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EDUCATIONYour Guide to Sales Success in the Education Market

2

Table of Contents

3 SWOT analysis

5 Major trends in the education market

8 Market overview charts

10 Typical buying process

11 Personas

17 Sales enablement

20 Sales tools

3

SWOT Analysis

4

Market Overview | SWOT

Strengths

Enablement: A large portion of students with disabili-ties have difficulty writing manually and using a keyboard effectively or have a learning disability that involves difficulty creating written language. Dragon will dramatically improve the learning process for these students and enable them to reach their full potential.

A fertile market: Section 504 and the Individuals with Disability Education Act ensure that every child with a disability receives free and appropriate education. Special education departments are staffed with individuals who are tasked with finding technology solutions, such as Dragon, that best enable learning.

Traction: Education is the vertical with the greatest penetration for Dragon. School districts across the country have been exposed to Dragon.

Available budgets: Despite small budget cuts, school districts receive significant funding from a variety of sources to support their special education programs.

Weaknesses Negative perceptions: Special education professionals who have first-hand knowledge of older versions of voice recognition software have concerns about ease of use, accuracy and performance.

Outdated systems: Many districts have older comput-ers and the purchase of Dragon may require an upgrade to hardware and software.

Macs: Many school systems utilize Apple Macs in the classroom and will not be able to take advantage of Dragon (a referral to MacSpeech Dictate would make sense for this situation). 43% of new students are likely to purchase a Mac.

Special education only: Many general education teachers see Dragon as a solution for one or two students in their classroom who have physical disabilities vs. a tool that can be used for their entire class to help with learning (reading, writing, etc.).

Opportunities

Cross-sell to business education: The school districts that already utilize Dragon for special education will be more receptive to using Dragon as part of their business education curriculum.

Learning disabilities: In addition to physical disabilities, Dragon can provide accessibility and enablement for students with a variety of learning disabilities, including dyslexia, dysgrapia and cognitive disabilities.

Productivity solution: Dragon delivers productivity benefits for students of all abilities.

Threats

Budgets: Although schools are mandated to fund special education needs, economic pressures may make it difficult to add technologies that may be viewed by some as nonessential.

Microsoft: Microsoft continues to invest in its speech recognition efforts, offered free to Vista customers.

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Market Overview | Major Trends in Education

CULTURE

The various types of disabilities that may qualify individu-

als for special education programs include: specific learning

disabilities, speech or language impairments, mental retar-

dation, emotional disturbance, multiple disabilities, hearing

impairments, orthopedic impairments, visual impairments,

autism, combined deafness and blindness, traumatic brain

injury, and other health impairments. Students are classified

within a specific category, and special education teachers are

prepared to work with specific groups.

A small number of special education teachers work with stu-

dents who suffer from severe cases of mental retardation or

autism, and primarily teach them life skills and basic literacy.

However, the majority of special education teachers work

with children who present mild to moderate disabilities, and

use or modify the general education curriculum to meet each

child’s individual needs.

Special education teachers enjoy the challenge of working

with students with disabilities and the opportunity to estab-

lish meaningful relationships with them. Although helping

these students can be highly rewarding, the work also can be

emotionally and physically draining. Many special education

teachers are under considerable stress due to heavy work-

loads and administrative tasks. Their pay is low compared to

other careers that require advanced degrees.

KEY FACTS

1 in 5 children is dyslexic.

3 million plus school-age children are currently

receiving special education services.

QUOTE:

“For me it was both an awakening as to the pain he suffers every day not being able to express himself, and amazing joy — your software program has given our son hope and the ability to express himself.”

-A Father of a Dyslexic child after his son used Dragon for the first time (from a letter sent to Nuance customer service).

6


TECHNOLOGY

Technology is becoming increasingly important in special educa-

tion. Teachers use more specialized equipment to assist children,

such as computers with synthesized speech, interactive educa-

tional software programs, and audiotapes.

Most larger school districts are staffed with an assistive technol-

ogy specialist who identifies and implements assistive technology

teaching aids and learning tools. Based on the type and sever-

ity of learning disabilities within a district, technology purchases

can vary from an alternative keyboard designed to assist a single

student with poor fine motor skills to a district-wide site license

for an assistive software program.

