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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.