Selling to academy trusts

Selling to multi-academy trusts starts with account research, not a larger mailing list. A trust is not simply a set of school contacts who should receive the same message. Build a view of its schools, published priorities and the problem your offer could address. Limit your first target group to trusts whose needs, locations and implementation requirements you can support.

Use Get Information about Schools to check academy groups and establishments in England, then use each trust's own website to verify current roles and policies. Do not infer a buying need from the number of schools alone. A trust with many schools might still buy your category locally, while a smaller trust could have a central requirement. Treat the published information as a starting point for questions, not proof of purchase intent.

The Department for Education's buying preparation guidance warns that someone other than the school may be responsible for a purchase, including its trust. Ask whether your category is school-led, centrally approved or bought across several schools. Where available, read the trust's financial regulations and scheme of delegation, then confirm the current arrangement with an authorised contact.

Do not assume every headteacher can buy independently, or that every decision belongs to the chief executive. Buying authority can depend on the product and the contract value. Map the local users, central category owner, technical reviewer and budget approver for this opportunity. Make the purpose of each conversation explicit. An enthusiastic school contact can explain the need, but it cannot promise trust-wide approval unless it has that authority.

A trust proposal needs to explain more than a product's benefit at one school. Show the intended scope, the work required at each location and the responsibilities of your team and the buyer. Describe how schools with different needs could adopt the offer without hiding the exceptions. Keep any phased rollout subject to the buyer's approval rather than treating it as the inevitable result of one demonstration.

Present costs clearly for the proposed term and number of schools. Include implementation, training, support, renewals and exit arrangements where relevant. DfE's whole-life cost guidance gives buyers a reason to look beyond headline price. If your offer could reduce workload, state the assumptions and ask the trust to test them. Do not multiply an unverified saving by every school and call it an established result.

If a pilot is appropriate and permitted, agree what the trust needs to learn before it starts. Define the participating schools, users, duration, support and evidence to collect. Include the staff time required from the buyer and the conditions under which the activity will stop. A pilot with no agreed decision at the end can create work without clarifying whether a wider purchase makes sense.

Choose evaluation measures that relate to the actual problem. For a teaching resource, the buyer might assess suitability and preparation effort. For a software tool, it might test task completion, integration and support. These are suggested measures, not claims about your product. Obtain the necessary approvals and data-handling checks before use. Agree how findings will be reviewed, who will attend that review, and what a positive, mixed or negative result would mean.

Follow the trust's rules for the actual purchase. DfE's buying-route guidance covers frameworks, quotes and competitive processes for schools in England. Framework terms may permit direct selection or require a mini-competition; the listing alone does not guarantee an order. Check the applicable process before suggesting a purchase date or assuming a successful pilot can turn directly into a contract.

Prepare the material the procurement team needs to compare your offer. Respond to the stated specification, make pricing and exclusions easy to understand, and explain delivery risks honestly. Check that references, insurance information and product documentation are current where requested. If you cannot meet a mandatory requirement, disclose it rather than leaving the buyer to discover it during evaluation. Use qualified procurement or legal advice where necessary; this guide is not a substitute for it.

Use one account plan to record the trust's people, schools, priorities and decisions. Tailor each conversation to the recipient's responsibilities, but keep the underlying proposal consistent. Before contacting another school in the trust, check what has already been agreed centrally. Apply the appropriate privacy and direct-marketing rules, respect opt-outs and avoid using repeated outreach to pressure a buyer who has declined.

Review progress by account rather than by the number of messages sent. Track confirmed needs, access to the right reviewers, a viable buying route and the next agreed decision. Where opportunities stall, ask whether the problem is relevance, evidence, implementation or timing. Start with the broader selling to schools checklist if your buyer map is incomplete. Sell2Schools' market research and education sales consultancy can support your approach; read how an engagement works before booking a call.