So You Wanna Be a CPSM?

Before we get started on the how to and why you should become a CPSM (Certified Professional Services Marketer), lets answer the question:

What exactly is the CPSM designation?

From SMPS: “The CPSM credential is a voluntary certification designed to elevate the professional standards in marketing and influence the future of this vital field. Furthermore, the CPSM designation serves as a mark of distinction for professional services marketers and business developers, raising their standing with their employers, peers, and the public.”

Essentially, these four letters after your name shows the A/E/C community that you are an individual that has met a rigorous standard of expertise and understand in marketing professional services and has demonstrated significant knowledge of the practice and related disciplines.

If you’ve got a bachelor’s degree and four years of A/E/C professional service marketing experience and are looking to advance your career and/or grow your current firm’s marketing and business development program the CPSM designation would absolutely benefit you!

So you haven’t clicked off this blog yet, great! That means you may be ready to give the CPSM a shot and I hope that this helps in your doing so.

Getting Started:

SMPS National grants five CAA scholarships for members to become CPSM’s. This is the first place to start! With applications in January, it is a great time to set your goals for the year and have all the study materials and the examination fee covered! If you do not receive the scholarship, don’t fret, there are many companies who would support your pursuit and there are many tangible benefits to your company.

Materials:

The CPSM is based mostly on MARKENDIUM, their six-book series that covers the domains of Marketing Research, Marketing Planning, Client & Business Development, Proposals, Promotional Activity, and Management. The books are fantastic at outlining the concepts you need to be successful in the exam, and don’t let the fact that it is six books alarm you, they are all manageable. I do also recommend reviewing A/E/C Marketing Fundamentals: Your Key to Success as it does have relevant information not covered in MARKENDIUM.

Studying:

The great part about MARKENDIUM is that it breaks the Domains up nicely and presents them in a natural order: Research before Planning, et al. To be most successful, you can start with Domain 1 (Marketing Planning) or you can start with the Domain with which you are most familiar. The best piece of advice I can give is to always view your current our past firms through the concepts you are learning. It greatly helps you retain the information if you are thinking about how it applies to things you’ve done or seen happen at work or in your career.

One of the major benefits of studying for the CPSM is that many tools and ideas within the books are those you are take back to your firm. While studying I also kept a running list of things I could/would like to initiate at my company and this was very helpful in remembering the concepts but also making tangible gains in our firm’s marketing and business development efforts.

Also, if you can purchase or receive via the CAA scholarship the practice exam questions, I would highly suggest using those to supplement your reading and note taking. They were helpful in understanding how the concepts where tested as it is not an exam you can memorize answers for. Additionally recommended is SMPS Seattle’s Domains in a Day, which is an immersive course for those looking to jumpstart their pursuit of the credential.

Taking the Exam:

It’s just an exam! Don’t psyche yourself out! If you have read and reviewed the material at length and view the questions through the eyes of your firm and work experience you should be able to achieve a passing score. Just remember, there is only one best possible answer!

Benefits:

So why should you be a CPSM? Currently, there are only 23 professionals in Seattle that have this designation, so it does set you apart from other marketing professionals in the A/E/C industry. Although its an individual certification and it will benefit you for many years to come, I truly believe that firms benefit immensely from a marketer studying and taking this exam. If you study with your firm in mind, you will be able to bring some great ideas and concepts back to advance your firm’s market position. So what are you waiting for, get started on earning your CPSM designation today!

If you have any questions about earning your CPSM designation, please feel free to reach out [email protected].