IMPACT Selling® Professional Certification
The Brooks Group’s IMPACT Selling Professional Certification Program is a self-study course designed to elevate your knowledge and application of the IMPACT Sales Model to a level only a few recruiting professionals will ever achieve. Earning your professional certification is similar to receiving a “Graduate Degree” in professional selling. The rewards that go along with joining the elite few who have achieved this level of expertise are many. Here are just some of the benefits you will enjoy:
- Your job will become easier because you have learned superior selling skills.
- You will separate yourself from your peers because you have gone the “extra mile” in your self-development.
- You will receive a certificate of achievement and a challenge coin from The Brooks Group designating you as an IMPACT Selling® System Professional.
- The Brooks Group will provide a letter of recommendation on your behalf attesting to your certification, in the event you apply for a position in sales – inside or outside the military.
The IMPACT Selling Professional Certification program calls for self-directed study and is computer based. There are 12 modules of information for you to master, and at the completion of your studies, you must pass a comprehensive oral exam with a minimum score of 85%. Your final assessment will be administered by a Brooks Group facilitator or a military professional who has been certified by The Brooks Group. There will not be any ‘surprise’ questions on the final exam. In fact, you will have access to the test questions as part of your study materials. Although you are ultimately responsible for your studies, you will have the opportunity to select a coach to help you stay focused on and progress toward your goal of earning your certification. We strongly recommend that it be someone with whom you have regular contact and who is willing to dedicate the time required to help you succeed. The duties of your coach will be explained in a later section of this overview.
Table of Contents
Conducting a Checkpoint Meeting
IMPACT Selling Professional Certification Contract
Registration
Before enrolling in the program, we suggest you consider your experience level, the amount of time you can dedicate to your studies and the availability of a coach. For example, we don’t recommend enrolling if you have less than a year of experience in the career field. Rookie recruiters should concentrate on learning the basics and satisfying the requirements outlined in the JQS. Furthermore, we do not recommend starting the program if you don’t feel confident you can complete the 12 modules in a timely fashion. While the program is designed to be self-paced, the longer a person takes to master each module the less likely they are to complete the entire program and pass the final exam. Lastly, ask yourself if you have a coach who is willing and able to support you from start to finish. If not, it may be better to wait until you have the right support system to give the program the attention it requires. On the other hand, if you are willing to give your studies your best effort, here are the instructions for you and your coach to register and get started.
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If you are already registered, you may click here:
Curriculum
Each time you and/or your coach logon to the Website, you will be directed to the Home page. There are six sub-links across the top of the page.
- Home: Returns you to the Home screen.
- Point Status: Allows you to see which study assignments have been completed.
- Winners’ Circle: Not applicable to the Professional Certification program.
- Team Information:
- Students will see their own email address and the email address of the coach.
- Coaches will see their own email address and the email address of the student along with usernames, passwords and logon history.
- Help: Contains the email address to which you should report technical issues you may experience with the website.
- Log out: Self-explanatory.
Students: Along the left side of the Home page is a box labeled Sessions. Inside that box are 13 sub-links. The first 12 represent the 12 study modules, and the 13th session contains the final exam. Students will only have access to the final exam questions after they have successfully completed the first 12 modules. Coaches: Along the left side of the Home page are two boxes. In the box labeled Sessions there are 13 sub-links. The first 12 represent the 12 study modules, and the 13th session contains the final exam. Coaches will be able to access the information in all 13 Sessions at any time. The second box is only visible to coaches, and has one sub-link called Coach’s Dashboard. The Coach’s Dashboard provides the coach with several tools to help administer the program:
- Team Setup: Not applicable
- Tele-Coaching: Send the student an appointment notification to conduct a module checkpoint meeting. You may insert the date, time, phone number and PIN (if applicable). Note that module checkpoint meetings can be conducted either face-to-face or over the phone.
- Send Message: Not applicable – regular email will suffice.
- Quiz Answers: Contains the correct answers to each of the questions for that module.
- Edit Points: Allows the coach to remove credit for an assignment if it hasn’t been completed in a satisfactory manner.
- Print Answers: Allows the coach to see and print (if desired) the student’s homework answers.
In the large box at the center of the Home page are several sub-links. These are for assignments associated with each study module.
- Study Materials: Contains all the materials the student must master. These materials could include audio recordings, slides and/or text.
- Checkpoint Questions: Contains questions related to the study materials, many of which will appear on the final exam. Students will answer these questions online.
