Stop Pitching: What Actually Gets A Superintendent's Attention

Education companies spend an enormous amount of time thinking about outreach.

The next email.

The next LinkedIn message.

The next sequence.

The next campaign.

The assumption is simple: if more conversations are needed, more outreach must be the answer.

But what if that's not the problem?

That question sat at the center of a recent conversation on EdSales Edge between Josh Chernikoff, founder of the EdSales Revenue Machine, and Dr. Jared Bloom, Superintendent of Franklin Square School District in New York.

As someone who receives hundreds of emails every day from companies trying to get his attention, Jared offered a perspective that founders, sales teams, and customer success leaders rarely get to hear directly.

What actually gets a superintendent's attention?

The answer has very little to do with outreach volume.

And almost everything to do with trust.

The Outreach Problem Isn't Always An Outreach Problem

One of the most common assumptions in education sales is that more activity creates more opportunity.

More emails should generate more meetings.

More LinkedIn messages should create more conversations.

More follow-up should increase response rates.

But district leaders experience the market from the opposite side.

Their inboxes are already full.

Their calendars are already packed.

Their attention is already divided across dozens of competing priorities.

When hundreds of companies are all trying to be heard, simply increasing outreach rarely creates differentiation.

It often creates more noise.

That's why so many founders become frustrated when strong products fail to generate traction.

The challenge isn't always the product.

And it isn't always the outreach.

Sometimes the challenge is that trust hasn't been established yet.

Schools Don't Buy Products. They Make Decisions.

One of the most important ideas from the conversation was this:

Schools aren't simply buying products.

They're making decisions.

Decisions that affect students.

Teachers.

Administrators.

Families.

Entire communities.

That reality changes everything.

A district leader isn't evaluating whether a product looks interesting.

They're evaluating whether it can be trusted.

They're evaluating whether implementation will succeed.

They're evaluating whether teachers will use it.

They're evaluating whether the investment will produce meaningful outcomes.

The higher the stakes, the more trust matters.

And education has incredibly high stakes.

Why Relationships Still Matter

This is where many education companies get stuck.

They view relationship-building as something that happens after interest is created.

District leaders often see it the other way around.

Relationships create the environment where meaningful conversations can happen.

That doesn't mean every relationship leads to a sale.

It doesn't mean every conversation becomes a partnership.

But it does mean that trust is often established long before a contract is signed.

The strongest education sales conversations rarely begin with a pitch.

They begin with curiosity.

With learning.

With genuine dialogue.

With a desire to understand the challenges schools are facing.

When that happens, conversations become less transactional and more collaborative.

And that's where opportunities begin to emerge.

Why Conferences Still Matter

In a world dominated by digital communication, it might seem surprising that conferences remain one of the most effective ways to build relationships.

But when you look closely, it makes perfect sense.

People buy from people.

And trust develops faster when people can interact face-to-face.

Not necessarily in scheduled meetings.

Not necessarily in formal presentations.

Often in the moments between them.

The hallway conversations.

The shared meals.

The discussions after a session.

The informal opportunities to learn about each other's work.

Those interactions provide context that emails and direct messages simply cannot replicate.

They allow district leaders to learn who they're working with, not just what they're buying.

And that distinction matters.

The Best Implementations Start Small

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is assuming adoption should happen all at once.

Districts rarely work that way.

Successful implementations often begin with focused pilots.

Small groups.

Clear goals.

Defined outcomes.

Opportunities to learn what works and what needs adjustment.

Starting small creates something valuable for both sides.

Evidence.

When teachers see positive results, momentum begins to build.

When administrators see impact, confidence grows.

When students benefit, expansion becomes easier to justify.

Growth becomes a result of success rather than a hope attached to a rollout plan.

Teacher Buy-In Is Not Optional

Even the strongest solution can struggle if the people expected to use it don't believe in it.

That's why teacher buy-in matters so much.

Adoption isn't created through mandates alone.

It develops when educators see value for themselves and their students.

The most effective partners understand this.

They listen.

They gather feedback.

They remain involved during implementation.

They adapt when necessary.

And they treat feedback as an opportunity to improve rather than a challenge to defend against.

When educators feel heard, trust deepens.

When trust deepens, adoption becomes far more likely.

The Difference Between A Vendor And A Partner

Perhaps the clearest theme throughout the conversation was the distinction between vendors and partners.

Vendors sell products.

Partners help solve problems.

Vendors disappear after implementation.

Partners stay engaged.

Vendors focus on transactions.

Partners focus on outcomes.

The education companies that build lasting relationships understand that the sale is not the finish line.

It's the beginning of a much longer journey.

One built on communication, responsiveness, accountability, and trust.

The Real Competitive Advantage

Education companies spend significant time searching for better tactics.

Better outreach.

Better messaging.

Better campaigns.

Those things matter.

But they are not enough on their own.

The strongest education sales strategies are built on credibility.

They are built on relationships.

They are built on trust.

Because schools are not simply choosing products.

They're choosing the people they will work with when challenges arise.

They're choosing who will support their teachers.

They're choosing who will help them create better outcomes for students.

And decisions of that magnitude rarely begin with a pitch.

They begin with a relationship.

🎧 Listen to the full episode

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The best education sales strategies aren't built around volume.

They're built around trust, credibility, and relationships.