CERTO | Sales Recruitment

What CERTO | Sales Recruitment does

CERTO is a specialized sales recruitment firm founded in 2019 by Robert Guerain in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company focuses exclusively on placing sales professionals — including Account Managers, Business Developers, Sales Executives, Customer Success Managers, and Sales Support roles — across industries such as IT, technology, media, finance, healthcare, energy, and engineering. Operating with no proprietary technology platform, CERTO runs a relationship-driven, service-based model supported by a candidate database of 36,000+ qualified sales professional profiles. The firm serves clients in the Netherlands and Germany, with named customers including Dell Technologies, Foxit, NRC Media, FD (Het Financieele Dagblad), and ProtinusIT.

The company generates revenue through three distinct engagement models: a contingency-based "No Cure No Pay" service where clients pay only upon successful placement; a tiered "Premium Partnership" retainer product priced at €2,000-€2,500 per month (€7,500 for 3 months, €13,500 for 6 months, €24,000 for 12 months) with dedicated weekly sourcing hours and quarterly strategic reviews; and a self-serve "Vacature Abonnement" (Vacancy Subscription) at €490/month for job postings on CERTO's website and consultant LinkedIn channels. GTM is sales-led, leveraging direct outreach, content marketing, and LinkedIn (consultants collectively maintain 10,000+ followers, generating 10,000+ impressions per post).

The firm employs 18 people and reports strong unit economics signals: 81% of placed candidates receive contract extensions, the website attracts 150,000 monthly views with 2,500+ active job-seeking sales professionals, and CERTO holds 88+ Google reviews (all 5-star). Recent product and geographic moves — including expansion into Germany, launch of the Premium Partnership and Vacature Abonnement subscription tiers, a Human Connect sub-division, and an Engineering recruitment vertical — indicate a strategy of broadening revenue mix beyond pure contingency fees while deepening specialization.

Name

CERTO | Sales Recruitment

Legal name

Certosales

Website

https://certosales.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CERTO is a Dutch sales recruitment firm founded in 2019 that connects employers with qualified sales professionals through contingency, retainer, and subscription engagement models across the Netherlands and Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. No Cure No Pay Recruitment: Contingency-based recruitment service where clients pay a fee only upon successful placement of a sales professional. This model minimizes client risk and aligns CERTO's incentives with successful outcomes.
2. Premium Partnership: Dedicated retainer-based engagement with exclusive focus on client vacancies. CERTO commits a Client Manager or Sourcer for one full day per week on client assignments, with monthly reporting and quarterly strategic reviews with Managing Partners. Includes guaranteed placement activities and dedicated attention.
3. Vacature Abonnement (Job Posting Subscription): Monthly subscription service for posting vacancies on CERTO's website and LinkedIn channels. Provides access to CERTO's network of 150,000+ monthly views and consultants' combined 10,000+ LinkedIn follower reach.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CERTO is a specialized sales recruitment firm that connects companies with qualified sales professionals for permanent placements. The company offers three engagement models: a contingency-based "No Cure No Pay" service, a dedicated "Premium Partnership" retainer model, and a monthly "Vacature Abonnement" job posting subscription, all leveraging a network of 36,000+ qualified sales profiles.

Product overview

CERTO is a sales recruitment company offering a unified service focused exclusively on connecting sales professionals with employers. The core offering is sales recruitment services, supported by three distinct engagement models: No Cure No Pay (pay-upon-success), Premium Partnership (dedicated exclusive recruitment), and Vacature Abonnement (subscription-based vacancy posting). The company maintains a network of over 36,000 qualified sales professionals and works with various companies across sectors including IT, technology, media, and finance. Founded in 2019 by Robert Guerain, CERTO provides personalized guidance throughout the recruitment process, from candidate sourcing to salary negotiations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sales Recruitment Services Core service that connects companies seeking sales talent with qualified sales professionals across all seniority levels (Account Managers, Business Developers, Sales Executives, Customer Success Managers, Sales Support). CERTO conducts cultural fit analysis, guides salary negotiations, and supports both clients and candidates through the entire hiring process.
• No Cure No Pay

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% of placed candidates receive contract extensions due to success
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cielo: Global talent acquisition partner offering RPO and executive search services, including dedicated commercial/sales hiring for enterprise clients.
• Randstad: Dutch-headquartered global staffing leader with extensive operations in the Netherlands and Germany; competes for sales roles as part of a much wider portfolio including temporary staffing and RPO.
• Michael Page: Global generalist recruiter with a large dedicated sales & marketing practice; competes head-to-head on enterprise sales placements while also serving non-sales functions.
• Robert Half: Global staffing and recruitment firm with dedicated sales & marketing practice; competes on mid-market and enterprise sales placements across Europe.
• Hays: Listed global recruitment firm with significant Benelux presence; provides sales hiring alongside broader accountancy, IT, and engineering recruitment.

Emerging players

• Bramwith Consulting: Boutique UK/EU search firm focused on procurement and commercial functions; relevant emerging peer because of its narrow-function specialization mirroring CERTO's sales-only model.

Direct peers

• Peak Sales Recruiting: North American sales-specific recruitment firm with a similarly narrow sales-only focus, providing a comparable benchmark for niche-specialist positioning and unit economics.
• SalesHQ: Sales-specialist recruitment agency operating with a dedicated sales-only mandate, competing for the same employer-client segment through contingency and retained search models.
• Sales Talent Agency: Amsterdam-based boutique agency exclusively focused on sales recruitment in the Netherlands, serving the same buyer (mid-market and enterprise employers) with a comparable direct-placement model.
• TTA International: Dutch specialist recruiter focused on commercial and sales roles, offering similar permanent placement and search services to employers across the Benelux market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/certosales
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/certosales

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CERTO | Sales Recruitment