Commercial Strategy Courses Spring 2026
> Elementary Business & Corporate Strategy
> Elementary Marketing Strategy
> Elementary Negotiation Strategy
> Elementary Finance (for Non-Finance Managers)
> Applied Corporate Strategy I - International Business Strategy.
> Applied Corporate Strategy II - M&As and Strategic Alliances.
> Applied Marketing Strategy I - Strategic Branding and Positioning.
> Applied Marketing Strategy II - International Marketing Strategy.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Elementary Business & Corporate Strategy Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
This course reveals the ‘nuts and bolts’ of Business & Corporate Strategy.
It trains how to develop a value-adding strategy and articulate it to shareholders or finance providers.
Business & Corporate Strategy is all about adapting business plans to the external commercial environment.
Our course follows a ‘four focus’ approach:
Focus 1 – How to analyse a company’s external commercial environment.
What is the power dynamic of the company’s industry? How could the company reduce its exposure to intense price competition and increase its profits?
How does a company’s product/service markets divide among customers? Can potentially profitable under-served market segments be identified?
Which is the best way to analyse future events in the outside world? Which are opportunities and which are threats?
Focus 2 – How to find bundles of small sustainable strategic competitive advantages in a company.
Focus 3 – How to make long-term significant strategic decisions, such as growth or retrenchment strategies.
How to strategically grow a company using horizontal integration, such as acquiring other companies.
When to use vertical integration, such as identifying which components produced by the company add nothing to the value chain and whether it is best to outsource their production.
Focus 4 – Identifying strategic weaknesses of current players in a particular market segment and how to develop a game-changing strategy against them – and, hopefully, win!
Too many of the available strategy texts focus on how some US ‘mega-corp’ made its billions, which is motivating and inspiring, but this is of little use to a senior manager in the UK wanting to formulate a Business & Corporate Strategy for their medium-sized law firm or small chain of pharmacies.
This course is perfect for Executives and Entrepreneurs of SMEs as well as high-octane start-ups.
**We highly recommend taking this course before taking our other strategy or marketing courses. Strategy is sometimes difficult to grasp because it is not a step-by-step exercise. The teaching method underpinning this course helps to overcome the non-linear nature of strategy creation**
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Elementary Marketing Strategy Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
Marketing Strategy is about attempting the impossible – trying to control the seemingly uncontrollable behaviour of an organisation’s customers.
This course shows participants how to estimate the size of a particular market, how it splits up into segments against various fundamental bases (such as user demographics or psychographics), which market segment(s) to choose and how to position your company’s offerings and culture to really profit from such choices.
The course also deals with offensive and defensive marketing strategies; coaching participants how to circumvent ‘head-on’ conflict with competitors.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Elementary Negotiation Strategy Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
Negotiating a major contract, alliance or acquisition can be a very daunting experience for any company. Entering into negotiations ready to deploy an arsenal of hard bargaining tactics (as though buying a second-hand car) can stop real gains and benefits being achieved.
This course trains executives what research is needed before making an opening offer. It also sets out how to achieve a better bargain than either party probably envisioned from the outset.
The course also coaches negotiators how to ‘signal’ effectively and how to get maximum benefit from trade-offs.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Elementary Finance for Non-Finance Managers Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
This course sets out the basics of estimating the financial return on commercial projects which take more than a year to complete.
The course coaches non-finance managers or consultants in how and when to calculate and use internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV) and a companies weighted average cost of capital (WACC).
The relationship between earnings, profit and cashflow is examined as well as the topic of risk.
The course then considers the decision-making process of assessing how to decide on the most effective company’s capital structure as well as how to make borrowing decisions and set a company’s dividend policy.
As this is an ‘elementary’ course there is no complex mathematics.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Applied Corporate Strategy I - International Business Strategy Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
Despite current world events, international trade is still one of the growth routes of a Business & Corporate Strategy.
Our course will reveal the value-adding rationale behind international business, whether selling to overseas markets or buying from them to gain a stream of competitive advantages.
The course will demonstrate how to identify the risks involved in trading internationally. It will also show how to analyse the business culture of international environments.
Our course then examines international financial arrangements, including foreign payments and exchange risk management.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Applied Corporate Strategy II - M&A and Strategic Alliances Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
Some companies need to be a particular size to make normal financial returns. Other companies need to acquire components or expertise to provide cutting-edge products. This is where mergers and acquisitions or other forms of strategic partnership are needed.
This course reveals the methods of valuation as well as how to calculate potential synergies.
This course will coach participants how to assess whether an M&A is likely to reap its expected benefits or fail completely.
The course develops an analysis to see whether an alternative form of partnership instead of an M&A would be more effective, such as a strategic alliance, joint venture or licensing.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Applied Marketing Strategy I - Strategic Branding and Positioning Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
This course shows how brands create value for customers as well as a sustainable competitive advantage for a company.
The course sets out the approaches to build a brand and provides an understanding of brand equity.
Our course introduces a framework to connect brand identity with market positioning as well as how to effectively launch or extend a brand.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Applied Marketing Strategy II - International Marketing Strategy Course
£750 for 10 x 1-hour sessions over a 1-2-1 video call
This course focuses on developing an International Marketing Strategy, particularly how to analyse which international market is ripe for entering.
The course demonstrates how to gauge market demand and how international emerging markets behave from area to area.
Understanding the impact of cultural dynamics, analysing the regional external commercial environment, and minimising financial/reputational risk are all covered.
To book: Just email mawstrategy@outlook.com
Course Tutor
Michael Williams MBA
Michael Williams MBA has worked for many years on finance, marketing and business strategy projects for a wide range of SMEs and high-octane start-ups.
Michael is now devoting the majority of his time to education in both pursuing his own doctoral degree studies and providing these commercial strategy training courses.
Check out Michael's LinkedIn page
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-williams-mba-92b65416/
To contact Michael: mawstrategy@outlook.com or telephpone 07387 880620
Bespoke Training/Coaching
For Companies we provide:
- A bespoke training and coaching service in Business & Corporate Strategy, Marketing Strategy and Negotiation Strategy, aligned to your company’s current projects
- Help and support for your company’s ‘Strategy Day’ or ‘Strategy Weekend’, so your senior team can focus on the really important issues which will shape future success.
To more information: mawstrategy@outlook.com
And there's more...
Courses in preparation to be released soon:
> Applied Marketing Strategy III - Behavioural Science in Marketing.
> Advanced Business & Corporate Strategy I - The Economics of Commercial Strategy.
> Advanced Business & Corporate Strategy II - Competitive Intelligence
> Advanced Business & Corporate Strategy III - Game Theory in Business Strategy.
> Advanced Business & Corporate Strategy IV - Solving Complex Business Problems using TRIZ.
Also, look out for YouTubes on Business Research: its philosophies, methodologies, statistical analysis and ethnographical studies.
www.youtube.com/@mawstrategy-Research