The Mistake of Selling to “Educators”

“Educators” is not a segment. It’s an abstraction.

Direct answer:Selling to “educators” fails because educators are not a unified buying group. They hold different authority, risk exposure, incentives, and decision power inside institutional systems.

“Educators” sounds like a clear market.

It isn’t.

It’s a category of people inside a political system.

And political systems don’t buy collectively.

Why “Educators” Feels Like a Logical Segment

Founders say:

• “We built this for educators.”
• “Our target market is educators.”
• “Teachers love this.”

That sounds customer-centric.

It’s actually imprecise.

Because within “educators,” you have:

• Classroom teachers
• Instructional coaches
• Department heads
• Principals
• Superintendents
• Curriculum directors
• IT leaders

Each role:

• Experiences different pain
• Has different authority
• Carries different risk
• Answers to different stakeholders

If you position to all of them, you position clearly to none of them.

Influence Is Not Authority

A common trap:

Teachers love the product.

Founders interpret this as traction.

But teachers:

• Often lack budget authority
• Rarely control procurement
• May not want political exposure
• Cannot override governance structure

Teacher enthusiasm is influence.

It is not purchasing power.

If your GTM assumes influence equals authority, your pipeline will inflate and collapse repeatedly.

The Risk Gradient Across “Educators”

Inside a district or institution:

• A teacher risks classroom disruption.
• A principal risks parent scrutiny.
• A superintendent risks board backlash.
• An IT leader risks system instability.

They are not buying the same thing.

They are evaluating different forms of exposure.

“Educators” as a segment ignores this risk gradient.

And risk gradient drives decisions.

Why Broad Messaging to “Educators” Increases Friction

When messaging says:

• “Built for educators.”
• “Designed to empower teachers.”
• “Supports administrators and leadership.”

Buyers ask:

• Who is this really for?
• Who owns implementation?
• Who defends this decision?
• Who is accountable?

If the answer is unclear, internal debate begins.

Broad appeal creates narrow momentum.

Education Buying Happens Inside Systems, Not Personas

Most SaaS segmentation is persona-driven.

Education segmentation must be system-driven.

You don’t sell to:

• Teachers
• Administrators
• IT

You sell into:

• A governance model
• A funding structure
• A risk hierarchy
• A consensus process

Targeting “educators” skips the system layer.

And the system layer determines outcomes.

What Happens When You Target Too Broadly

When EdTech companies sell to “educators,” they experience:

• Mixed messaging performance
• Unpredictable deal velocity
• Champions without authority
• Late-stage political resistance
• Expansion difficulty

Because they are attracting interest from people who cannot safely move decisions forward.

Interest is not progress.

Authority plus safety is progress.

What to Do Instead

1. Define the specific institutional role with decision leverage.
2. Map the governance model they operate within.
3. Clarify the risk they personally absorb.
4. Align messaging to that role’s incentive structure.
5. Accept that some “educators” are not your buyer.

Precision accelerates alignment.

FAQ: The Mistake of Selling to “Educators”

Should we ignore teachers entirely?

No.

Teachers may be:

• Influencers
• Early adopters
• Internal advocates

But they are rarely the final authority.

Design GTM for authority. Enable teachers as support.

How narrow should we get?

Narrow enough that your messaging feels obvious to one institutional role.

When one role feels directly spoken to, internal translation decreases.

What if multiple roles use the product?

Usage roles and buying roles are different.

Optimize positioning and targeting for the role that controls risk and budget.

Why does “built for educators” feel safe but fail?

Because it avoids exclusion.

And avoiding exclusion creates ambiguity.

Ambiguity creates friction.

What’s the biggest mistake founders make here?

Confusing user enthusiasm with institutional readiness.

Education institutions don’t buy because users are excited.

They buy because decision systems feel safe.

The Core Takeaway

“Educators” is a category of people.

Education markets are systems of authority, risk, and governance.

If your segmentation stops at “educators,” your GTM stops at curiosity.

Correct segmentation targets:

• Specific roles
• Inside specific systems
• With defined authority
• And predictable risk tolerance

That’s where momentum begins.

Written by: Tony Zayas, Chief Revenue Officer

In my role as Chief Revenue Officer at Insivia, I help SaaS and technology companies break through growth ceilings by aligning their marketing, sales, and positioning around one central truth: buyers drive everything.

I lead our go-to-market strategy and revenue operations, working with founders and teams to sharpen their message, accelerate demand, and remove friction across the entire buyer journey.

With years of experience collaborating with fast-growth companies, I focus on turning deep buyer understanding into predictable, scalable revenue—because real growth happens when every motion reflects what the buyer actually needs, expects, and believes.