The standard
Certification is assessed on a recorded call. Not everyone passes.
Five competencies, each with a weight, and one five-level scale. Every role is scored the same way. The whole standard is published here, so a team can read what it will be measured on before anyone is assessed.
What a MAVEN certificate says
What it says
On a recorded call, this named person scored high enough for their role against the five competencies below. It records what they did, on a date, in front of an assessor.
What it does not say
It does not say they will hit target, that your product will sell, or that there are buyers in your market. If there is nobody to sell to, a certified seller will still have no deals.
It expires
Twelve months from the date of assessment. That is not a way to charge you again: a test somebody passed a year ago says little about how they sell today, so somebody has to keep it up to date after that.
Not everyone passes
If nobody ever fails, the standard is not real. The assessment gives each person a level, and that level can come out below the one their role needs.
Five competencies, weighted
Coachability is worth only 10% of the score, but it is the best guide to how someone will actually sell.
- 30%Communication. Speaks clearly and at a steady pace. Confident without being arrogant, few filler words, and sounds natural rather than read out.
- 25%Strategic thinking. Understood the scenario they were given, found the real problem, took logical steps, and thought about the other people involved in the deal.
- 25%Role competency. Uses the language of the role naturally, names real sales methods, and understands this kind of selling.
- 10%Coachability. Says what they do not know, takes a correction during the same call, and uses it on the next one.
- 10%Presentation. Professional, organised, on time.
The scale
Every role is scored on the same scale, so two people can be compared fairly.
- 1Does not meetMajor red flags
- 2Below requirementSignificant gaps
- 3Meets the minimumWould need coaching
- 4Clearly meetsWould be solid
- 5Far exceedsTop 10% in this role
The same five levels are used from the first video assessment through to quarterly reviews, so a score in week one and a score in month nine mean the same thing. For hiring, the weighted score has to reach 3.80. Below that, the candidate is declined.
The twelve-month cycle
If nobody is ever tested again, the certificate stops meaning anything.
Certification runs out after twelve months. Sellers leave, and new people join without it. Unless somebody keeps testing, the standard slips a little at a time, and the results are usually the first place it shows.
The Standing Engagement
Certification is valid twelve months. When a programme ends, someone still has to recertify the people who hold it and certify the people who join later. That is what this covers.
- Every certified seller recertified once a year, on a recorded call, against the same published standard
- New hires certified as they arrive, so the standard holds as the team grows
- The written process reviewed every quarter against how your buyers are actually buying
- You talk to the strategist who wrote your standard, not an account manager
Fee: On application. It is optional. Nothing in a programme depends on it.
The obvious objection
The same person writes the standard, delivers the training and marks the assessment. That is a conflict of interest, and it belongs on this page rather than in the small print.
Three things keep it in check. The assessment is a recorded call, so you can watch it and make up your own mind. The scale and the weights are published here rather than kept private. And during the programme, a manager on your side is trained to score against the same guide, which is part of what the coaching sessions are for.
The whole standard is on this page. If you want the working papers behind it, the Applied Method sets out the competency framework and the scoring guide, with their sources credited.
Request the client packThe next step
Thirty minutes with the person who would do the work.
No slides and no script. You get Abdullah Saleh, the fees you have already read, and a straight answer about which of the three fits. Sometimes the answer is none of them yet.