What happens when you've spent nearly a decade building a successful business, only to have it come crashing down overnight? For Matt Barinholtz, founder of FutureMakers, this was the harsh reality when the pandemic hit. Matt was forced to pivot quickly—shifting from offering services to selling products.
While the pandemic presented unique challenges, the truth is, business is always unpredictable. Marketing trends shift, relationships evolve, new competitors emerge, and sometimes, your strategy just stops working. So, how do you respond when the ground shifts beneath your feet? How do you adapt and come out stronger on the other side?
In this blog, Matt shares the story of how he navigated one of the toughest transitions in his business and set Future Makers up for long-term success. His journey offers powerful insights into how to future-proof your business, whether you're building from the ground up or scaling up for growth. Matt's lessons are invaluable for anyone facing unexpected challenges in their business today.
The Shifting Landscape
In 2020, like many businesses, Matt found himself in a tough spot. Future Makers, a service-based company that had been around for nine years, had built its reputation by offering hands-on learning programs in classrooms. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everything changed. Matt began brainstorming ways to turn his business into a scalable product that could be sold repeatedly without relying on in-person interactions. This is when the idea of creating physical, hands-on engineering kits emerged. While this was an exciting prospect, shifting to a product based business model brought many challenges.
Leveraging Relationships
Having been in business for nearly a decade, Matt new the importance of building and nurturing relationships. When he began selling physical learning kits, he was supported with enthusiasm from existing clients, and Matt made some early sales.
“Those same customers that we had for services were some of our biggest champions,” said Matt, emphasizing the importance of building relationships in business.
But this was a whole different business model, and those sales were once off. Matt knew that to really grow as a product based business they were going to need to make some big changes. Matt knew they needed to expand and sell in a much larger region. And that meant a whole new way of getting in front of people and selling.
“To make that leap completely away from services to supporting people with products, we had to make enormous changes. It's literally like starting a new business,” said Matt.
Matt realized he needed a structured system to attract leads, build lasting relationships, and ultimately convert those leads into clients. So when Matt heard about the 3E EdSales Elevation Experience, and being able to get leads on repeat, he was ready to sign up. At first he thought 3E would help him to just clarify and expand on the process he already had working for him in the past. But he quickly realised he had been working just on relationships in the service model, he didn’t really have a process.
“I had to really make a big change, and I was fortunate enough that Josh was able to tell me right then at the right time, there's a process for this,” said Matt reflecting on his decision to join the 3E EdSales Experience.
The 3E EdSales Experience gave Matt the tools to step back, reflect on his mission, and develop a clear strategy for sharing his story, building credibility, and communicating the value of Future Makers' products. It wasn’t just about theory—it was about taking practical steps to implement a lead generation system.
The Power of a Clear, Concise Message
One of the first exercises in the program was to distill Matt’s business into a clear, concise message. He needed to simplify what he did and communicate it effectively on his LinkedIn profile. At first, this was challenging. Matt was hesitant to describe his products as “toys,” but he quickly realized with input from hi cohort members, that this description captured the playful, hands-on nature of what Future Makers offered. By embracing this new way of thinking, Matt was able to communicate his value more authentically and align his message with his target audience.
“Going from, ‘I make playful engineering materials for educators…’ And being asked – What are playful learning materials? Why don't we just say what it is I make toys. There's a lot to unpack, and it's a process…” shared Matt.
Listening Leads to Clarity
Another turning point in Matt’s business was reconnecting with his customers using the “Raise Your Hand” method. Matt was able to really connect and listen to his ideal clients and understand what they were looking for. It’s not just about asking questions, but asking the right questions that get to the heart of what people really need. During interactions with potential clients, it’s essential to be present, open to insights, and willing to reflect on what’s being shared. By recording conversations (with permission) through tools like Zoom or Google Meet, Matt was able to revisit these interactions later, analyze feedback, and refine his approach.
These conversations resulted in a big breakthrough.
Initially, Matt had been focusing on the learners and their needs, but he soon realized that he should shift to focus on the educators—those who would be purchasing and using the kits.
“We went from being learner-centric to educator-centric,” Matt explained.
By shifting his messaging, Matt aligned his product more closely with the needs of educators, making it easier for the right customers to see the value in what Future Makers was offering. This pivot in messaging allowed the company to attract a more targeted audience, ultimately leading to higher-quality leads.
It wasn’t just about selling kits; it was about building trust and showing educators how those kits could make their lives easier and their classrooms more engaging.
The Signature Solution: Attracting Perfect Fit Clients.
During the 3E EdSales Elevation Experience, Matt was introduced to the concept of a signature solution— a defined, repeatable process designed to address a core problem for clients. This was a pivotal moment for Matt, as it allowed him to clarify his offering and focus on attracting the right clients who could easily assess whether they were a good fit for his service.
The signature solution is not about custom-tailored offerings for each client; instead, it's a structured approach that works for a specific group of people. This clarity made it easier for Matt to communicate his value, while also empowering potential clients to determine if they were aligned with the process.