Computers have become an integral part of the classroom.

Some schools provide laptops for all students while others

fund and staff computer centers or labs. Most teachers have a

computer in the classroom and many have overhead projectors

to display the lesson. All special education classrooms have

computers and other advanced assistive technologies.

* Heller report on Education Technology Markets

QUOTE:

“Technology has been crucial in helping extraordinary students achieve the same level of education as the general population students.”

-Special Education Director, Large School District.

KEY FACTS

98% of public schools are connected to the internet,

91% of classrooms are connected to the internet.*

2/3 of computers used in classrooms

use Microsoft.*

Total US school district spending has reached

$6.15 billion for technology.*

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JOB OVERVIEW

Special education teachers design and teach appropriate cur-

ricula, assign work geared toward each student’s needs and

abilities, and grade papers and homework assignments. They

are involved in the students’ behavioral, social and academic

development, helping them develop emotionally, feel comfort-

able in social situations and become aware of socially acceptable

behavior. Preparing special education students for daily life after

graduation is also an important aspect of the job. Teachers pro-

vide students with career counseling or help them learn routine,

real-world skills, such as balancing a checkbook.

As schools become more inclusive, special education teach-

ers and general education teachers increasingly work together

in general education classrooms. Special education teachers

help general educators adapt curriculum materials and teaching

techniques to meet the needs of students with disabilities. They

coordinate the work of teachers, teacher assistants, and related

personnel, such as therapists and social workers, to meet the

individualized needs of the student within inclusive special edu-

cation programs. A large part of a special education teacher’s job

involves communicating and coordinating with others involved in

the child’s well being, including parents, social workers, school

psychologists, occupational and physical therapists, school ad-

ministrators, and other teachers.

Special education teachers work in a variety of settings. Some

have their own classrooms and teach only special education stu-

dents. Others work as special education resource teachers and

offer individualized help to students in general education class-

rooms. Still others teach alongside general education teachers in

classes that include both general and special education students.

KEY FACTS

Special education teachers held a total of about

459,000 jobs in 2006.*

Most states require a master’s degree in

special education.*

QUOTE:

“A special education teacher has one of the toughest jobs in education. It requires patience, understanding and a very large heart.”

-Special Education Director, Large School District.

* Bureau of Labor Statistics

8

Market Overview | Charts

National Center for Education Statistics

The top 100 districts account for 23% of all students which represents a big opportunity for Dragon

Over 55 million students are in the US education system and enrollment is projected to grow through 2016…

Number Number of full- Number of time-equivalent ofName of reporting district City State County students1 (FTE) teachers2 schools4

Reporting districts5 † † † 11,270,624 614,484 16,328

1. New York City Public Schools Brooklyn NY Kings 986,967 — 1,205

2. Los Angeles Unified Los Angeles CA Los Angeles 741,367 35,186 721

3. Puerto Rico Department of Education San Juan PR San Juan 575,648 43,054 1,523

4. City of Chicago School District Chicago IL Cook 426,812 25,260 634

5. Dade County School District Miami FL Miami-Dade 368,933 20,086 381

96. Osceola County School District Kissimmee FL Osceola 47,446 2,485 61

97. Pasadena Independent School District Pasadena TX Harris 47,440 3,014 57

98. Brownsville Independent School District Brownsville TX Cameron 46,846 2,952 51

99. Seattle School District 1 Seattle WA King 46,746 2,585 111

100. Henrico County Public Schools Richmond VA Henrico 46,711 3,321 68

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, O�ce of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)

13.8% of students (about 6.7 million) are classified as disabled and receive special education. Speech or language impairment is the second most common disability.

