Business Monitor How to create sales opportunities


w to create sales opportunities through education


For printwear businesses, schools offer a lot of sales opportunities. In addition to uniform, there are lots of events, trips, sports and cultural activities. Plus, as any parent knows, children of all ages grow out of clothes alarmingly fast, so creating additional sales opportunities. Marketing expert Paul Clapham explains further.


ut how do you go about it, because its different, isnt it? Actually, not so very different. Have a significant web presence. Four out of five schools source suppliers via the web to start with, so a professional site is paramount. That site should be mobile- responsive because teachers use both phones and tablets in and out of school for sourcing.


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But that site is little good unless those prospective customers find it. You may already invest in search engine optimisation (SEO), but if not this is clearly a case for it. Alternatively you could spend on Google Adwords. Pay per click is regarded as an excellent advertising route because you only pay for results. Get listed on the National Register of Education Suppliers. Its a well-recognised platform and three quarters of schools use it to compare potential suppliers. A presence there is an essential for selling to this sector. Equally get accredited by the NASBM as an Approved Partner. Especially if you want to focus on your local area contact the Local Education Authority(s). They build preferred supplier lists. The increase in numbers of academies with greater purchasing autonomy hasnt changed the habit of many schools starting a search with their local LEA approved suppliers.


Testimonials Show off any testimonials you have and ask for them from schools. Teachers have high regard for the experience of their peers. What teachers say about you is far more persuasive than what you say about yourselves. Teachers are also often married to other teachers at different schools, with the obvious potential benefits. Social media presents plenty of access points. Twitter has several relevant hash


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tags: ukedchat, uksbmchat, and sltchat. Google+ offers UK Education, UK school procurement and UK school finance. As ever with social media, remember its about building a relationship, not just making a ham-fisted sales pitch. Teach the teachers. You should definitely present yourself as an expert – its what schools are looking for. Teachers are amenable to being taught about something where they have little or no knowledge. Tell them, progressively, about the marketing benefits for the school (which are considerable), the potential for awards and rewards through privilege clothing, the different printwear techniques and their various strengths.


Head to a trade show


There are increasing numbers of trade shows for the education sector around the country. The main ones are, The Education Show (NEC), the Academies Show (NEC and ExCel), The Nursery and Primary Show (BIC, Bournemouth) and The Higher and Further Education Show (Olympia). A one-day visit to one of these could tell you whether this is the business sector you are going to develop or not. If you decide it is, you will pick up a lot of information and make a lot of valuable contacts. In time you might decide to take a stand, because more than a third of schools choose where to buy at trade shows. Reputation is vital. Thats generally true but doubly so when selling to non-experts. They have to believe your promise. You will be well aware of some massive cost overruns in public sector procurement. A few of those are little short of fraud, but most of them are about lack of clarity. Those failures are often because the supplier (the expert) failed to flag up a problem.


So be open and honest. Indeed be ready to walk away if the last salesman through the door promised the earth and you know in your heart it cant be delivered at that price, in that timescale and to that quality. You will win more prizes long-term by your honesty. Theres another side to that: dont be greedy. If a school has ear-marked a budget for a project and you know its too rich, tell them so. Some other prospective suppliers will quote to the budget, aiming for a fat profit. I know; Ive seen this happen in other parts of the public sector.


Which brings us to the process of tendering. It scares the hell out of some small businesses, but it shouldnt. Essentially, its a formalised way of putting in a written quote with your credentials attached. There are how to tender courses available, but in the public sector they are happy to spell out what they are looking for.


Win some, lose some


In essence, schools are looking for reassurance that they are making a sound decision. So you should include written references and testimonials, details of experience and expertise, e.g. training courses attended by staff (these are teachers and they respect written qualifications.) Detail your operational processes, e.g. contact reports. Include copies of your insurance certificates. Answer each question fully but dont over-elaborate. Finally, in the nature of tendering, youll win some and lose some. In either case ask why you won or lost. In the latter case you may not get clear answers. In the former, you almost always will. When you know what makes you a winner, you can replicate it every time.


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