Why Simple Scales: The Hidden Cost of Sounding Too Smart in EdTech Sales

Michael Bates
Oct 30
5 min read

I lost a district deal because my pitch deck was too smart.

The superintendent stopped me halfway through my presentation and asked a question that should have been easy to answer: "I see you're aligned with RTI, MTSS, PBIS, and ESSA. That's great. But what do you actually do?"

I had spent weeks making sure every acronym was covered. Every compliance requirement checked. Every federal program is referenced. I thought I was demonstrating expertise and credibility.

What I was actually doing was making her work too hard to understand the problem we solved.

She needed to explain our solution to her board. And I had just made that impossible.

The Founder Who Lost in Real-Time

A few months later, I watched another founder make the same mistake.

We were both at a district pitch meeting. The curriculum director asked him a straightforward question:

"Can you explain what your product does in one sentence?"

His response:

"We're a comprehensive K-8 reading and math intervention platform with adaptive technology that allows for real-time data-driven decision making that integrates with your existing SIS and LMS."

The director's face said everything.

She wasn't confused because she lacked technical knowledge. She was calculating the work required to translate his answer into something she could present to her superintendent, who would then need to present it to the board.

Needless to say, he didn't get the contract.

What We're Actually Asking Districts to Do

Here's what I didn't understand early in my career: district leaders aren't just evaluating your product. They're evaluating how hard it will be to advocate for you.

When a curriculum director or instructional coach likes your solution, their work is just beginning. They need to champion it through multiple layers:

The superintendent, who manages fifty competing priorities and needs to understand your value quickly.
The board members, who aren't educators, need clarity about what they're approving and why it matters.
The budget committee which needs straightforward ROI guarantees.
The principals and teachers who need to understand what's changing and why it's worth the effort to implement.

If your pitch requires them to become mini-experts on your product just to advocate for it internally, you're asking too much.

And trust me, they'll choose a simpler option instead.

The Difference Between Complexity and Clarity

After losing that first deal, I started paying attention to which companies were winning contracts. And I noticed a pattern:

The winners weren't always the most sophisticated technologically.
They weren't always the most feature-rich.
They weren't always the ones with the most impressive credentials.
They were the easiest to understand and advocate for.

One competitor consistently won deals we thought we should have gotten. Their product wasn't as advanced as ours. But when district leaders talked about them, they could explain simply what problem they solved and for whom.

When district leaders talked about us, they hedged. They qualified. They referenced our materials. They couldn't confidently articulate our value without our deck in front of them.

That's when I realized: complexity was costing us deals.

Not because our product was bad. But because we were making it too hard for people to champion us.

The One-Sentence Test

Now, before any pitch, I ask myself one question:

“Can a district administrator explain what we do to their board in one sentence—without using acronyms or needing our deck?”

If the answer is no, I simplify.

Not because district administrators aren't smart enough to understand complexity. They absolutely are.

But because they shouldn't have to work that hard.

Their job is to run a district, not to decode vendor pitches. If I make their job of advocating for me easier, I increase the chances they'll advocate for me at all.

This test has changed how we communicate everything—pitch decks, proposals, website copy, sales conversations.

If it requires translation, we rewrite it.

What Simplicity Actually Looks Like

Simplifying isn't about removing expertise or dumbing things down. It's about removing friction.

Here's what changed for us:

We stopped leading with compliance alignment. Yes, we're aligned with RTI, MTSS, PBIS, and ESSA. But that's table stakes. That's not what we do. That's how we're structured to meet their requirements.

We started leading with the problem we solve: "We help struggling readers catch up without pulling them out of core instruction."

One sentence. Clear problem. Clear audience. Clear outcome.

The compliance details come later, in the proposal, where they belong. But they're not our identity. They're our credentials.

We stopped trying to sound comprehensive. "Comprehensive" sounds impressive in a pitch deck. But it's vague in practice. What does comprehensive actually mean? Everything? The most important things? The things you think are important?

We got specific: "We focus on phonemic awareness and decoding for K-2 students reading below grade level."

Narrow is scarier to say. But it's clearer to understand. And clarity closes deals.

We stopped using jargon as credibility markers. Terms like "adaptive algorithms" and "real-time analytics dashboards" might impress other tech people. But district leaders aren't buying algorithms. They're buying outcomes.

We translated: "The system adjusts difficulty automatically so students are always working at the right level" and "Teachers can see which students need help today, not next week."

Same capabilities. Clearer value.

Why Simple Scales

The word "simple" makes some founders uncomfortable. It feels like we're lowering our standards or underselling our sophistication.

But here's what I've learned: simple isn't the opposite of sophisticated. It's the opposite of confusing.

And simple is what scales.

When your message is simple, your sales team can deliver it consistently. New reps don't need months to learn how to explain what you do.
When your message is simple, your customers become evangelists. They can confidently refer you to other districts because they can clearly articulate your value.
When your message is simple, you close deals faster. There's less back-and-forth clarification. Fewer questions about what's included. Less confusion about fit.
When your message is simple, districts remember you. Six months after a conference conversation, they can still recall what you do and why it might matter for their context.

Simple doesn't limit you. It focuses you.

The Real Test of Clarity

I recall one time, a curriculum director called me. She was presenting our solution to her board the next day and wanted to confirm she had the pitch right.

She explained what we do in two sentences. She was accurate. She was confident. She didn't need to reference our materials.

That's when I knew we got it right.

Not because she memorized our pitch. But because our pitch was clear enough that she could make it her own.

That's the real test of clarity: can someone else explain your value without you in the room?

If they can, you've made it simple enough.

If they can't, you still have work to do.

What This Means for You

If you're an EdTech founder, ask yourself:

Can your champions advocate for you without needing your materials?
Do you lead with problems and outcomes, or with features and compliance?
Would a non-educator understand what you do from your website homepage?
Can your sales team explain your value consistently in one sentence?

These aren't easy questions. I know because I've been on the wrong side of all of them.

But they're the questions that determine whether you're making it easy or hard for people to choose you.

If a district administrator doesn't understand what you do in the first 60 seconds, that's not their fault. It's yours.

Clarity isn't about dumbing things down. It's about being confident enough to explain it simply.

Simple is what gets repeated in boardrooms.

Simple is what gets remembered at budget meetings.

Simple is what closes deals.