Enterprise Sales Certification

The Field Manual for Deal Control

Become a Certified Alpha Selling Professional

Completed by more than 100 account executives in the past 18 months, plus multiple CEOs and sales teams across some of the most competitive software companies in the world.

Alpha Selling is a proven, modern sales methodology built for the new AI-driven market. Founded by Brandon Clauser, former number one AE at Salesforce, Asana, Workday, and SmartZip Analytics and author of Alpha Selling: The Field Manual for Deal Control, it was designed for the post-2023 world where every deal requires CFO approval, every dollar gets scrutinized, and identifying a gap and pitching into it no longer closes seven and eight figure deals.

This certification equips sales professionals with the exact frameworks, language, and deal strategies used to close $52 million in SaaS, including a $13.75M deal closed during one of the most challenging selling environments in recent history.

To earn the designation, candidates complete a structured 12-module curriculum and pass a certification assessment with a score of 90% or higher, earning the official Alpha Selling Certified Professional credential for display on their LinkedIn profile and resume.

Program learning objectives

Upon successful completion, candidates will be able to:

  • Identify and rank business value drivers by CFO persuasiveness for any account or industry.
  • Conduct discovery conversations that produce customer-confirmed dollar figures, not general pain points.
  • Apply a structured stakeholder mapping framework to navigate complex buying environments.
  • Construct a finance-ready business case that works in the room the sales professional is not in.
  • Navigate negotiations, procurement, and closing using documented deal-control frameworks without discounting.
  • Build and execute a structured territory plan that produces consistent pipeline and predictable revenue.

Program details

Estimated time per module: 45 to 60 minutes

Total program completion: approximately 10 to 12 hours

Certification assessment: 60 minutes

Total investment: approximately 11 to 13 hours

The 12-module curriculum

Course outline

01The Alpha Selling Operating System

Estimated completion: 60 minutes

Establishes deal control as a complete operating system that governs every stage of the sales cycle, from the first prospecting touch to the signed contract. Candidates assess their current approach against the framework and identify the specific gaps costing them deals in today’s CFO-driven market.

02Quantified Business Value

Estimated completion: 60 minutes

How to quantify the true business value of solving a customer’s problem in dollar terms a CFO will approve. Candidates convert vague pain statements into quantified business cases across multiple industries using the BVPR Filter.

03The Business Value Power Rankings

Estimated completion: 55 minutes

A detailed examination of the six business value drivers that determine whether a deal gets CFO approval or stalls, ranked in order of persuasiveness. Candidates learn to read an account and identify the correct primary driver before the first discovery question.

04Account Research and Stakeholder Mapping

Estimated completion: 60 minutes

The Fortress Map stakeholder system and the four stakeholder types: Champion, Economic Buyer, Internal Advocate, and Decision Influencer. Candidates complete a full Fortress Map on a real or simulated account as a practical assessment.

05Alpha Prospecting

Estimated completion: 50 minutes

The complete top-of-funnel system for a market where buyers are flooded with generic outreach: account tiering, daily pipeline habits, and LinkedIn outbound that earns replies from senior buyers. Candidates build business-value-aligned prospecting messages for a defined account list.

06The Opening Move and Power Ask

Estimated completion: 55 minutes

How to establish deal control in the first ten minutes of every engagement, secure economic-buyer access early without resistance, and test champion strength before the next meeting is booked. Assessed through recorded or written role-play.

07Alpha Discovery

Estimated completion: 60 minutes

The complete discovery sequence that consistently produces a customer-confirmed dollar figure by the end of the first meeting, plus the most common discovery failure patterns. Candidates complete a full mock discovery evaluated on producing a confirmed figure and identifying the correct primary driver.

08The Alpha Demo

Estimated completion: 50 minutes

How to deliver a demonstration that strengthens the business case instead of introducing doubt, using the Stop and Confirm technique to anchor every capability to a confirmed dollar figure. Candidates map a demo flow to a completed discovery summary.

09Selling the Invisible CFO

Estimated completion: 60 minutes

How to build a finance-ready business case strong enough to win the decision in the room you are not in, using the Heard-Solve-Value-Price sequence. Includes a business-case construction exercise from a simulated discovery summary.

10Negotiations and Deal Control Under Pressure

Estimated completion: 55 minutes

How to hold deal control and close at full value through competitive pressure, procurement, discount requests, and late-stage re-engagement. Candidates learn the exact language that holds control when a buyer goes quiet, introduces a competitor, or renegotiates at signature.

11The Signature Plan and Close

Estimated completion: 50 minutes

The Signature Plan, a documented step-by-step roadmap from current stage to executed contract that doubles as a champion-alignment tool. Candidates build a complete Signature Plan for a simulated deal, surfacing hidden procurement, legal, and security obstacles before they cause delays.

12Running Your Territory Like a Business

Estimated completion: 60 minutes

Installing Alpha Selling as a permanent operating methodology across a territory, including the Alpha Fast Start 13-step framework, account tiering, deal autopsies, and weekly operating rhythms. Candidates build a structured 90-day execution plan ready to implement immediately.

Certification assessment

After all 12 modules, candidates complete the official Alpha Selling Certification Assessment: multiple choice, scenario-based, and applied-judgment questions drawn directly from the curriculum. Candidates are tested on identifying the correct business value driver for an account, applying the stakeholder framework to complex deals, constructing a finance-ready business case from a discovery summary, and demonstrating deal-control decision-making across a full simulated sales cycle.

The assessment evaluates genuine methodology comprehension and practical application, not rote memorization.

Passing score: 90% or higher. Candidates who score below 90% may retake after a 7-day review period. There is no limit on retakes, and detailed score reporting is provided after each attempt.

The credential

Alpha Selling Certified Professional

Candidates who pass with 90% or higher receive the official Alpha Selling Certified Professional designation, including a digital certificate suitable for download and printing and an official LinkedIn credential badge for display under Licenses and Certifications.

The designation signals to employers and professional peers that the holder has been trained in and formally assessed on a proven sales methodology built for the modern AI-driven market.

Credentials are valid for two years from issuance. Certified professionals maintain their designation through annual continuing-education modules or by retaking the full assessment at the end of the two-year cycle.

Corporate and team enrollment

Alpha Selling Certification is available for corporate team enrollment for organizations training and certifying multiple sales professionals at once. Organizations enrolling five or more candidates qualify for volume pricing and dedicated onboarding support.

Contact Brandon for corporate pricing, team enrollment details, and information on submitting the Alpha Selling Certification Program for inclusion in your organization’s approved learning and development vendor list.

Apply or enroll: email Brandon

[email protected]

For sales professionals, account executives, and revenue leaders at any company selling complex solutions in a competitive market. The curriculum is based on real deal experience closing $52 million in SaaS across Salesforce, Asana, Workday, and SmartZip Analytics.