Cisco has the CCNA. AWS has the Cloud Practitioner. But there's nothing for the people actually selling in the IT channel — until now.
MarginArc Academy is a 16-module certification program built for IT channel sales professionals. From ecosystem fundamentals and vendor relationships through deal strategy and pricing mastery. A verifiable credential that proves your team knows the channel.
Every OEM invests millions in certifying people on their products — but nobody certifies the people actually selling them.
There's no structured program that teaches a VAR salesperson how the channel works, who the players are, how to navigate vendor relationships, how deals get scoped and built, or how to price them. You're expected to figure it out on the job.
MarginArc Academy is that program. From the basics — what a VAR is, how distribution works, the OEM ecosystem, your role as a seller — through vendor leverage, solution selling, competitive strategy, deal economics, and pricing decisions. Every scenario uses real IT channel context: OEMs like Cisco, Palo Alto, Dell, and HPE. Competitors like CDW, SHI, Insight, and WWT. Deal types like hardware refreshes, competitive displacements, and ELA renewals.
This is the CCNA for the business side of the channel.
No tiers to choose between. No prerequisites to track. One program that takes you from channel fundamentals to advanced deal strategy.
Brand new to the VAR space? The first four modules start from scratch — the ecosystem, the players, your role, and how to work with vendors. You'll be selling confidently within weeks, not months.
You know how to sell. This fills the gaps — vendor leverage, solution scoping, pricing math, competitive frameworks, and deal review skills that turn good sellers into great ones.
Roll this out to your team. One program, one standard. Accelerate new hire ramp, reduce rep-to-rep inconsistency, and build institutional discipline across selling and pricing.
Each module builds on the last. Start with how the IT channel works, learn to navigate the ecosystem and build deals, then master the pricing strategy that protects your margin.
What a VAR is, how the supply chain works, how money flows from OEM to disti to partner to customer. The foundation everything else builds on.
OEM business models (Cisco, Dell, HPE, Palo Alto, Fortinet), what distribution actually does, and how competitors like CDW, SHI, Insight, and WWT go to market differently.
What an AM owns vs. an SE. How a deal moves from lead to PO. The handoffs between quoting, scoping, procurement, and fulfillment. RFP and bid response basics.
How partner programs work day-to-day. Partner tiers and what they unlock. Joint business planning, QBRs, engaging your OEM team, MDF strategy, and co-sell motions.
Six layers of your cost basis, how to read a distribution quote, and the pricing window between cost floor and market ceiling.
OEM-specific deal reg programs, special bid pricing, when to stack discounts, and how to use registration strategically rather than reactively.
Blended margin across product mix, financial impact at scale, and building the intuition to price without a spreadsheet.
Interactive: Margin Math TrainerRebates, MDF, backend incentives, pricing professional services, and the power of recurring managed services revenue.
Discovery and scoping, building a BoM from customer requirements, attaching services, and positioning a multi-vendor solution vs. a single-SKU commodity order.
Sealed-bid frameworks, three deal types, renewal vs net-new pricing, and when to walk away. Pricing strategy for sole-source, competitive, and incumbent defense scenarios.
Interactive: Competitive Pricing SimulatorThe five places margin disappears: unregistered deals, cost miscalculation, unnecessary discounting, scope creep, and renewal neglect.
Interactive: Margin Leak DetectiveThe 7-Question Framework for every deal. Three worked examples. Negotiation tactics, quote presentation strategy, and TCO reframing.
Interactive: Deal Pricing WorkshopThe margin-focused deal review format. Three review dysfunctions and how to fix them. Managing disagreement. Building pricing discipline across the org.
Interactive: Deal Review Role-PlayCapEx vs. OpEx economics, cloud marketplace selling (AWS, Azure, GCP), building an MSP practice, pricing hybrid deals, and navigating consumption-based models.
58 scenario-based questions covering all modules. Deal briefs, pricing decisions, ecosystem knowledge, margin calculations, and multi-vendor strategy. 80% to pass.
Verifiable credential upon passingSequential modules that build on each other. Real frameworks, not generic advice. Every lesson connects to the next.
Margin math trainer, competitive pricing simulator, margin leak detective, deal pricing workshop, and deal review role-play. Real decisions with real tradeoffs.
Each CPSP certificate has a unique verification URL and credential ID. LinkedIn-shareable with OpenBadge metadata. Your credential means something because the exam isn't trivial.
Not applicable to SaaS. Not applicable to retail. Every scenario, every example, every assessment question uses real IT channel context: OEMs, distributors, deal reg, competitive bids.
CPSP launches May 2026 at $99 per person. Sign up now and we'll send you a coupon to enroll completely free — all 16 modules, all simulations, the exam, and the verifiable credential. No credit card required.
Enter your email and we'll reserve your spot. When the CPSP goes live, you'll get a coupon code for free access.
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