helping to bring technology to life in further education
TRANSCRIPT
Presentation Overview• Demonstrate why FE can be a good sector for new idea in technology • Discuss the sales cycle in FE and look at what some of the challenges are
• Look at a new model in EdTech sales that could deliver significant time & cost savings
• Provide case studies to show how effective and efficient this new model could be
• Discuss why Tech Stories experience could be well placed to play a role in establishing this kind of model
About the FE Sector
• 407 Further Education Colleges
• £6.6 Billion Budget
• Close knit community - Allows word of mouth about new ideas & good suppliers to spread
• A £3k service at 200 colleges = £600k
“No one ever got fired for going with IBM”
Technology in FE – Too Much Choice?
Education Specialists
High Growth Start Ups
Main Stream Which Area of Education?
1,268 edu Suppliers
.
• Disparity between exhibitors at edu events and the most used tools in the Classroom.
• Difference appear to be that services are either free and/or they enjoy growth through word of mouth.
Good products get bought... They don’t need to be sold!
42 of Top 100 edu tools
4-5 Years before SM was adopted
US InstitutionsUK Schools UK Further Ed UK Universities
Technology in FE – Different Perspectives?Innovators & Visionaries Vs Skeptics & Laggards
When discussing any emerging new technology, there are “early adopter” proponents as well as those that are more cautious about the latest technology.
“We’re going to use these tools anyway, we may as well get
an understanding of them sooner rather
than later”
“What difference has all this
technology made to teaching,
learning or exam results?”
“We can end up spending as much time debating views on technology in general than on the specifics of what the new technology will do once it’s in the classroom” Tech Story
Moore’s Competitive Positioning Compass
Typical FE Sales Cycle
Total New Customer Acquisition CostTime: 35 wks
Cost: £30k
Identify DecisionMakers
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Introduction to Key influencers
Cost/Time: 12 wks
Initial phone pitch
Cost/Time: 2-4 wks
Attend FE/EduConferences
Cost/Time: £10k
Initial MeetingCost/Time: £7k
Internal College Due Diligence
Cost/Time: 12 wks
Follow Up MeetingCost/Time: £5k
Identify/RecruitEdu specialist
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Source College ContactsCost/Time: 1 wk
Initial Meeting May include prospects who are:
• Making up numbers for quote• Not the decision makers• General interest• Conservative and risk averse
Initial Meeting May include prospects who are:
• Making up numbers for quote• Not the decision makers• General interest• Conservative and risk averse
Total New Customer Acquisition Cost
Time Saved: 35 wksCost Savings: £30k
Total New Customer Acquisition CostTime: 35 wks
Cost: £30k
Tech Stories Potential FE Sales Cycle
Introduction to Key influencers
Cost/Time: 12 wks
Initial phone pitch
Cost/Time: 2-4 wks
Attend FE/EduConferences
Cost/Time: £10k
Initial MeetingCost/Time: £7k
Source College ContactsCost/Time: 1 wk
Sales CallsCost/Time: 12 wks
Identify DecisionMakers
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Follow Up EnquiriesCost/Time: 2-4 wks
Conference EnquiriesCost/Time: 1 wk
Initial MeetingCost/Time: 1 wk
Internal College Due Diligence
Cost/Time: 4 wks
• 1,200 Edu Suppliers• Main Stream Suppliers• Other Start Ups
Identify/RecruitEdu specialist
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Cost of sales calls to the college
Time Saved: 35 wksCost Savings: £30k
Cost of sales calls to the collegeTime: 35 wks
Cost: £30k
Internal College Due Diligence
Cost/Time: 12 wks
Follow Up MeetingSupplier: £5kCollege: 1 wk
Supplier CostsCollege Costs
Technology Adoption Life CycleSupporters
Skeptic
Specialist Generalist
Technology
Enthusiasts
Product
Visionaries
Pragmatist
Laggards – Whole
Product Support
Crossing the
Chasm
Examples of Technology Adoption in FE
• At least 368 Colleges use these sites today• At least 232 Colleges have links to them on the college homepage• Initially most colleges blocked these sites
Date Established: Feb 2004 Feb 2005 March 2006
A New Tech Sales Model for FEWe believe there is a model that could reward the early adopters and, at the same time, aid the decision making process of colleges that prefer “whole product solutions”
We aim to make it easier for suppliers to connect with the early adopters in a more welcome and efficient way.
Company
Technology
Product
Market
Supporters
Skeptic
Specialist Generalist
• Benchmarks• Product Reviews• Design Wins• Initial Sales Volume• Visionary Endorsements
• Architecture• Schematics• Demos• Trial• Technology Press Coverage• Guru Endorsements
• Revenues & Profits • Strategic Partners • Top Tier Customers• Full Product Line• Business Press Coverage• Financial Analyst Endorsements
• Market Share• Third Party Support• Standards Certification• Application Proliferation• Vertical Press Coverage• Industry Analyst Endorsements
Innovators (2.5%)
Early Adopters (13.5%)
Early Majority (34%)
Late Majority (34%)
Laggards (16%)
New FE Tech
The Chasm
Adopt new technology because
they appreciate technology for its
own sake
Match emerging technology with strategic business
opportunity
Against discontinuous innovations,
believe in traditional methods
Learned the hard way that the “leading edge” is often the “bleeding edge”
How has technology improved exam results? Need to neutralise their influence so they don’t block the sale.