Percentage of children and youth ages 3–21 served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), by disability

Specific learning disabilities

Speech or language impairments

Mental retardation

Emotional disturbance

Hearing impairments

Orthopedic impairments

Other health impairments

Visual impairments

Multiple disabilities

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Enrollment in elementary and secondary schools, by level and control of institution (In thousands)


Year Total Total Grades Pre K-8 Grades 9-12 Total Grades Pre K-8 Grades 9-12

2005 54,224 49,113 34,205 14,909 6,111 4,736 1,376

2006 55,524 49,370 34,387 14,983 6,155 4,779 1,375

2007 55,762 49,610 34,592 15,018 6,152 4,784 1,368

2008 55,966 49,812 34,873 14,939 6,154 4,805 1,348

2014 58,486 52,135 37,271 14,864 6,350 5,088 1,262

2015 59,147 52,733 37,578 15,155 6,414 5,133 1,281

2016 59,780 53,300 37,917 15,382 6,481 5,179 1,301

Public Private

Most special education students spend at least part of their day in the general education classroom.


Time spent in general education classrooms.

Perc

ent

of s

pec

ial e

du

cati

on

stu

den

ts.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

26.3%

4%

17.5%

52.1%

80% or more

40%-79% less than40%

none

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Market Overview | Other Opportunities

Accessibility

K-12

Size:

• 6.7 Million students

• 13.8 % of all students

Expenditures:

• $1.5 billion spent on technology and other

instructional support in Special Education

Higher Education

Size:

• 2.3 Million Students designated as Disabled

• 11.3% of all students

Expenditures:

• $84 Million spent on Student Support

Services including technology and other

instructional support

Business Education

K-12

Size:

• 4.8 million students enrolled in Business

Education courses annually

• 100,000 teachers teaching Business

Education courses annually

Expenditures:

• $539 million spent on Instructional software

Higher Education

Size:

• 800K Students/yr enrolled in Business

Education courses

• 40K Teachers/yr teaching Business

Education courses

Expenditures:

• $96 million spent on Instructional software

Although the focus of this Playbook is on Special Education in Primary and Secondary schools,

other education opportunities exist.

]Focus of this

playbook

10

Market Overview | Typical Buying Process

Special education departments oversee discretionary budgets

for targeted technology purchases. Limited-scale purchases do

not require the involvement of the district-wide administration

department. Wider implementations of technology across the

district are likely to involve the general administration and the

general education instructional technology department, along

with the director of special education and the assistive technol-

ogy specialist.

Some states consolidate technology purchases by pre-nego-

tiating deals for the districts and then placing vendors on an

approved list. Budget decisions are made in mid to late-spring

and planning begins in early Q1. In some states or districts, the

director pre-negotiates prices and terms for technology and then

it is up to each school to include in their budget process.

Many special education technologies are purchased as a pilot

and deployed in a few classrooms. Depending on the success of

the pilot (and the size of investment required) the director of spe-

cial education will propose a capital expenditure for the technol-

ogy to the superintendent or the district administrator.

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Prospect InsightsWhat is a Persona?

Personas help us give a “face” to our target customers. The

persona descriptions listed here represent a fictional depiction

of the typical prospect that we are targeting with our sales and

marketing activity. These characters are based upon extensive

interviews with actual prospects and customers and attempt to

bring some of the key aspects of the target to life. The actual

prospects will vary in their attitudes and demographics but most

will share some aspects of the descriptions that follow.

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Prospect Insights | Summary of Prospects

Large School District/Director of Special Education

This individual is tasked with ensuring that each and every student with a disability receives every advantage and access that general population students receive. He or she typically has a Master’s degree in special education and has spent years in the classroom as a special education teacher.

The day-to-day work of the director involves managing the depart-ment and the teachers spread across the district, ensuring that all students receive the same opportunities for learning regardless of dis-ability. This means meeting with parents, visiting classrooms and set-ting standards for the upcoming school year’s curriculum. By working closely with the assistive technology specialist, the director ensures that the best technology solutions are considered to address the high-priority needs of the student population. A portion of time is spent meeting with school committee members to explain the importance of technology investments in assisting challenged students.

Why Dragon?

Dragon is proven to dramatically improve output for a large portion of students faced with a range of disabilities. In addition, the software can be used as a productivity tool for all students to improve reading and writing. Dragon Professional is easy to install and maintain in a

lab environment.

