Method to Madness

Dec 07, 2009

By:  LeiLani Cauthen, VP Sales, Publisher, Converge

It’s pure madness to sell to the education market.  First of all, if you’re not really “in” the first thing you will learn is that there is never any money to spend on anything and the problems are enormous.  50% of students at the K12 level aren’t graduating nationally.  The bureaucracy is awe-inspiring.  There’s so, so many schools and universities.  

Oh, but it’s charming, with an easy to understand general objective and nearly $20 Billion spent annually on technology.  Yet simple selling of products is hard, and also complex, what with the need to understand arcane contracting rules and “spending thresholds” over which all buying must go through formal bid.  Budgets are divided into quasi “buckets” which are  not allowed to spill over into each other by a series of where-it-comes-from laws and accountabilities.  This is doubly so now with all the Stimulus funds.  And let’s not forget, as well, that there’s a certain routine to education with semesters and all that, so random selling excursions into it just won’t get into the right vibe.  

There has to be a method to the madness of selling into education.  

A method is a means or manner of procedure, especially a regular and systematic way of accomplishing something (Answers.com.)  There are several methods out there in the technology community.  They start with these postures or manners:

1)    Ignore it.  This is common with companies who have better things to do selling bajillions of things with consumer-level marketing tactics.  They are very surprised when they find they have almost no market share in education.  This method doesn’t work.  

2)    Let the sales force sell it as a sideline to selling the whole world.  This is also very common, and usually accompanied by weak marketing tactics that are barely intelligible to the folks in education.  A few lucky reps happen across a friend of a friend or relative and sell something.   This method is very limited.

3)    Put a small dedicated crew into the education fray with little knowledge and fewer resources.  This is extremely common with companies of all sizes and even with dedicated education-specific products.  This method has workability, especially if those individuals are super-human sponges for figuring things out, charismatic, and lucky.

4)    Put a dedicated resource of sales staff who are battle scarred warriors, train them within an inch of their lives on everything there is to know about education, give them savvy marketers with adequate funds, and develop among them a sense of camaraderie and a winning attitude.  This group, small or large, will take the field and win with all odds against them, no matter the product and no matter the idiocy of management.  This method works.  

Okay so there are some caveats.  Some big ones, but the key things are someone there who knows what they are doing, resource, winning attitude.

Pretty simple, and some would say no different than how it’s done everywhere else.  There are many things unique about selling to education, however, and it does start with knowing what you’re doing.  Next, there has to be some procedure and a systematic approach, and those are equally important.  These following systems are first cousins to the postures companies take.  

1)    Ignore education’s unique needs.  Simplest of systems, you just don’t create special product packages.  You keep all the language about “improved profitability” or whatever in your marketing materials, your pricing remains inviolate, and you don’t bother with contract vehicles.  All in all, this system chews up any reach that might have come from education and spits most of it back out for lack of any common ground.  

2)    Give the sales force a quota and some “named accounts” in education to target, usually randomly selected with very little history of what’s-gone-on-there-before, some swipes at a sales package that might work, perhaps some nice words on the company website about how the company really likes education people, some caveats on pricing, and a pat on the back.  Oh, and quota in every other market as well, too, so no real pressure.   This system works a little bit.  

3)    Give the dedicated team a formula solution to sell that you have seen work in education once or twice, hand out slick marketing materials, do some periodic marketing unaligned to market timing, show up at all the “big” trade shows, and even get on one or two of the multi-State contracts vehicles.   This method is very workable and gets traction nationally, but sooner or later it hits the wall.   Without a comprehensive view and increasing sophistication on all fronts, this system grows tired and the company doesn’t get past initial wins to saturate the market.

4)    Give the well-drilled team a well-researched, timely solution that ties in to the entire education environment and may partner with other company’s solutions for an uber fit.  Throw out old reasoning and the herd mentality of marketing and go custom and timely on everything, including multi-level approach to get out and deep in the market.  Constantly prep with research into market dynamics and watch the field like a hawk.  Get on every State contract you can, hundreds and more, and partner with everyone.    This system rocks.  

Number four is not simple, but effective.  When you’re a group that dabbles, it shows.  When you’re a group at professional standards, it shows.  

So the method to madness is a winning posture and a system that works, who knew?