Certainty Check: test your top sales candidate before the offer
You've found your person. Everyone likes them, the offer's drafted... and there's still a small voice asking if you're sure. We'll put your top candidate to the test and give you a straight answer before you sign. If it doesn't help, you don't pay.
4 weeks
How long Canadian managers took, on average, to realize they'd made a hiring mistake.
Made a hiring mistake 24%
Blamed not properly assessing skills 49%
Robert Half Canada, survey of 1,500+ hiring managers, April 2025.
The Certainty Check is a pre-offer assessment of one sales candidate for Ontario companies, led by Ashley Wesley (MA, CHRL, CIM) from Guelph, Ontario, working across the province.
Sound familiar?
Weeks of interviews, and one person finally stood out. Your team likes them. They said the right things about your customers and your market. You're ready to move before someone else does.
But a sales hire is easy to get wrong and slow to undo. By the time the numbers tell you, you're months in. One more look before the offer costs a lot less than that.
Who it's for
Ontario companies with roughly 25 to 750 employees who've already picked their candidate for a sales role.
Salespeople
Sales reps, account managers and business developers who'll carry a real number.
Sales managers
The people who coach, hire and run the team day to day.
Sales executives
Sales directors and VPs of Sales who set the direction.
What's included, and how it works
One candidate doesn't mean a lighter check. We still do the groundwork with your team, so we're judging your candidate against what your business actually needs.
- Define the hire. We sit down with you and your leadership to agree what this person really needs to do in their first year, and write it down before we assess anyone.
- Learn from your team. A few of your best people take the same assessments, so we know what good looks like in your company.
- Assess your candidate. Your top candidate goes through the Certainty System. We can schedule and complete it in as little as 24 hours.
- Get a straight answer. A short written report with a clear recommendation, and a debrief where we walk you through what we found.
Built from 25 years on both sides of the desk
Ash has spent more than 25 years interviewing and hiring, and 20 years leading sales teams himself. So he's been the one carrying the number, and the one who had to live with the wrong hire.
Along the way he's taught HR strategy at the postgraduate level and kept digging into the research on what actually predicts performance. The Certainty System is what came out of all of it: the best of hiring science, plus our own approach to selecting sales teams.
How you pay, and our handshake guarantee
The Certainty Check is one flat fee, set by the level of the role, paid up front.
Our handshake guarantee. If you don't think the report and the process helped you make a better decision, tell us within 14 days of your debrief and you don't pay. No dispute, no argument.
And if what we find sends you looking at other candidates, the fee counts toward Final Candidate Review or our sales recruitment.
How the Certainty Check compares
| Certainty Check | Final Candidate Review | Sales Recruitment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you are | You've picked one person | You have a few finalists | You need candidates |
| Who finds the candidates | You do | You do | We do, through our network and direct search |
| The Certainty System | Your top candidate | Up to three finalists | Each finalist |
| How it's paid | One flat fee, set by role level | 25% to start, 75% after your hire's first three months | 25% to start, 75% after your hire's first six months |
| Relative investment | $ | $$ | $$$ |
| Handshake guarantee | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Full details | This page | Final Candidate Review | Sales Recruitment |
All three carry the handshake guarantee.
Certainty Check questions
How do I know my top sales candidate is the right one?
Test them against what the role really needs before you make the offer, not after. The Certainty Check puts your top candidate through the Certainty System and gives you a written recommendation, so you're deciding on evidence instead of a good interview.
Is the Certainty Check right for me?
If you've already picked one person and want to be sure, yes. If you're choosing between finalists, Final Candidate Review compares up to three side by side. If you don't have strong candidates yet, our sales recruitment finds them first.
What if you tell us not to hire them?
Then you've found out before the offer, and the report explains why. If you want to look at other finalists, or start a search, the Certainty Check fee counts toward Final Candidate Review or our sales recruitment.
How long does it take?
Good candidates don't wait. Once we've met with your team, we can schedule and complete the assessment in as little as 24 hours.
Do my own employees need to do anything?
A little. You and your leadership help us define the role, and a few of your best people take the same assessments, so we know what good looks like in your company.
How is the Certainty Check paid?
One flat fee, set by the level of the role, paid up front. If you don't think it helped, tell us within 14 days of your debrief and you don't pay.
Can you guarantee the hire will work out?
No, and be wary of anyone who says they can. People are people. What we guarantee is that we'll help you make a better decision, and if you don't think we did, you don't pay.
Make the offer knowing you've got the right one.
Ashley Wesley (MA, CHRL, CIM) and team, Guelph, Ontario. Sales candidate assessment and recruitment for Ontario companies.
This page provides general HR and business information, not legal advice. Employment law turns on the specific facts and changes over time. Before acting on anything here, confirm it with an Ontario employment lawyer.