One-size-fits-all sales materials no longer cut it in today’s rapidly evolving education landscape. With education funding and priorities increasingly shifting to state control, sales teams need targeted resources that speak directly to their prospects’ unique circumstances.
How, then, can your marketing team effectively create and manage state-specific sales enablement materials while maximizing your limited resources? By focusing on strategic state customization, strong sales-marketing collaboration, and efficient content creation, marketing teams can provide their sales colleagues with the tools they need to close deals effectively.
The Growing State Divide in Education
The education sector is experiencing unprecedented regional differentiation. As federal stimulus funds (ESSER) expire, districts will return to the pre-Covid model of relying heavily on state and local funding sources. This shift, combined with growing state-level autonomy in educational decision-making, means that understanding and addressing state-specific needs has never been more important.
More and more, states are charting their own distinct paths in education, from curriculum standards to assessment methods. Some states are introducing religious elements into their curriculum, while others are expanding bilingual education requirements. These divergent approaches reflect fundamental differences that sales teams must navigate sensitively and knowledgeably.
The Power of Local Proof Points
When engaging with education decision-makers, nothing resonates quite like success stories from their own backyard. State-specific examples, including efficacy data and local case studies, can make the difference between a prospect seeing your solution as a generic offering versus a proven fit for their unique context.
For example, showing how your solution helped improve test scores in a neighboring district while working within state-specific funding mechanisms demonstrates both practical value and implementation feasibility. Further, understanding state-specific funding sources – whether it’s Title I allocations, state literacy grants, or local tax revenues – allows sales teams to have more productive conversations about procurement and implementation.
Building Better Sales-Marketing Collaboration
Creating effective state-specific materials starts with strong collaboration between sales and marketing teams. In the hustle and bustle of their busy days, sales teams often forget to relay to the marketing team the common objections they are hearing from prospects during the sales process. Meanwhile, marketing teams create resources that may miss the mark because they lack real-world feedback from the field.
To improve this dynamic, your sales and marketing teams should establish regular check-ins to discuss current prospect challenges and needs. Remind marketers to routinely share new or updated materials with sales to ensure everyone knows what resources are available and how to use them effectively.
Smart Strategies for State-Specific Content & Sales Materials
While creating customized materials for all 50 states isn’t realistic for most organizations, there are still efficient approaches to developing content that resonates with specific states or regions.
Instead of treating each state as unique, search for regional commonalities. States in the Northeast often share similar priorities and challenges, as do states in the South. This clustering approach allows you to create foundational materials for each region that you can modify with targeted state-specific information.
Start small and expand strategically by working with your sales team to identify 3–5 priority states based on current opportunities and market potential. Use these materials as templates that can be modified for states with similar characteristics, gradually expanding your state-specific library based on sales team feedback and results.
Essential Components of State-Specific Sales Materials
To create the most effective materials, focus on elements that matter most during one-on-one sales conversations. Case studies featuring similar institutions within the state demonstrate local relevance. For those unclear how to pay for your product or program, state-specific funding guides help navigate procurement discussions.
Local testimonials build credibility, while customized ROI calculations based on state funding models make the business case clear. Perhaps most importantly, efficacy research that aligns with state standards and strategic priorities shows how your solution addresses prospects’ specific needs.
Making Materials Accessible and Useful
Even the best sales enablement materials are worthless if your sales team can’t find them or doesn’t know they exist. Create a shared database where marketing and sales teams can easily log prospects’ common barriers to purchase, local success stories from the sales or customer success team, and state-specific requirements they encounter.
Your shared database should:
- Clearly label materials by state and use case
- Make resources easily searchable
- Include regular updates to keep content current
- Provide quick access to both state-specific and general materials
The Path Forward
Remember, the goal of state-level sales and marketing isn’t to create unique materials for every possible scenario, but rather to identify and address the most important area-specific elements that will move conversations forward and help prospects see the value in your solution.
Start small, prioritize effectively, and build your library of state-specific materials gradually. The investment in creating these targeted resources will pay off in more effective sales conversations and better-equipped sales teams.
If you’d like to hear how CB&A works with companies like yours to create effective, state-specific sales enablement programs, we’d love to hear from you.