A signature solution is not a custom solution for every single customer. A signature solution is your process. So those people can see where they sit into that process and if it works for them,” explains Matt.
Implementing this concept inside the 3E Experience allowed Matt to streamline his business, attract more ideal clients, and confidently scale his offerings with a clear, repeatable path.
The Role of Sales and Building a Strong System.
An important lesson that Matt shares is: when you’re the founder of your business and you feel like you’re not good at sales, it’s easy to want to hire for this as soon as possible. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need to hire someone to take over sales, but you can’t expect someone else to represent your solution without first understanding it yourself. You need to be the one talking to your ideal clients first, dialing in your messaging, your signature solution, and creating your sales process —- then you can bring in your sales team and your system will be infinitely more powerful.
“Even if you don't feel super confident, even if you think I’ve got to get a salesperson… Remember, they still need you to tell them what your solution is, what the value is, what your system is. They're not experts at designing a signature solution. They're experts at taking the product, the information that you've given them, and sharing the value proposition, and then following up and following up and following up,” shares Matt passionately.
As you start to build your signature solution, don’t rush to hire a sales team. Instead, focus on refining your process first. Once you have that in place, you’ll have the foundation to bring on a team who can help you scale. You’ll also be in a much better position to justify the investment when the time comes. The system you build will be the driving force behind your success.
Leveraging LinkedIn for Visibility and Trust
Another key component of Matt’s system was leveraging LinkedIn to amplify FutureMakers’ reach. By consistently sharing content, he noticed that educators and administrators began approaching him, already familiar with what the company offered.
“When people know what you do before the meeting, it’s easier to have a meaningful conversation,” Matt explained.
LinkedIn also helped streamline the sales process. “Our posts helped pre-qualify leads,” he said. “When people reached out, they already understood our mission, which made it easier to dive into meaningful discussions.”
Takeaways for Entrepreneurs To Go From One-off Sales To Repeatable Revenue
Matt’s journey is a testament to the power of relationships in driving business success. Here are some key lessons entrepreneurs in the education space can take from his story:
Key Takeaways for Building a Lead Generation System in the Education Space from Matt's Journey
Matt’s story offers a roadmap for entrepreneurs in the education space looking to build and scale their lead generation systems. Here’s how others can apply these lessons to their own businesses:
Focus on Relationships, Not Transactions: Start by building authentic relationships with your audience. By focusing on long-term trust and understanding your audience’s needs, you create a foundation that fosters sustainable growth rather than chasing one-off transactions.
Clarify Your Messaging: Ensure your messaging speaks directly to your ideal clients and their pain points. Instead of focusing on the features of your products or services, communicate the specific results or outcomes your clients will achieve by working with you. Make your value crystal clear.
Listen to Your Audience: Before crafting your solution, take the time to understand your audience’s needs. Use tools like surveys, polls, or one-on-one conversations to uncover what your audience truly wants, so you can tailor your offering to solve their most pressing challenges.
Develop a Signature Solution: Create a clear, defined process that helps your clients solve their core problems. A signature solution doesn’t have to be customized for each client—it should be a repeatable framework that allows your clients to assess if they are a good fit for your product or service. This creates clarity for both you and your potential clients.
Show Up Consistently: Regularly engage with your audience on platforms where they spend their time, whether that’s LinkedIn, email, or social media. Consistency in your visibility helps you build familiarity and trust, making it easier to attract the right leads.
Prioritize Alignment: Only pursue opportunities that align with your mission, values, and long-term goals. Learning to say no to opportunities that don’t fit ensures that you stay focused on what will truly move your business forward.
Build a Scalable Lead Gen System: Focus on developing a lead generation system that allows you to attract and nurture leads consistently. This might include content marketing, outreach strategies, or automated systems that build your pipeline while you focus on other aspects of your business.
Set Up Your Sales Process Before You Scale: Before hiring a sales team, ensure that you have a solid sales process in place. Having a clear system for qualifying leads, handling objections, and closing deals will make it easier to onboard and manage a sales team when the time comes.
By following these steps, you can create a lead generation system that’s scalable, sustainable, and tailored to your business’s unique needs, just like Matt did for FutureMakers.
Conclusion
Matt Barinholtz’s journey with FutureMakers highlights the power of moving from one-off sales to repeat revenue in the education space. Success isn’t just about selling products—it’s about building strong, ongoing relationships. By listening to educators, refining his messaging, and implementing a system for consistent engagement, Matt transformed FutureMakers into a scalable, sustainable business.
For entrepreneurs navigating a rapidly changing market, Matt’s story is a compelling reminder: true success isn’t about starting over—it’s about evolving, listening to your audience, and deepening the relationships you’ve already established.
The pandemic prompted Matt to reassess his business model, leading him to shift from a service-based approach to a product-first strategy. This transition was challenging, but with the structure and support provided by the EdSales Elevation Experience, Matt was able to successfully navigate this change and set his business up for long-term, repeat revenue growth.
