Expert persepectives driving innovation and success in education technology.

Understanding the Academic Buying Cycle 

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With few exceptions like rapidly executed "end of budget spending," grant funding, and executive leadership discretionary funds, education budgets are largely predictable, published, and consistent.

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That is where CLIMB EDU, formerly Douglas Stewart, becomes a strategic partner. 

With deep market insight, we help vendors understand who buys, when they buy, and what drives their decisions. 

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​Mid-September – May: The Influence Window

This is when institutions evaluate solutions, assess last year’s usage and performance, and build budgets for the next cycle. Leaders attend conferences, take phone calls, and search for what’s working across the sector.

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It’s the ideal window for vendors to engage end users and build new reseller partnerships.

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What to do (and when): 

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• Launch awareness campaigns in two critical windows: September-November and January-May are the optimal time for campaigns. This is when educators make key decisions about year-end funds and new budgets for July.

• Conduct educator focus groups between February and June. This is the optimal window for gathering feedback from educators and influencers during product awareness phases. Summer break schedules and back to school prep make it nearly impossible to reach your customers between June and September.

• Enable your resellers by December. They need product training, competitive positioning, ed-specific battle-cards, pricing, messaging, one pagers, and case studies.

• Build institutional champions. In K-12, connect with teachers, principals, department heads, IT leaders, and procurement officers. In higher education, target faculty, deans, provosts, and IT decision makers. Match your language to their environment. A community college doesn’t want a testimonial from an Ivy League customer.

• Cultivate reference accounts who want to talk. Education customers love to share success stories with one another. Educators, IT directors, and administrators attend conferences, present sessions, and build their professional reputations by showcasing successful implementations. Give them the platform, recognition, and support to do so. These peer recommendations carry more weight than any vendor pitch ever will.

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June – Mid-October: The Busy Season 

 

Once budgets are approved, 60-70% of education purchases happen during summer. Most districts, colleges and universities operate on a July 1 - June 30 fiscal year. During the June to October busy season, it’s wise to temper your expectations for end user communication. Instead, focus on enabling the resellers with tools and incentives to close deals

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What matters most:

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• Pre-stage all quotes and SKUs by May 31. Have pricing finalized, bundles configured, and contracts templated before July 1. For purchases requiring competitive bidding, requisitions should be submitted by late April to allow 30-45 days for bidding processes.

• Staff a rapid response education team. Assign specific team members to handle education quotes, answer procurement questions, and expedite approvals. Response time should be measured in hours, not days.

• Watch for use-it-or-lose-it opportunities. Stay engaged with end user contacts in May-June to capture end-of-year discretionary spending before funds expire.

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By June, planning should be done. This is execution season.

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For resellers and vendors alike, Q2 and Q3 are the revenue quarters in the education calendar.