I’ve had a lot of clients over the years that have asked me if they need Certified Sales Leadership certification. Usually, their first question was “So what is it?” Then they ask me whether or not they need to be certified in a certain type of consultant marketing or consulting skills. Now, I always tell them that unless they are willing to take the time and money to get certified, there’s no point to getting certified, because no one really cares what your certificate says about your knowledge or skill sets.

What I do recommend is that instead of asking “Do I need Certification in Consultative Sales Strategies?” ask yourself, “How much experience do you have?” I’m not saying that you should only seek out certified sales leaders and new graduates, but I am saying that if you’re already in the business and have quite a bit of sales experience under your belt, you may not want to spend more time getting certification.

But do you know what? You don’t need to get certified if you don’t want to be. A lot of times, sales management and sales consultants will spend lots of money getting certifications to make themselves more credible. However, that is not necessary. In fact, there are three reasons why you may want or need to go for it. First, because it gives you an edge; second, because it helps to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise; third, because it demonstrates your commitment to continuing your education as a sales leader and professional.

There are many reasons to get certification. Just because you graduated from a “real” school doesn’t mean that you aren’t still a student. Nor does it mean that you have to have ten years of business administration and marketing experience. In fact, these days, a lot of sales managers and college graduates have neither the hours of experience nor the education to be able to take the CMAQ and the MCQ. If you want to sell your talent in an increasingly competitive marketplace, you need to keep your options open. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to gain certification for your Canadian college courses.

The first step is to decide what you want to achieve with your sales leadership certification program. Does it have to be related to counselling sales? Is it a requirement for a Canadian college degree or does it just need to be a one-time event? Perhaps it is an entry level certification, or maybe it is an advancement toward a higher rank in the organization. Focus on the course requirements and choose according to what you feel will help you reach your goals.

When you know what it is you are looking for, the next step is to look at all of the certifications available. Do you want to go after the CMAQ or the MCQ or even the CPP or are you fine with using the more generic professional certification certifications that are offered by industry associations like IATA or The Business Council of Canada? Perhaps you prefer shorter programs because you already work or are working in another field that requires short-term training. Whatever the case, you need to find a program that will allow you to get the training that you need to make yourself more valuable in today’s marketplace.

Once you know what you want to achieve, you can look at the various CMAQ and MCQ certifications offered. You will quickly see that the requirements for these certifications have changed over the last few years. Some requirements remain the same, while others have been reduced or eliminated altogether. There is also a new MCQ digital marketing certification coming out in 9 days that will replace several older certifications.

When you are looking for your next certification, whether it be for CMAQ or MCQ or CPP, it is important to realize that there will be a lot of competition. This is true regardless of which type of CMAQ or MCQ or CPP certification that you decide on. So you must keep that in mind when you are looking over the various offerings from business development organizations and business consulting groups to find the right certification for you.