Offering professional development, not just product training, may be the best way to sell to schools, according to publicly funded research from the University of Cincinnati School of Education. What's the implication for your education marketing plan? Here are four key take-aways from the study.
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The phone is integral to our lives but not always fully integrated into the education sales process. As education marketing managers seek ways to fill their sales pipeline with more qualified prospects or to reduce the cost of sales, they wonder if it is time to try telemarketing or telesales. 
Marketing to schools, especially for products with a long sales cycle, is a real challenge. Education sales managers need to speed up the process and, in some situations, the telephone is just the right tool. Is it right for you? Here’s valuable free advice from a veteran of K-12 telesales and telemarketing.
Certifying district-based trainers provides some education-market companies with advantages in meeting customer needs for consistent, relevant training. Improved customer loyalty and referrals, smoother implementations, and competitive advantage are a few outcomes. Maybe this concept could be part of your plan for marketing to schools.
How best to drive sales given today’s tight economy and pressure to deliver revenue. It’s a timely topic and sometimes an argument whether to invest in sales or education marketing programs. Your decision should be based on evidence and the big differences in sales results you can expect over the long haul. If you insist on results, then you need to study this piece carefully.
While there is no silver bullet that will improve results from your exhibits at K-12 educator conferences, there is much more you can do besides setting up a booth and standing there waiting for something to happen. It all starts with knowing what you want to achieve and having specific sales goals in mind.
What is the best way to gain access to school administrators who make buying decisions? It's a common question and a source of frustration for those who develop education marketing programs and sell to K-12 schools. Here's sage advice from a leading K-12 sales coach. 
It doesn't take much education market research to know that K-12 school budgets have been slashed. School administrators say they do not have the funds they need to buy your product or service. Is this situation slowing your school sales? How do you respond? 
You finally have that appointment to present your software program to school decision makers. That's the good news. The bad news may be what you'll discover about the technology situation when you show up for the demo. Plan ahead and avoid common "gotchas." 
If you sell or market a service to K-12 schools that depends on annual renewals, here's advice from a pioneer in the area of selling subscription-based software services in an interview with STS founder, Glen McCandless. 
