Selling into the education space is rarely as “easy as ABC.” Tight budgets, hard-to-reach decision-makers, siloed departments with conflicting priorities, and hectic schedules are just some of the obstacles companies face when trying to do business with school administrators and navigating the overall sales process.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only made things more complicated over the last two and a half years, creating major disruptions and forcing schools and school districts to scramble to keep students on track and campuses and classrooms safe.
At the same time, though, there have been major advancements in technology and other services designed to help schools deal with these recent challenges. Now is an opportune time for companies to reach out to educational institutions, but they won’t get far if they don’t have the internal resources to ensure their message is being received by the right people.
Partnering with an experienced lead generation and an appointment-setting firm can ease this dilemma. VSA has a long history of helping companies with education-based programs and technology connect with colleges, universities, and K-12 schools, including several current clients. We’re also compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which governs access to educational information and records.
Here are four of the ways we’ve helped companies with education-themed offerings fill their pipeline and grow their market share when they sell to schools:
1. Knowing when to call … and when not to call
Plenty of people enjoy the chance to relax during the last few weeks of summer. College administrators don’t have that luxury. Beginning in mid-August, they’re often swamped preparing for the upcoming semester. They’re likely not in the mood for a conversation with a stranger during this time—if they bother to pick up the phone at all.
With one recently signed client, we knew it was imperative to get in a few weeks of calling before this busy period began, so we slightly expedited the onboarding process to allow us to begin calling prospects in late July. We also agreed to briefly pause the program during the last few weeks of August and the first few weeks of September, when target prospects are typically most stressed.
The strategy worked—in just the first week of the program, we scheduled 10 meetings for our client’s sales reps!
VSA collaborates closely with all our clients to develop calling schedules that make the most sense. Weekly hours are determined before a calling campaign begins, but clients always have the option to alter those hours as the program progresses. In this case, the schedule we agreed on at the start of the campaign paid immediate dividends.
2. Pivoting to the right decision-makers
With another client in the education space, success didn’t come as quickly for the sales team. We were getting through to the right institutions but not the right people, and our prospecting conversations weren’t delivering the desired results.
This is not uncommon—it sometimes takes a few weeks of accumulating, analyzing, and acting on data before we can start driving home quality appointments for our clients. In some cases, it can take multiple pivots to optimize a calling list, especially when you’re trying to reach the most senior-level decision-makers at sizable institutions.
With VSA, no program is ever “set it and forget it.” In this case, an improved target list based on the data we gathered and a subsequent change in calling strategy led to more conversations—and more meetings for our client’s salespeople.
3. Updating the call script
Just as the calling list is never set in stone, it’s especially important that the messaging we deliver to prospects on the phone is often tweaked as a program progresses, based on reviewing the calls, gathering feedback from the Business Development Representatives assigned to the program, and collaborating with the client during weekly meetings. This client collaboration is an essential part of understanding and resolving the biggest challenges that arise during the process of selling.
Sometimes, though, the messaging undergoes more than just a tweak. One current longtime client that sells software to colleges and universities opted to do a complete overhaul of the script over the summer, choosing to market one specific aspect of its offering rather than the technology’s overall capabilities.
Our team pivoted to delivering the revamped script, and the conversation-to-meeting rate for the program almost immediately increased. Over a one-month stretch, we set meetings at nearly double the rate of the previous three months.
4. Catering the messaging to different audiences
Colleges and universities obviously consist of many different siloed departments, and what resonates with one administrator might not mean a thing to the person in the office down the hall.
One of our current education-based clients offers multiple versions of their products and services, each one geared toward different departments and titles. So rather than prepare one script to be used across the entire calling campaign, we developed multiple messages to correspond with our client’s various offerings that each BDR could adapt accordingly. We’ve employed a similar strategy for a client that offers its program to K-12 schools, altering the script based on the region of the country we’re calling.
This approach has helped keep both of these campaigns productive. By creating different versions of our phone scripts and email templates, we make sure prospects are only receiving information relevant to their needs.
Conclusion
All B2B lead generation and appointment-setting campaigns present certain challenges, regardless of what vertical you’re calling and the particular product or service. But connecting with prospects in the education space can be especially daunting. From identifying the true decision makers to finding the best time to reach them to developing just the right message, it can be a frustrating process.
Having an outside partner with years of experience in the education market can help eliminate that frustration. Over the last 21 years, we’ve helped multiple companies with education-based products grow their businesses—and we continue to do so today. Our referral rate remains high due to the consistent level of success we enjoy for our clients, and case studies prove that our approach is an effective way to maximize the buying process and yield strong results.
If you’re looking to connect with educational institutions of any size and type, give us a call. We’d love to learn how we can help make your sales goals a reality.