Large School District/Assistive Technology Specialist

The assistive technology specialist is tasked with finding technology solutions that address the needs of the special education population. This includes hardware and software, as well as technologies that are highly specialized to certain disabilities or conditions. This position requires a lot of time traveling to classrooms, helping teachers imple-ment technologies and learn how to use them with their students.

Why Dragon?

Dragon is proven to dramatically improve output for a large portion of students faced with a range of disabilities. Dragon Professional is easy to install and maintain and will help students of all abilities.

13

Prospect Insights | Personas

Director of Special Education/Betty Small

OVERVIEW

Betty is recognized across the state as a leader in special educa-

tion curriculum and learning. She attends conferences across

the state and nationally, and is frequently invited to be a speaker.

Betty went to Leslie College in the early ’80s. Her first job out of

college was as a high school math teacher. Betty found she truly

enjoyed helping students learn and she got a thrill when she was

able to help some of the challenged students.

This led to her decision to become a special education teacher.

After receiving her master’s in special education from night

school at Leslie, she took a job as one of just three special edu-

cation teachers in a public middle school. It was in this setting

that Betty truly excelled. Betty has three children of her own

and her youngest is a role-model student in an integrated fourth

grade class.

Her patience, understanding and knack for finding or develop-

ing unique approaches to overcoming disabilities have long been

recognized both within her school and across the district. When

the director of special education retired four years ago, Betty was

identified as the prime candidate to replace her — and she gladly

took the job. Although the job ultimately took her out of the

classroom (a place she truly loves to be), it has provided the op-

portunity for Betty to modernize enablement approaches across

the district’s 20 schools.

Betty Small, Director of Special Education

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Role in purchase decisions

Betty has a discretionary budget that she’s able to use for student-specific investments — and she’s learned to make the most of it, especially for the needs of individual students. Betty works closely with the as-sistive technology specialist to find and implement technologies that give students of all backgrounds the opportunity to obtain the same level of education as the general student population.

Each year, Betty approaches the budgeting process with her wish list. She prioritizes technology and devices that will have the greatest impact across a diverse population of students with special needs. Severely handicapped students receive the bulk of the investment, so there’s less to spread across those who have less severe needs. For instance, students with dyslexia or dysgraphia are challenged but little has been invested in finding creative ways to help these students. Betty is determined to find the latest and best ways to help them and will make a strong recommendation to the district administrative team to allocate budget for these students.

Since the passing of the Individuals with Disability Act in the ’70s, schools are required to provide free and appropriate education to students with disabilities, some of which is paid for through federal and state funding. Betty thinks this law has been a godsend, because it ensures that budgets are made available to help those students most unable to help themselves.

Attitude towards technology

Technology has made all the difference. It allows stu-dents challenged with a disability to obtain the level of education that the general population of students achieve.

With a great deal of satisfaction, Betty still remem-bers Bobby Wilson, a former student now at Har-vard. Bobby was born blind and with a neurological condition that causes seizures. Through a combina-tion of hard effort, focused education and enabling technologies, Bobby was able to thrive in the class-room setting. Just 10 years ago, Bobby would have experienced difficulty learning and would likely not have gone so far. Betty recognizes technology as the tools that enable extraordinary students to achieve their potential.

Attitude towards Dragon Naturally-Speaking

Early in her career, Betty was part of a team that beta-tested Dragon for students with autism. The results were mixed. At the time, the software was not as accurate as she hoped and it was too frustrating for students to use. She knows that the software has improved over time and is curious to see if it’s making

a difference in other school districts.

Betty Small, Director of Special Education

15


Assistive Technology Specialist/Fred Criniti

OVERVIEW

Fred completed his Master’s degree in special education last year and was excited to find a job suited to his passion for technology and teaching extraordinary students. Fred lives with his partner of four years in a loft in the city. He has two dogs that he treats like his children.

Fred’s job is challenging. His boss, the director of special educa-tion, is driven to get things done and she constantly pushes Fred to find the best technology solutions for each student. Fred recently attended his first assistive technology conference and returned with several ideas for better enabling students. He loves the fact that he’s viewed as the technology expert across the district and doesn’t mind all the handholding required with teachers who need to learn what a difference the right tools can make. Fred meets with parents of students every once in a while, especially if a technology is recommended for home use.