The Chasm10 55 Colleges 138 Colleges 138 Colleges 65 Colleges
Tech Stories Potential FE Sales Cycle
Total New Customer Acquisition CostTime: 35 wks
Cost: £30k
Identify DecisionMakers
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Introduction to Key influencers
Cost/Time: 12 wks
Initial phone pitch
Cost/Time: 2-4 wks
Attend FE/EduConferences
Cost/Time: £10k
Initial MeetingCost/Time: £7k
Internal College Due Diligence
Cost/Time: 12 wks
Follow Up MeetingCost/Time: £5k
Identify/RecruitEdu specialist
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Source College ContactsCost/Time: 1 wk
Total New Customer Acquisition Cost
Time Saved: 35 wksCost Savings: £30k
• 1,200 Suppliers with a £3k service would be £3.6m at 1 college.
• 1,200 suppliers at 407 colleges = £1.5bn
• 65 Colleges @ £3,000 = £195k
• 200 Colleges @ £2,000 = £400k
• Working with early adoptersin this sector would make solutions more bespoke and facilitate growth
• A result of Twitter in FE Report was that I was if I’d like to contribute to a Social Media Risk Report that CrowdControlHQ was putting together for Further Education
• Sent this report out to FE contacts
• Asked if colleges would like to be involved with a pilot • 55 Colleges expressed an interest Time & cost savings enabled CrowdControlHQ to offer a 75% discount to “Innovators and early adopters”
Market Research – Pilot Project
Market Research - Customer ValidationGiven that the Further Education is a small tight knit community, customer validation is key to engaging with the sector
• A survey was sent out to people who had requested my reports
• 46 Colleges provided some input
• The feedback was extremely positive
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Tech Stories – Background• 12 Years experience in Higher & Further Education
• Achieved 50% market share in 3 years
• Helped get project recognised & recommended by
Association of FE Student Services Healthy College Scheme Learning Skills Improvement Service
•Tied our solution into government policy – ECM, NI Healthy Colleges, Ofsted
• Established on of the first UK pilots based on “social norms”
• Successful handover by training team of 6 in newly established London office
• Generated over £2 million over 3 years for a company with annual turnover of £1 million.
Tech Stories – In-Bound, Permission BasedIn 2009 understood there was a shift from out bound sales calls to in-bound marketing
• Explored social media and concepts of in bound marketing
• Collaborated with industry experts to share my findings with the FE sector
Twitter in Further Education Tech Story Business Development Ideas for FE “i-Don’t Smoke” Intro to Social Norms Culture in Education
Tech Stories – Social Media Followers Job Title # Job Title #Principals 375 SMT PA’s 139Marketing 284 Bus Dev 98Vice Principals 184 IT 78Student Services 183 Other 178
Summary
• FE Colleges can be a good sector for start ups with a strong value proposition
• However internal and external factors it can make it a complex and time consuming sales process
• Working with Tech Stories could help identify the crucial early adopter market and reduce the sales cycle
• Tech Stories is committed to in-bound, permission based sales & marketing practices
Innovators (2.5%)
Early Adopters (13.5%)
Early Majority (34%)
Late Majority (34%)
Laggards (16%)
New FE Tech
The Chasm
Adopt new technology because
they appreciate technology for its
own sake
Match emerging technology with strategic business
opportunity
Against discontinuous innovations,
believe in traditional methods
Learned the hard way that the “leading edge” is often the “bleeding edge”
How has technology improved exam results? Need to neutralise their influence so they don’t block the sale.
The Chasm10 55 Colleges 138 Colleges 138 Colleges 65 Colleges
The Competition
InefficenciesEconomies of ScaleInternal employeesEmployee churnThe ChasmWasteCost freeLarger MarketsHelp small tech companies to apply the kind ofsales principles and approaches that Microsoft,Google & Apple use
Tech Stories Potential FE Sales Cycle
Cost of sales calls to the collegeTime: 35 wks
Cost: £30k
Sales CallsCost/Time: 12 wks
Follow Up EnquiriesCost/Time: 2-4 wks
Conference EnquiriesCost/Time: 1 wk
Initial MeetingCost/Time: 1 wk
Internal College Due Diligence
Cost/Time: 4 wks
Follow Up MeetingSupplier: £5kCollege: 1 wk
Identify/RecruitEdu specialist
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Source College ContactsCost/Time: 1 wk
Cost of sales calls to the college
Time Saved: 35 wksCost Savings: £30k
Introduction to Key influencers
Cost/Time: 12 wks
Identify DecisionMakers
Cost/Time: 4-6 wks
Initial phone pitch
Cost/Time: 2-4 wks
Attend FE/EduConferences
Cost/Time: £10k
Initial MeetingCost/Time: £7k
Internal College Due Diligence
Cost/Time: 12 wks
• 1,200 Edu Suppliers• Main Stream Suppliers• Other Start Ups
Total New Customer Acquisition Cost
Time Saved: 35 wksCost Savings: £30k
College CostsSupplier Costs