Notes for owners · Industry playbooks
How certification institutes answer the pass-rate question
A candidate asks your pass rate before paying. Answer with the session, the cohort and the definition, or say what you can show instead. A bare percentage on a banner does more harm than silence.
The GullySales team · Updated 6 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
On this page
- Why does the question come up so early?
- What a defensible answer contains
- What do you say when you cannot give a clean number?
- How should the counsellor handle it on the phone and on WhatsApp?
- Where else does the claim appear?
- What do you do with the candidates who ask and still do not enrol?
- What to do next
Answer a pass-rate question with a record, not a number. Say which exam session, how many sat, how many cleared, and what you count as a pass, then offer to show where that record is kept. If you cannot do that, say so, and show something you can: your trainers' own credentials, a mock-test routine, and alumni who agree to speak. A bare percentage on a banner, with no session and no definition, makes a careful candidate leave.
Why does the question come up so early?
A working professional paying for ACCA, PMP or CISA is spending a fee, giving up evenings and risking a failed attempt that the employer may notice. Nobody pays that price for a stranger's claim. The pass rate is the candidate's shorthand for "will this actually work", and they ask it before they ask about the batch timing.
They also meet it on every competitor's page. When four institutes in one city all print a high figure, the figure stops meaning anything, and the candidate looks for the one that explains itself.
What a defensible answer contains
Before the figure goes anywhere, write down four facts and keep them in one file.
| Fact | Example of how to record it | Why a candidate or a regulator cares |
|---|---|---|
| The exam session | "Papers sat in the session ending in June" | A figure with no date cannot be checked |
| The cohort | How many of your students sat, not how many enrolled | Enrolled students who never sat are the usual gap |
| The definition | Cleared the paper at first attempt, or at any attempt | The two give very different figures |
| The source | The body's result sheet, or your own tracker | You must be able to produce it when asked |
If you cannot fill all four, leave the figure off the banner. Rules on results claims differ by body and by state and they change, so check your partner agreement and ask your own adviser before printing one.
What do you say when you cannot give a clean number?
Plenty of institutes, especially newer ones or those teaching a credential that few people sit each year, do not have a tidy cohort. Say that plainly. Then give the candidate things that are true and checkable.
The trainer holds the credential, and the profile says which year it was earned. Every enrolled student gets a mock-exam schedule in writing. The counsellor can tell the candidate what the certifying body charges separately for registration and exams, so the whole cost is clear on day one. Past students who have agreed to be contacted are named only with consent.
That list answers the real question, which is whether the institute is serious about the exam.
How should the counsellor handle it on the phone and on WhatsApp?
For example, take a Bengaluru institute teaching US CMA to commerce graduates. A candidate messages at 9:40 pm: "What is your pass percentage?" The reply that works is short and in two parts. First, "Our last cohort record is for the session ending in December. I can send you the number sat and the number who cleared, with how we count a pass." Second, "Would a ten-minute call with one of our alumni help?" Both are answerable by anyone on the desk, which is the point. The counsellor who improvises a figure at 9:40 pm is the one who creates the problem later.
Put the standard reply in a saved message so that every counsellor sends the same words. Send it with the fee sheet, not apart from it, because candidates read the two together.
Where else does the claim appear?
Check these places for a figure that has drifted from your record.
- The website banner and the course pages
- Google Business Profile posts and replies to reviews
- Instagram and LinkedIn creatives, including old ones still running
- The counsellor's WhatsApp status and brochure PDF
- The script the mobiliser or the demo-class host uses
An old flex printed for the last session often stays up on a wall long after the session has gone. If the figure has not been updated, take it down or add the session it belongs to.
What do you do with the candidates who ask and still do not enrol?
A candidate who asks about pass rates is a serious one. If they do not enrol the same day, add them to your follow-up list with the exam they want and the window they are aiming for. Send the next batch date when it is fixed, and a useful note, such as a short explainer of the paper they are worried about, rather than a reminder to pay. Your follow-up system should say who calls, with what, and when to stop.
Your reputation work matters here too. Candidates read reviews to see whether students were treated fairly when they stopped or failed, and a calm, factual reply to a complaint tells them more than a five-star rating does.
What to do next
Open the file where your last three cohorts' results are kept. If a session, a cohort size and a definition are not written beside each number, write them today, and remove any claim you cannot back. Then write the saved reply your counsellors will send when the question comes. If you would like someone outside to read the whole enquiry path with you, from the first message to the paid fee, book the free audit. It is a 90-minute call, followed by a written, scored report. See how this fits the wider picture on the professional certification institutes page.