Fred Criniti, Assistive Technology Specialist

16


Role in purchase decisions

Fred oversees enabling technology in 20 classrooms across the district. Much of his time is spent traveling to schools and work-ing with the teachers to implement solutions, training them to use what can be very complicated hardware and software. This is Fred’s first time in the budget process and he’s working very hard to ensure that his technology recommendations are approved. The ins and outs of the process are new to Fred, but he picks things up quickly with help from the director.

Fred works with the general instruction tech department to up-grade all the computers across the district. The big decision this

year is whether or not to make the jump from PCs to Macs.

Attitude towards technology

Fred is amazed at how technology can help students achieve

their full potential. Some of the solutions vendors have devel-

oped are truly ingenious, breakthrough technologies. Fred loves

to meet with the account people from various vendors. It’s a great

way to get their perspective on the latest trends and hear what

other school districts are doing.

Attitude towards Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Fred uses Dragon at home and at work to speed up the time it

takes to create emails and documents. Fred has long thought

that Dragon has a place in the classroom, not only for special

education students who have trouble using a keyboard but with

the general population to improve “output” (written work).

Fred Criniti, Assistive Technology Specialist

17

Sales Enablement

18

Sales Enablement | Pain Points and Key Selling Messages

Pain Points

• Many students have disabilities that limit their

ability to use a keyboard or write manually. The

school system handles quite a few students who

have disabilities involving difficulties with written

language (dysgraphia, dyslexia, autism, cognitive

disability). Many of these students are not getting

all the help they deserve.

• Schools need to teach students a wide range of

PC skills, including alternate input methods.

Key Selling Messages

• Dragon will provide access to a better learning experience for these students.

Dragon enables students to create work through speech and vastly improves the

output for students who suffer disabilities involving written language.

• Dragon enables students with a variety of disabilities to reach their full potential.

• Several states have already adopted speech recognition as part of their

business education curriculums. Once a student learns about speech

recognition, it often becomes a personal productivity tool.

19

Sales Enablement | Key Selling Messages

Key objections and concerns — and how to overcome them

“I tried it before and it didn’t work for the students.”What if someone told you “I don’t think videos games are that

good. I used an Atari 2600 and wasn’t that impressed.”? They

are obviously referencing older technology and haven’t looked

at the new consoles like the Wii and the Xbox 360. Likewise,

speech recognition technology has advanced substantially.

Hardware has also improved so that speech systems can take

advantage of increased processing power and noise-canceling

headsets.

“I’m not really sure how this will help out my students.”Writing, spelling and typing can be frustratingly complex for any

student, but particularly for those students with a physical or

learning disability. Dragon gives these students a quick, easy

way to transfer ideas from their minds to paper.

“Our computers are a bit older, will this work with them?”It’s important that your hardware meet Dragon’s minimum

system requirements for optimum performance. We can review

these requirements with you in advance to be sure that your

hardware is up to speed. We supply the headsets and micro-

phones with Dragon, so no additional hardware is necessary.

“I’m not sure my students will have the patience to go through a long training process. How long will the transition be before students can productively use the tool?”A student’s experience with Dragon will be as individual and

varied as the students themselves. The key is to have a

training program in place so that students have a proper

foundation for using the software. Nuance can work with

you to prepare a detailed curriculum for your students.

“Our school district uses Macs. Will this work with Apple computers?”Dragon is not designed to work with Macs, but we can work with

you to learn more about MacSpeech, an Apple-specific speech

recognition tool that is built on top of the Dragon engine.

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Sales Enablement | Sales Tools

The following items will soon be at your disposal to help you

obtain large license deals:

• Industry-specific slides

• BTA list development

• ROI calculator

• Case studies

• White papers

• Day in the life video

• Demo scripts

• Key contacts

• Pilot programs

• Webinars

As of December 2008, these items are in development and are

slated for unveiling in the first half of 2009.

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