Why “No Money” Is a Myth

I want to talk about the four words that kill more EdTech deals than bad products, bad timing, or bad presentations combined.

“We don’t have money.”

If you sell to K–12 districts, you’ve heard this before—probably more times than you’d like. Most founders I talk to handle it the same way: they thank the district administrator for their time, make a note to follow up next year, and move on.

I’ve been selling into districts for 40 years. Senior roles at Pearson, HMH, and EPS Literacy & Intervention. And now I work with EdTech founders who are trying to figure out how to close these deals on their own. So I’ve heard “no money” hundreds of times. And I can tell you that in most of those situations, it wasn’t true.

No one is lying. They’re telling you what they know based on what they’ve seen so far. The real issue is they haven’t seen enough value yet to look for the money.

Districts Don’t Have One Budget

This is where many founders get tripped up, especially those coming from the private sector or startup world. They think of a district budget like a company budget: a single pool of money allocated at the top and spent as needed.

That’s not how districts work. Not even close.

A district’s budget has many layers: federal funding, state allocations, Title I through Title IV, competitive grants, formula grants, local levies, and bond measures. In recent years, there have also been ESSER funds, some of which went unspent.

Each of these funding streams has its own rules, timelines, and reporting requirements. In most districts, different people manage each one. The curriculum director might not know what the Title I coordinator has available. The superintendent may have approved priorities six months ago that the person you’re talking to hasn’t even heard about yet.

So when someone says there’s no money, they’re usually talking about just one line item or funding source. That’s only a small part of the bigger picture. If you take it at face value and walk away, you could miss out on funds that were already there.

Ask a Different Question

Here’s where the conversation changes.

Most founders ask some version of “What’s your budget?” when talking about price. It’s a natural question, but it’s not the right one. It puts the district administrator on the spot and makes it easy for them to end the conversation.

Try this instead: “What initiatives are getting the most attention in your district this year?”

Or: “What outcomes are you being measured on right now?”

Or: “What was at the top of your improvement plan this year?”

These questions move the conversation from money to priorities. Once you know what a district has already funded, you can show how your solution supports that work. You’re not asking for new money—you’re helping them see how their current funds can go further.

I’ve watched this happen over and over. A founder goes into a meeting thinking they need to convince someone to spend. But the spending has already been approved. It’s sitting inside a literacy initiative, a Title IV allocation, a social-emotional learning grant. The founder just didn’t know how to ask about it.

Most Founders Leave Too Soon

I often see founders hear “no money” and back off because they don’t want to seem pushy. I understand—no one wants to be that person. But there’s a big difference between being aggressive and being curious.

If a district administrator tells you there’s no money and you respond, “I understand. Can I ask, what’s the biggest challenge your team is working through this year?” — that isn’t pressure. It shows genuine interest. It lets them know you care about what they’re dealing with, not just what you’re selling.

That’s when trust starts to build—not during a polished presentation or a follow-up email, but in the moment when most people would say “thanks for your time” and leave. If you stay and ask one more question, you set yourself apart from other founders.

What Happens When You Stay

I tell every founder I work with: if you end the conversation at “no money,” you left too soon. “No money” isn’t really an objection—it’s a sign to keep talking.

That’s where you find out what’s actually happening inside that district. What the district administrator is worried about. What pressures are coming from the board? What their teachers are telling them. What they need but haven’t been able to get with the tools they already have.

Some of the best deals I’ve seen started with someone saying “no money.” It wasn’t because the founder pushed harder, but because they stayed curious. They asked questions that helped the district administrator see their resources in a new way. They offered to build a plan that fit an existing initiative. They made it easy for the administrator to tell their team, “This isn’t a new expense—this supports what we’re already doing.”

That’s when deals happen.

It’s Not About Having a Script

I want to be clear about something. Handling objections isn’t about memorizing three responses and hoping one of them lands. That’s not what I teach, and it’s not how this works. In fact, what I teach keeps you from getting objections.

What works is understanding how districts think about money. How do they make decisions? How many people are involved in a purchase, and how long does it actually take to move from interest to a signed contract? When you really understand that process, you stop hearing “no money” as a rejection. Instead, you hear it as the start of a conversation.

The founders who close deals consistently aren’t always the smoothest talkers. They’re the ones who can handle a “no” and stick around. They ask one more question, even when it would be easier to leave. That extra question is often the one that keeps the door open.

If pricing conversations are stalling your pipeline, send me a message to arrange a call. This is what I teach founders to do.

#EdTechSales #K12 #Value