How to sell to Multi-Academy Trusts and academy schools?
Who is this article for?
This blog post is written for education suppliers who want to sell to academy schools and Multi-Academy Trusts, and need to decide whether to target individual academies, MAT central teams, or both.
If you’re an education supplier looking to increase sales to academy schools, one of the first decisions you’ll face is who to target.
Should you market directly to individual academies, where teachers and school leaders understand their immediate needs?
Or should you focus on Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), where central teams may have responsibility for budgets, contracts and procurement?
My advice is to avoid treating this as an either-or decision. For many education suppliers, the most effective approach is to engage both individual academies and MAT central teams.
Our recent research into academy purchasing decisions helps explain why.
1. Understand who actually makes the buying decision
Before launching a campaign, establish who is likely to identify the need, evaluate your product and approve the purchase.
Our research asked academy respondents who usually gives final approval within delegated authority:
Who usually gives final approval for purchases within delegated authority (% of academy respondents)
Meanwhile, 32% said the person with the greatest influence over supplier selection depended on the product or service.
What can suppliers do?
Map the likely buying journey for your product.
For example, a classroom learning resource may be introduced by a subject leader and approved by the school. A trust-wide IT platform may require input from school users, central IT, procurement and finance.
These products shouldn’t be marketed in exactly the same way.
Our guide to education job roles and decision makers can help you identify the relevant audiences.
2. Don’t overlook individual academy schools
A common mistake is assuming that because a school belongs to a MAT, all purchasing decisions must go through the trust.
Our research found that 82% of academy respondents reported some or considerable freedom to choose their own suppliers.
This is significant for suppliers selling classroom resources, curriculum products, interventions, educational visits and other school-level services.
What can suppliers do?
Continue to market to relevant academy contacts, even where the school is part of a larger trust.
Subject leaders, SENCOs, headteachers and school business managers may be essential to generating interest and securing internal support.
If a school sees the value of your product, it may become an advocate when trust-level approval is needed.
3. Understand when the MAT becomes involved
Academy purchasing freedom doesn’t mean central trust teams are irrelevant. Here’s what our research found about MAT approval:
Above a spending threshold
30%
of academy respondents needed MAT approval once a purchase passed a set spending threshold.
Most purchases
19%
of academy respondents said central approval was required for most purchases.
Not sure
27%
of academy respondents were unsure when MAT approval was necessary.
What can suppliers do?
Establish the approval route before investing too much time in a proposal.
Ask whether the school can approve the purchase, whether trust procurement needs to be involved and whether contract length or value changes the process.
For larger or trust-wide opportunities, identify the relevant MAT finance, procurement, education or operational contacts early.
Our guide to MATs and academies provides more detail on how trust structures work.
4. Tailor your marketing message to each audience
One of the biggest mistakes education suppliers make is sending the same message to every school contact. But different people care about different things.
- A teacher wants to know whether your product will improve learning or reduce workload.
- A headteacher may be interested in school improvement, affordability and implementation.
- A school business manager needs clear pricing, practical arrangements and contractual information.
- A MAT leader may be evaluating consistency, scalability, compliance and value across several schools.
What can suppliers do?
Develop different versions of your campaign for the people you’re trying to reach. For example:
| Audience | Lead with |
|---|---|
| Teachers and subject leaders | Classroom benefits, usability and pupil outcomes |
| Headteachers | School priorities, impact and ease of implementation |
| School business managers | Pricing, affordability, contract terms and practicalities |
| MAT education leaders | Consistency, evidence and benefits across academies |
| MAT finance and procurement | Value, compliance, contractual assurance and scalability |
The underlying product remains the same, but the reasons for considering it may be different.
5. Make your product easy to justify financially
Our research found that 78% of academy respondents mentioned limited budgets as a barrier to purchasing new products or services.
This is a major consideration for suppliers. Even where a school likes a product, funding constraints can delay or prevent a purchase.
What can suppliers do?
Be clear about pricing from the outset. Explain what’s included, what implementation involves and whether there are ongoing costs.
Where possible, provide evidence of impact, examples of successful implementation and realistic options for different budgets.
Avoid expecting a busy teacher or school leader to do all the work of building the business case for you. Give them information they can confidently share with colleagues or decision makers.
6. Use a coordinated academy and MAT marketing strategy
Rather than choosing between school-level and trust-level contacts, consider how both can contribute to the buying process. A practical approach might involve:
At academy level
Build awareness with relevant teachers, subject leaders, SENCOs, headteachers and school business managers. Focus on immediate challenges, practical benefits and evidence of impact.
At MAT level
Engage central education, finance, procurement and operational teams where appropriate. Focus on trust-wide priorities, implementation, consistency, compliance and commercial value.
The objective isn’t to bombard everyone with the same message. It’s to reach the right people with information relevant to their responsibilities.
Targeted education email marketing can help suppliers introduce products to different audiences at scale, while direct conversations with education professionals can provide deeper insight into needs and purchasing barriers.
My perspective: Sell to the buying group, not just the job title
As founder of Buzz Education, I’ve supported organisations including Samsung, Apple and ITV in reaching the education sector.
Alongside that commercial experience, I’m Chair of Governors at a primary and secondary school, working across two local authorities. I chair panels covering finance, admissions appeals and exclusions, and have been involved in five Ofsted inspections and two academisation processes.
These experiences have given me insight into both sides of the relationship: how suppliers approach schools and how schools evaluate priorities, budgets and decisions.
One thing is clear to me.
The person who needs your product isn’t always the person who can approve it.
That’s particularly important when selling to MATs, where school-level needs and trust-level responsibilities may overlap. The suppliers who understand those relationships are better placed to build relevant campaigns and support potential customers through the buying process.
Final thoughts: Reach the need and the authority
There is no single approach that works for every MAT or every education product.
But our research points towards a clear principle: individual academies can retain meaningful purchasing influence, even where the MAT has central financial responsibilities.
For suppliers, the opportunity is to develop a coordinated strategy that reaches both the people who need the solution and the people who can help authorise it.
Want to reach more academy schools and MAT decision makers?
At Buzz Education, we help education suppliers identify relevant contacts and build targeted campaigns across schools and trusts.
Frequently asked questions
Should I market to individual academies or to the MAT?
For many suppliers the most effective approach is to engage both. Individual academies often keep meaningful purchasing influence, while MAT central teams may control budgets, contracts and procurement, particularly for larger or trust-wide purchases.
Do academies in a MAT choose their own suppliers?
Often, yes. In our research, 82% of academy respondents reported some or considerable freedom to choose their own suppliers, which is significant for classroom resources, curriculum products, interventions and educational visits.
Who approves purchases in an academy?
It varies. 37% of academy respondents identified headteachers as the usual final approver within delegated authority, 22% identified school business managers and 16% identified subject or department leaders. A further 32% said the person with the greatest influence depended on the product or service.
When does a MAT need to approve a purchase?
30% of respondents needed MAT approval above a spending threshold and 19% said central approval was required for most purchases. 27% were unsure when approval was necessary, so it is worth establishing the approval route before investing too much time in a proposal.
How should I tailor my marketing for academies and MATs?
Develop different versions of your campaign for each audience. Lead with classroom benefits for teachers, school priorities for headteachers, pricing and practicalities for school business managers, and consistency, value and compliance for MAT leaders and procurement teams.
What is the biggest barrier to selling to academies?
Budget. 78% of academy respondents mentioned limited budgets as a barrier to purchasing new products or services. Be clear about pricing, explain what is included and give schools evidence they can share with decision makers.