Education Channel Partner

Education companies are used to making the educational case for their products-- how they improve test scores, engage students in learning, improve classroom teaching. They don't often have to associate cost savings with academic gains. But in today's stretched (and panicked) economy, content vendors may find themselves having to make an economic case for their product or service as well.

It's not as far fetched an argument as you think. This month's guest columnist, Chuck Kleiner of SmartThinking, says that he shows his higher-ed customers how his online tutoring solution will save them money by helping students do better in school-- which keeps them in school, which saves colleges from having to engage in expensive recruiting to replace drop-outs.

Here are a few other economic arguments that might help you position your curriculum/ instruction product or service:

• Student retention: Not just an issue in higher ed. Every K-12 student has ADA dollars attached, and when they drop out, so do the dollars. Can you show how your solution helps keep kids in school?
• Student recruitment: Again, not just a higher-ed problem. Open enrollment districts, districts with charter schools, private (and public/private) schools often have to compete for students. What do you sell that your customers can put into their recruitment arsenal?
• Home schooling: Can your districts get some portion of ADA dollars if they are providing online learning to home schoolers? Can you help them get those dollars?
• Teacher absences: Untold dollars are lost each year in teacher absenteeism. Can you make a case for your PD product that it improves professional engagement and teacher attendance?
• Student absenteeism: When students don't show up for school, districts spend a lot of money on staff time follow-up and even can lose ADA dollars if the absenteeism is severe. Not to mention that kids who don't go to school tend to do poorly, drop out, get into trouble-- all of which cost schools money in one way or another. Can you make an argument that your solution helps keeps kids engaged and in school?

To credibly posit any of these arguments, you have to have data to support them-- at the very least you should have customer testimonials. If you haven't been collecting data or feedback to make the economic case for your product, it's probably time you started. And then, don't just assert that your solution will save money-- show your customers the numbers. That's the kind of data-driven decision making that may turn into a sale.