"Certified Professional Services Marketer"

(CPSM) Domains of Practice

CPSM is a certification designated by the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). The Society’s certification program seeks to enhance the professional standing of professional services marketers with their employers, their peers, and the public.

The Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM) is recognized as an individual who has met a rigorous standard of experience and expertise in marketing professional services and who agrees to adhere to the ethics and responsibilities of the profession as outlined in the CPSM Code of Ethics.  

In order to receive the designation of a CPSM, a candidate must pass an examination which assesses knowledge in each of the six practice domains of A/E/C marketing:

1. Marketing Research

• Data-gathering techniques

• Sources of social, cultural, economic, federal, state, and local regulatory information

• Newspapers, magazines, and other publications related to target markets

• Research design

• Qualitative and quantitative data-analysis techniques

• Methods for forecasting trends

2. Marketing Plan

• SWOT of firm and personnel

• Elements of Strategic Plans

• Marketing Plans

• Business Plans

• Techniques for Facilitating the Planning Process

• Cost/Benefit of Various Marketing Techniques

• Basic Management Principles

• Internal Marketing Audit Elements

• Methodologies for Budget Development

• Basic Accounting Principles

• Cost Tracking and Control Procedures

3. Client and Business Development

• Strategic Planning Techniques

• Interpreting and Applying Market Research
  Results to Client and Business Development

• Prospect Information Sources

• Techniques Used to Screen and Classify Prospects

• Key Elements of Contact Management Programs and Databases

• Methods for Initiating Client Research Calls and Maintaining Contact

• Fostering/Building Client Relations

• Effective Frequency of Client Contact

• Methods for Conducting Client Perception Studies

4. SOQs/ Proposals

• RFQ/RFP Criteria and Decision/ Selection Process

• Free Pricing/ Budgeting

• Federal, State, and Local Laws and Regulations

• Federal, State and Local Forms and Guidelines

• Architectural and Engineering Terminology

• Scheduling and Tracking Systems for Individual Proposal Elements
  and Status

• Graphic Design and Production

• Resources and Products for SOQ/ Proposal Production – including
    printing and binding

• Desktop Publishing Software

• Managing Activities of Specialized Consultants

• Presentation Software

• Visual Aids for Use in Presentations

• Post-Presentation or Post-Contract Award Debriefing Procedures

 5. Promotional Activity

6. Information, Resource and Organizational Management