NEW RELEASES
Close More District Deals.
Starting Now.
40 years of EdTech sales expertise — distilled into a book and a course designed to help founders stop losing winnable deals.
THE BOOK
ONE MORE
QUESTION
40 Years of Selling EdTech: A Founder's Guide to Closing District Deals
BY | Michael Bates | Former VP · Pearson · HMH · Curriculum Associates · LeapFrog
EdTech founders with strong products lose winnable deals every year. Not because their products don't work — because they can't tell the difference between a district that's interested and a district that's ready to buy.
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Drawing on 40 years of selling EdTech into K-12 districts, Mike Bates teaches the discovery-led process that separates founders who close district deals from founders who don't. The right product is the easy part. This book teaches the rest.
Qualify districts before you spend months on the wrong ones
Align your solution to funded mandates
"Clients buying instead of salespeople selling."
-ANDREW P.
Lead with the problem instead of the product
Write proposals that close themselves
EdTech Impact
Accelerator
The Foundation
The methodology for district sales, from lead to close. Ten lessons, applied to one real deal you're working on right now — Your Deal in Focus.
10
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LESSONS
FIELD TOOLS YOU KEEP
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4
DEAL YOU BRING
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1
Founders with strong products lose winnable deals when the sales discipline doesn't hold. The Accelerator is that discipline — built from 40 years selling into K-12 districts, and tested against real founder-led deals.
Six pillars. One deal in focus.
THE CURRICULUM
Each pillar rests on the one before it. Work through them in order and you carry a district from first lead to signed contract — using the same deal the whole way through.
PILLAR I
LESSONS 1-2
Foundations
Diagnose where you and the district actually agree, then move the conversation from compliance to real commitment.
Shared Vision Diagnostic · Compliance-to-Commitment Spectrum
Lessons 3–3C
PILLAR II
Methodology
Choose the right discovery approach — Solution, Consultative, or Value-Based Selling — for the district in front of you.
L.E.A.P. · L.E.A.R.N. · V.A.L.U.E.
PILLAR III
Lessons 4–5
The Question & the Problem
Hear what's underneath the surface answer, then organize the conversation around what the district is actually trying to fix.
3-Second Rule · IPSO Framework
PILLAR IV
Lessons 6–7
Knowing the Players
Know who holds the yes, and catch the tension sitting underneath what's actually being said in the room.
Persona Triangle · 4-Step Loop
PILLAR V
Lessons 8–9
Aligning & Securing
Decide if a deal is worth another hour, then confirm the authority behind every yes before you submit.
Worth-It Test · Authority Map
PILLAR VI
Lesson 10
Operational Discipline
Carry the discipline forward — pipeline stages, exit criteria, and the audit you run on your own book, every quarter.
Quarterly CRM Audit
DELIVERABLES
Four field tools you keep for the life of the business.
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Discovery Call Notes
Fill out during and after every district call.
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Go/No-Go Decision Page
Applies the Worth-It Test before another hour spent.
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Authority Confirmation Worksheet
Confirm ownership before and after proposal.
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Quarterly CRM Audit
Run on your full pipeline, every quarter.