark it, steal what you...

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