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Hiring a salesperson doesn't automatically solve your pipeline problem.
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from founders is that a great salesperson can simply start making calls and deals will follow. Selling into Multi Academy Trusts doesn't work like that.
The best EdTech salespeople spend far more time planning than prospecting. They understand that success starts long before the first email is sent. It starts with knowing the market, understanding the buying process and focusing on the right organisations.
After speaking with experienced commercial leaders who have spent years selling into schools and MATs, a clear pattern emerges. The strongest salespeople all follow a similar approach.
Many founders ask their sales team to build a list of schools and begin contacting them as quickly as possible. While speed matters, targeting the wrong organisations is expensive.
A more effective approach is to segment the market first. Rather than treating every trust equally, experienced salespeople rank accounts based on their potential value and likelihood to buy. They often use categories such as Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze to prioritise their time.
Factors that influence this ranking include the number of schools in a trust, whether decision making is centralised, the maturity of the organisation, its current technology stack and whether the trust fits the company's ideal customer profile. This allows sales teams to focus their energy where they're most likely to generate meaningful conversations.
One mistake many companies make is assuming there is one decision maker.
The reality is that buying committees vary depending on the product.
Finance software is likely to involve the CFO or Finance Director. Teaching and learning platforms may be led by school improvement teams, headteachers or digital leads. SEND solutions often involve SENDCos, while HR software naturally sits with HR leaders.
Good salespeople don't simply find the first contact on LinkedIn. They map the buying committee and understand who influences the decision, who controls the budget and who will ultimately use the product.
That knowledge shapes every conversation.
Successful outbound relies on quality data.
Before launching a campaign, experienced salespeople spend time building a CRM with accurate information about each trust. That includes decision makers, email addresses, LinkedIn profiles, trust size, current suppliers, recent announcements and other signals that suggest whether an organisation may be ready for change.
This preparation can feel slow at first, but it creates a far stronger pipeline than relying on large lists of generic contacts.
Schools rarely buy software because it has an impressive feature list.
They buy because it solves a problem.
That problem might be reducing teacher workload, saving administrative time, improving parent communication, streamlining finance processes or supporting compliance.
The most effective outreach focuses on the challenge first and introduces the product as a solution. When sales conversations begin with the customer's priorities rather than the supplier's features, engagement tends to be much stronger.
Education remains one of the most relationship driven sectors.
Schools want to know who else is using a product, whether similar organisations have seen success and if other trust leaders would recommend it.
That's why customer stories, testimonials and case studies are often more persuasive than product demonstrations. One successful implementation can create opportunities across neighbouring schools and trusts because recommendations travel quickly within the sector.
Even the best solution can struggle if the timing is wrong.
Salespeople who understand education pay close attention to budget cycles, government funding, trust priorities and strategic initiatives. They know that buying decisions are influenced by far more than product quality.
Approaching organisations when funding is available or when a trust is actively reviewing its technology can make the difference between a conversation that goes nowhere and one that turns into a long term customer.
The strongest salespeople don't disappear once a contract is signed.
They stay close to the customer during implementation, make sure the promised outcomes are delivered and help resolve issues quickly. Only once trust has been established do they look for opportunities to expand the relationship.
Satisfied customers become advocates. They provide testimonials, introduce peers and create the social proof that makes future sales easier.
Building a pipeline into Multi Academy Trusts isn't about sending more emails or making more calls.
It's about understanding the sector well enough to approach the right organisations, at the right time, with a message that reflects the challenges they are already trying to solve.
