How Sales Certifications are Changing the Game for Sellers

Most salespeople are set up to fail. Here's how the best ones succeed anyway. In this episode of The Emblazers: B2B Leaders Igniting Revenue, Tim Riesterer sits down with Rob Durant, CEO of US Operations at the Institute of Sales Professionals to dig into why sales still lacks the professional guardrails that define fields like law and medicine, and what the ISP is doing to fix it. Rob traces his path from Walt Disney to building a career around elevating the sales profession, and explains how the ISP's Sales Capability Framework is giving organizations a real structure for certification, ethics, and performance. If you lead a sales team or you're serious about your own development, this one's worth your full attention. Tune in to learn: Why sales needs professional standards and certification How the ISP is making a difference in the US and globally The role of ethics in modern sales and how to get certified  Episode highlights: (00:00) Introduction (01:49) Sales lacks certification despite high responsibility (02:40) Jobs versus careers and skill development expectations (06:04) Buyers expect value beyond product knowledge (07:28) The myth of seller-free buying versus guided help (09:42) The Institute of Sales Professionals aims to codify sales best practices (10:58) ISP framework, assessment, and global expansion explained (13:49) Framework built with UK oversight and standards body (16:26) Certifying individuals, companies, and ethical commitments (22:11) Training must target real skill gaps (25:44) Universities partner to certify future sales talent (29:58) Goal to make ISP a global standard   Links and Resources: Connect with Abby Kerr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbycathkerr/ Connect with Tim Riesterer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-riesterer/  Connect with Rob Durant: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robdurant     Subscribe to The Emblazers for more conversations with leading B2B thinkers. Explore the Emblaze revenue community and start a membership today.   Learn about Rob Durant As CEO of US Operations at the Institute of Sales Professionals, Rob Durant leads efforts to elevate the sales profession through certification, training, and community development. With over 20 years of experience in sales leadership, Rob has worked across various industries, from his early days at the Walt Disney Company to helping organizations improve their sales, leadership, and customer service strategies. His passion for mentoring and developing sales professionals has driven him to focus on creating structured standards for the sales industry, similar to those seen in other established professions.   Learn about Tim Riesterer As Chief Strategy Officer at Corporate Visions and Chief Research Officer at Emblaze revenue leaders’ community, Tim Riesterer is a pioneering force in developing customer conversations that break through the status quo and drive measurable business results. His innovative approach helps companies craft differentiated messages and deploy them through powerful self-service and sales-directed tools that consistently outperform traditional content strategies. A recognized expert in value creation and capture, Tim enables organizations to transform their customer conversations through proven methodologies that elevate their market position and drive sustainable growth.   Learn about Abby Kerr  As Director of Content & Community at Emblaze, Abby Kerr designs content experiences that spark conversations and strengthen the connective tissue between B2B revenue leaders. With a background spanning brand voice strategy, enterprise B2B content, and education, she brings a sharp eye for nuance and a deep understanding of how people learn and grow. A champion of insight-driven storytelling and peer-to-peer learning, Abby helps make Emblaze a place where leaders don’t just consume content—they contribute to it. She’s also a warm, un-shy introvert who reads fiction, asks big questions, and drinks her coffee black.