Last wee, I spent six hours going through the Monday CRM Sales Certification Program, even though I’ve been building complex solutions on the platform for over five years. Several colleagues asked the obvious question: “Why bother?”
It’s a fair point. The certification covered basics I’d mastered long ago, and my client implementations have gone far beyond what the training addresses. I’ve built intricate multi-board CRM systems that the certification program doesn’t even touch.
So why did I do it?
In client services, I’ve learned that expertise and credibility are two different currencies. And both matter.
The expertise paradox
I’ve been implementing Monday.com solutions since 2019. I’ve built everything from sophisticated sales pipelines to complex marketing campaign trackers to custom operations dashboards. I’ve integrated it with dozens of other platforms and written custom automations that Monday.com‘s own training doesn’t cover.
But here’s what I’ve noticed: When meeting new clients, I’d spend the first 30 minutes of every call establishing my expertise. I’d reference past implementations, detail technical solutions, and essentially “prove” I knew what I was talking about.
With certification? That conversation changed immediately.
The psychology of certification
The certification itself didn’t teach me anything revolutionary. But it provided something valuable for my clients: immediate trust.
Before certification, conversations started with:
“So how long have you worked with Monday.com? What kinds of solutions have you built?”
After certification:
“I saw you’re certified. Great. Let’s talk about our specific challenges…”
That shift—from justifying expertise to applying it—is worth far more than the six hours I spent on the certification process.
Beyond the badge: The real benefits
While trust was my primary motivation, I discovered three unexpected benefits from certification:
- Filling knowledge gaps – Even as an experienced user, I discovered small features I’d overlooked. Sometimes we get so comfortable with our preferred workflows that we miss newer additions.
- Direct platform connections – Certification opened doors to Monday.com‘s partner team and resources that weren’t previously accessible.
- Framework validation – The certification confirmed that my implementation approach aligned with Monday.com‘s recommended practices, giving me added confidence in client recommendations.
The real-world difference
Recently, I was competing for a project against another consultant. On paper, our skills were comparable. The client later told me that my certification was the tiebreaker—it signaled that I was committed to the platform and had validated expertise.
That single project paid for the certification investment many times over.
Expert implementation goes beyond certification
Of course, certification alone doesn’t make someone an expert. Some of my most complex Monday.com builds include:
- A complex collection of sales, project and asset tracking boards with automatic currency conversions and seamless high level reporting for a SaaS company.
- A complete system for community engagement, volunteer management and project delivery for a Non Profit working with schools and community groups – with high level reporting by regions and programs.
- An “Infinite” Low Level / High Level Board system that overcomes all the normal Monday limitations of (a) not being able to keep connected Items in sync and (b) not being able to create a complete high level picture of your organisation because of the pricing-plan based limits of how many boards you can connect to one Connect Boards Column or Dashboard.
None of these advanced implementations were covered in the certification process. The certification provides a foundation, but real expertise comes from hands-on problem-solving.
Get certified or just build?
I believe in a both/and approach rather than either/or. Certification provides external validation while practical experience builds true capability.
Here’s my advice: If you’re working internally at a company, focus on practical expertise first. But if you’re consulting or providing services to others, get the certification. The credibility shortcut is invaluable.
For those considering Monday.com implementation, I’m happy to chat about whether certification makes sense for your specific situation. Sometimes the badge matters, sometimes the expertise is enough—knowing the difference is part of strategic professional development.
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