2009 looks like an odd times for selling to schools. On the one hand there are firms that seem to be doing exceptionally well, while on the hand there are companies that report that sales to schools are very poor at the moment.
There’s no doubt that schools have money – more money than ever before in fact. School funding in most of the UK is fixed three years ahead, and the government has actually been bringing money originally promised for 2010 forwards into 2009.
Which suggests now ought to be the ideal time to sell into schools. And yet every day my colleagues and I get calls from companies telling us that they have tried a mailshot or an email campaign, and it has not done so well as they had expected. Others are saying that sales rates are down considerably on what they were getting five or ten years ago.
We’ve gathered together all the information we can find on this, to explain why some firms are doing well, and others not and put it in a report: “How to Sell to Schools”. The good news is, it is free. The bad news is… well I am not sure there is any bad news.
The report looks at the amount of money schools have, special sources of funding, what differentiates one firm from another in terms of promoting to schools, and the various media avaialble when selling to schools.
But that’s not the end of it. After you have had a look at the free report you can, if you wish, forward me a copy of your current leaflet, brochure, sales letter or email, and I’ll call you back and tell you if I think it might get a higher response rate if it were changed in any way. You don’t have to take note of what I say, but like the report, the service is free.
The whole report is on the internet – just go to www.hamilton-house.com and you’ll see the link in the central What’s new section at the top.