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Where to Find Higher Ed Data

By: Glen McCandless

1/1/2009

In today's education climate, tech dollars are getting increasingly hard to find. But that doesn't mean there isn't money for technology. It's all in how you sell it.

What if you knew you could land one sale that would make your quota for the entire year? I hope that question got your attention. The idea is simple, but not that easy: Try to hit the bulls-eye with every shot. True sales professionals know how to do this-- they make every sale that can be made. How? By using data and analysis to focus their energy for top performance.

A good sales rep can learn to use information-- market data, historical sales data, buying process analyses-- to prioritize sales activities. This month's cover story gives some excellent guidance on how to implement a data-driven sales approach in your business. Regardless of the size of the company you work in (corporation or mom-and-pop), or who is tasked with the data-mining work, all sales reps must use internal data to continually refine an understanding of who is most likely to buy your products. At the same time, there must be regular use of external data to inform sales strategy and to prioritize selling time.

But what external data sources? In the post-secondary market, there are many types of information from many sources that will help you identify market segments and better focus your time and sales activities. By using these resources, you can target your campaigns to potential buyers who are the best fit for the product or service you sell. Let's take a look at a few examples.

Regardless of the size of the company, all sales reps need to use both internal and external data to inform their strategy and prioritize their time

Carnegie Classifications

One of the best starting points is the Carnegie Classifications. Knowledge of how to use this free segmentation tool is rare among companies doing business in higher education, yet it has proven to be one of the most reliable ways to focus on the best opportunities. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning created this classification system for use in their work as an independent policy and research center. The system is also a free, web-based resource that groups institutions by several criteria, including their sources of funding, governance, and academic mission. You can match the profile of your "ideal" prospect or customer to the descriptions of the Carnegie classes, and also find a list of institutions that match. You can find this tool here.

Many of us have tried to short-cut the sales-planning process because, let's face it: Planning is time consuming and for many sales professionals, crunching numbers and studying reports is akin to having a root canal

College Data File

Another good source of data for the US higher education market is the College Data File (CDF). Produced by The Campus Computing Project, the CDF provides detailed institutional data on enrollments (FTE and headcount, by level), earned degrees (aggregate by level and by field), staffing, institutional revenues and expenditures, participation in studentaid programs, and SAT/ACT scores for more than 7,000 Title-IV eligible post-secondary institutions in the United States, including 4,400 twoand four-year public, private, and for-profit degree-granting colleges and universities.