- Checkpoint Meeting: Contains time, date and telephone information for conducting the Checkpoint Meeting. Coaches will see a box at the bottom of the page that says “Enable next session.” If the student passes the checkpoint, the coach should check this box so that the student can begin work on the next module. If the student does not perform to a satisfactory level at the Checkpoint Meeting, do not check the box. There is also a button that says “Submit Attendance.” Once again, only use this button if the student passes the checkpoint. If a Checkpoint Meeting has to be rescheduled, simply update the invitation information in Tele-Coaching link located on the Coach’s Dashboard and change the session dates under Admin, Classes, Edit.
Conducting a Checkpoint Meeting
As a coach, you will hold Checkpoint Meetings with students after they complete each module of the program. Each Checkpoint Meeting is a “mini-assessment” and serves the following purposes:
- Prepares the students for the Final Exam by requiring them to perform in a one-on-one environment.
- Gives the students valuable experience in communicating the knowledge and skills they have learned.
- Offers the students the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on their performance.
- Provides opportunities to re-focus students who are not progressing in their studies.
Checkpoint Meetings can last anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, depending upon the student’s needs and level of preparation. Normally you will find the better the preparation, the shorter the meeting. We encourage students and coaches to set dates and times for Checkpoint Meetings before training starts. By no means do these dates have to be set in stone; however, scheduling the entire program in advance helps foster the “healthy tension” that motivates students to master their lessons in a timely fashion. These dates may be set up in the Coaching Program under Admin, Classes, Edit. Because of time and travel restraints, it may not be practical to conduct Checkpoint Meetings face-to-face. Using the telephone is fine, especially when the coach has access to a computer during the meeting so as to review the answers submitted online by the student. Checkpoint Meetings should not be too formal. When students feel relaxed, they may be more willing to openly discuss their learning efforts. However, don’t let the students lose their sense of the system’s importance. Here are the steps to conducting a successful Checkpoint Meeting:
- Ask the checkpoint questions. (You don’t have to ask all of them if you find the student has answered several questions thoughtfully and without hesitation.)
- Allow the student time to answer, and listen carefully to their response. (See chart below with the Indicators of Preparation and Evaluation of Performance.)
- If the response to a question is satisfactory, move to the next question. It the response is not satisfactory, take time to go over the question and the student’s response.
- Determine whether or not you think the student has mastered the current study module or if he/she needs more practice. If more practice is required, schedule the “re-take” and advise the student which portions of the checkpoint require additional work. If you feel the student’s performance was satisfactory, award completion credit for the checkpoint in the system by checking the appropriate boxes and make plans for the next Checkpoint Meeting.
Indicators of Preparation
| Use of the Pause | Answers | Participation | Eye Contact | Spontaneity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instead of “hum, you know?, aah, o.k.?,” the student uses silence to prepare to answer. | Presents concise, thoughtful answers with a minimum of rambling or unnecessary elaboration or clarification. | Is ready when called upon to answer the question and is proactive in sharing constructive thoughts with you. | If face-to-face, maintains good eye contact and looks at you when answering questions. | Responds readily to additional clarification questions you may ask. |
Checkpoint Evaluation
| Satisfactory | Needs Improvement |
|---|---|
| Meets or exceeds the Indicators of Preparation. Move to the next module. | Study materials have not been mastered. Specify areas that need improvement and schedule a repeat of the module checkpoint for those questions of which the student’s knowledge level was not satisfactory. |
Final Assessment
Once the student has successfully mastered all 12 study modules, he/she may request to take the final, oral assessment. The only people authorized to administer the exam are coaches from The Brooks Group or those military members who have previously earned their IMPACT Selling® Professional Certification. The oral assessments are expected to be conducted face-to-face and take about two hours to complete. However, if time and travel restrictions would cause undue delay for the student to complete the process, the exam may be administered using teleconferencing software such as Skype. In all cases, the test administrator must be able to see the student because the Indicators of Preparation described earlier are also considered when scoring the final exam. Instructions for scoring the certification assessment are explained on the first page of the Final Exam. The Final Exam will be accessible once the student has completed all 12 checkpoints.
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Assistance
If, on any occasion, you have questions about the curriculum or experience technical issues with the Website, contact The Brooks Group immediately. Our team of dedicated professionals will respond quickly to point you in the right direction or fix the problem. Good luck with your studies/coaching, and we look forward to presenting you with your well-earned rewards and recognition.
IMPACT Selling Professional Certification Contract
Click on the link below to download your IMPACT Selling Professional Certification Contract. The contract should be signed by both the student and the student’s coach and each person should keep a copy. The contract contains the Checkpoint Schedule so that both parties can track start dates and completion dates of each Checkpoint. Also included is a list of helpful study resources.