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Inside the K-12 Buying Decision
We reviewed over 100,000 K-12 meeting minutes - here’s what drives buying decisions
Justin Wenig
April 24, 2025
Hey! I’m Justin 👋
I founded Starbridge to help businesses win more government and education deals.
Welcome to the Public Sector Sales Brief — a newsletter for sales leaders selling into government and/or education.
This week, we dug through our K-12 meeting minute database to better understand what really goes on in the K-12 buying process.
Today, I’m sharing the four most prevalent requirements at the top of a K-12 district buyer’s minds.
Let’s dive in.
1.) Cybersecurity & Integration
Let’s be real - these are table stakes.
Every district we looked at brought up one or both, either in the initial proposal or right away during Q+A.
Recent K-12 cyberattacks are also top of mind for many district leaders. They are particularly cautious right now on new technology.
“We can not risk another cybersecurity attack. Protecting sensitive data and systems from cyber threats is the number one priority for any software.”
No one wants to lose a deal due to either of these concerns. If you know your champion is going to propose your software in a district meeting, make it easy for them. Don’t rely on them to know the answers from one conversation you’ve had together on the topic. Give them a quick talk track or a slide that answers, “Is this secure?” and “Will it work with our existing systems?”
2.) Tie It Back to District Goals
This was one of the clearest patterns we saw.
Most proposals that got approved didn’t just say what the product does—they explained how it supports a goal the district already cares about.
“The main goal for the new phone system is to improve communications throughout the District. This aligns with our strategic goal to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff.”
If you’re presenting a purchase, connect the dots for your champion. Too many sellers focus on their own software when school districts are buying based on a vision for an outcome.
They should be able to articulate 1-2 years down the line, what are the outcomes that your software has provided?
3.) Data-Driven > Data Dump
Data alone isn’t a selling point anymore
Around 60% of meetings mentioned the importance of data—but what stood out was what leaders actually want: tools that help turn that data into decisions. Dashboards are fine, but more and more districts are looking for platforms that drive action.
“We need tools that don’t just collect data, but meaningfully translate that data into decisions that benefit our students and teachers.”
Bottom line: If you're pitching analytics, make sure you're showing how it translates in the hands of a teacher or administrator, not just what it tracks.
4.) Customer Support
One of the biggest concerns we saw? Being left with software no one knows how to use.
About half of all purchase discussions brought up support—either praising it or flagging it as a worry. K-12 teams want to know there’s real help when something goes wrong, and that training won’t just stop after onboarding.
“We can't just buy software—we need continuous, quality training to make sure our teams are fully equipped to succeed.”
But our data shows it will come up in the proposal. Don’t leave your champion guessing—give them a few solid talking points to reassure stakeholders that your team will show up long after the contract’s signed.
Live Webinar: Inside the Mind of a K-12 Buyer
I’ll be hosting a live session on Thursday May 8th, 2:30 PM EST with district administrator Wes Kriesel on how school districts actually make buying decisions. And what makes winning vendors stand out from the rest. Hope to see you there!
You can register for the event here
Thank you for reading!
Next week, I’m sharing our state & local gov insights — based on 200k+ meeting minutes.
As always my LinkedIn inbox is always open. Reach out if you have any questions.
See you next week,
— Justin