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EdTech DemandGen & Misaligned Sales Handoff
Here's how I learned it the hard way.

A few years ago, I kept hearing from Sales:
“These leads are bad.” “They’re not ready.”
It was frustrating. I was doing solid work in DemandGen. Sales was doing their job, too.
So… what was going wrong?
After starting SaaSsy and talking to both teams across different EdTech companies, I finally saw the gap:
They had completely different expectations
Marketing was sending Demo and Trial leads. Sales was expecting buyers, ready to close.
Here’s what teams miss:
A Demo request doesn’t mean budget or authority
High-ticket EdTech sales take time and trust
Early leads are a gift, not a failure
Influencers often pass the trust to someone else in the buying group
To turn those early signals into pipeline, Sales needs context...
... because “the problem” isn’t always product-fit.
It could be:
Funding cycles
Internal politics
Integration pain
Mandatory compliance or anything in between!
When Marketing passes contextualized leads - not just contact info - Sales can:
Build rapport around the real problem
Get ahead of decisions
Influence the buying group
Avoid cold discovery
Then, Alignment happens when:
Sales understands...
... not every lead is "ready", but every one can be warmed.
Marketing understands...
... not every form-fill is enough; context is the real value.
There’s one strategy that brings this to life:
Inbound-Led Outbound Strategy
I-LO connects marketing signals with sales action – enabling your team to start warm, relevant conversations and steer purchases.
It bridges demand generation and outbound sales.
Turn early intent into real pipeline in under 90 days
Align Sales and Marketing around warm, relevant signals
Use content, clicks, downloads, and ad engagement to trigger outreach.
I created an entire guide so you understand how it works and how to apply it to your EdTech marketing.
Hi, I’m Rod 👋
I share marketing and sales strategies for EdTech leaders.
Scale your pipeline and drive more demos and trials – no extra hires.
Reply to this email to start a conversation.