Commercial Acumen
Read on my website / Read time: 5 minutes
"Great user experience, Shardul. But where's the business case?"
Early in my product career, I led a team building a tool our users loved.
Engagement was off the charts. NPS was solid. Feedback channels were buzzing with praise.
So when I walked into that exec meeting to pitch a plan for expansion, I felt confident. I had data. I had vision. I had user love.
The Product Force was with me.
Or, so I naively thought.
The questions came quickly:
- "Why isn't the current Monthly Active Users (MAU) good enough?"
- "What's the revenue potential?"
- "Will this lead to more sales?"
- "Which accounts are likely to renew as a result of this?"
- "How does this fit with our strategic goals this year?"
- "Does this create a new differentiator for us?"
- "Why can't this happen with the resources you already have?"
- "Why do this now?"
I froze. I didn’t have the answers.
Because I hadn’t asked those questions of myself.
All I could say was, “But our users love it!”
The room went cold. The proposal was dead before it hit the table.
That day, I learned something that changed the trajectory of my career:
Being a great product manager isn't just about building what users love. It’s about building what works—for the business.
Most PMs are taught to think like builders.
Here's what I didn’t have:
The business case.
The best PMs learn to think like business owners.
And business owners have one thing that sets them apart:
Commercial acumen.
If you're a product manager who wants more influence, more trust, and more impact—commercial acumen is what will get you there.
So, today, I'm going to talk about:
- What commercial acumen is (without the MBA jargon)
- Why it's the difference between being heard and being ignored
- How a lack of it stalls careers and products
- 5 practical ways to start building your commercial acumen today
What is Commercial Acumen?
In plain terms: it's knowing how our company makes money—and how our product helps it make more.
Commercial acumen isn't just about dollars and spreadsheets, though. It’s a mindset. A muscle. A lens through which we make decisions.
It includes:
- Financial literacy – Understanding revenue, costs, margins, and how our product affects them.
- Market sense – Knowing our competitors, customers, and trends shaping our industry.
- Strategic alignment – Connecting our roadmap to company goals, not just user metrics.
- Cross-functional fluency – Speaking in the common language of sales, marketing, finance, and operations.
We don't need to be a CFO. But we do need to think beyond features and frameworks. We need to think like a business owner.
Why Product Managers Without It Struggle
Let's be real: great ideas die in meetings every day.
Why?
Because they're not backed by business logic. Because Product Managers can't articulate impact in terms business leaders understand. Because they focus on users, but forget about revenue, costs, and go-to-market.
When PMs lack commercial acumen:
- Roadmaps misalign with strategy.
- Proposals don't pass the "why now?" test.
- PMs get cut out of higher-level conversations.
- Products get built—but don't perform.
- Careers stall at the "senior PM" level.
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. This is one of the most common blind spots in Product Management—and one of the most fixable.
5 Ways to Start Building Commercial Acumen (Today)
Here's how to level up—without going back to school:
1. Start with your company’s financials
- Read the annual report or earnings calls.
- Ask your finance team for a 101 on your unit economics.
- Learn the basics of your product's P&L and pricing.
2. Shadow your sales and marketing teams
- Sit in on customer calls.
- Understand how deals are made—and lost.
- Learn how your product is positioned to customers.
3. Know your market like your backlog
- Who are your competitors?
- Where are they gaining or losing ground?
- What macro trends are shaping buyer behavior?
4. Connect every feature to a business goal
- Is it driving revenue?
- Reducing churn?
- Increasing efficiency?
If it's not doing one of those, question whether it's worth doing.
5. Practice pitching to business stakeholders
- Translate your roadmap into a business case.
- Frame product investments in terms of ROI, not just user value.
- Role-play exec reviews with peers or mentors.
The Bottom Line
You can build the slickest product in the world—but if it doesn’t make business sense, it won’t go anywhere.
Not in the market. Not in the boardroom. Not in your career.
But when you do build that business muscle?
You become the kind of Product Manager leaders trust.
- You don’t just ship features—you drive results.
- You get invited to the "room where it happens".
- You become more than just a release manager. You become a business leader.
And that changes everything.
