Certified CSM Professional (CCSMP)
The CCSMP syllabus
Ten modules across the full Customer Success engagement, built on the Practical CSM Framework. Every module, every module test, and both parts of the final exam are drawn from this syllabus.
The download below is the complete written syllabus for Levels 1 to 4.
The syllabus is overseen by our independent Certification Oversight Committee, who keep it current with the needs of the profession. Here is what it covers.
Level 1
Module 1: Customer Success Fundamentals
What Customer Success is and why it matters, the CSM role, renewals, retention and churn, land-and-expand, Customer Lifetime Value, and the 14 Tenets of Customer Success.
Level 1
Module 2: Business Fundamentals
Why businesses exist and create value, segmentation and value propositions, business capabilities, and the Business Motivation Model (BMM).
Level 2
Module 3: Preparation (Phase 1)
Defining the engagement, researching customer, solution and stakeholder information, and building an engagement strategy and roadmap.
Level 2
Module 4: Commitment (Phase 2)
The commitment process, the initial customer meeting, consultative questioning, the RACI matrix, stakeholder management, and the Customer Success Proposal.
Level 2
Module 5: Onboarding (Phase 3)
Onboarding models (generic, customized, bespoke), onboarding as a professional service, and managing the onboarding process.
Level 3
Module 6: Adoption Planning (Phase 4)
What adoption is and how it works, end-user change management, analyzing users’ Knowledge, Skills and Attitude (KSA), the adoption requirements workshop, and building the adoption plan with its barriers and risks.
Level 3
Module 7: Adoption Implementation (Phase 5)
Project management for adoption (work breakdown, critical path method), managing people and tasks, measurement and reporting, and handling problems.
Level 3
Module 8: Value Realization (Phase 6)
Helping customers realize value, selecting KPIs, root cause analysis (the 5 Whys), maximizing renewals, upsell and cross-sell, and reporting financial returns.
Level 3
Module 9: Engagement Evaluation (Phase 7)
Reviewing CSM activity, the Executive Business Review (EBR), evaluating value for customer, supplier and CSM, and the Customer Success Roadmap.
Level 3
Module 10: Putting It All Together
The Customer Success knowledgebase, getting the most from frameworks, tools and templates, who benefits from Customer Success, the partnering approach (shared risks, shared rewards), and the seven most common CSM traps and pitfalls.
Level 4
Level 4: The two-part final exam
No new modules here. Level 4 is where you prove it. Exam A tests your knowledge across all ten modules (60 minutes, 50 questions, 75% to pass). Exam B tests real-world application through scenario questions (40 minutes, 8 questions, 62% to pass). Pass both to become a Level 4 Certified CSM Professional.
Level 5
Level 5: CPD all-access
Most programs push everyone down the same road: you finished the certification, so now you must do leadership training. We have spoken to enough Customer Success Managers and leaders to know it is not that simple. Some go deeper into practice, some into leadership, some into a specialty. That is why Level 5 is CPD all-access: a growing library you draw from based on where you actually want to go, and the way you keep your certification current year after year. It comes included with CCSMP Full.
Example paths include Scaling Customer Success, CS Leadership Skills, CSM Power Skills, Driving Tech Startup Growth Through CS, and the CX Field Manual, part of a library of 1000+ CPD items and 300+ hours of learning.