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EdSales Edge Show
EdSales Edge is the strategy podcast for education founders, consultants, operators, and leaders selling into education.
For years, this show was known as Breaking the Grade, a space to challenge the status quo in education and think differently about how change actually happens. That mission hasn’t changed.
But the work has.
Over time, one thing became clear:
Education founders don’t just need inspiration.
They need clarity.
They need real strategies for selling into schools.
They need predictable ways to generate leads.
And they need to understand how trust is built in a system that doesn’t move fast, and doesn’t give many second chances.
EdSales Edge was rebuilt to match that reality.
Hosted by Josh Chernikoff, a two-time education founder who’s built and exited companies in this space, the show breaks down how selling into education actually works—across B2C, B2B, B2B2C, and B2E—always through the lens of how education institutions really make decisions.
This is not a show about hacks, shortcuts, or quick wins.
Education doesn’t work that way.
On EdSales Edge, you’ll hear:
- Real strategy for selling into education systems
- Conversations with education decision-makers who explain how buying actually happens from the inside
- Stories from founders, CEOs, and operators who’ve built real traction selling into schools—what worked, what didn’t, and what actually moved deals forward
- Teachings from the EdSales Elevation Experience, the system used to help education founders move from unclear and invisible to trusted and in demand
You’ll learn how to:
- Define your Perfect Client
- Pull the right credibility lever
- Move from being hidden… to trusted… to building a real lead engine
Josh is joined by his good friend and mentor, John Gamba—Director of Innovative Programs and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE, and a former education founder who’s led companies through real growth and successful exits. John brings the institutional lens, shaped by years inside districts, universities, and education systems, seeing how decisions get made when the doors are closed and what earns trust over time.
Together, they sit on both sides of the table, the builder side and the system side, so the show stays grounded in reality, not sales theory.
If you sell into education and you’re tired of guessing,
guessing who to talk to,
guessing how decisions get made,
guessing why interest doesn’t convert—
this show is built for you.
EdSales Edge
Clarity. Credibility. Real traction.
If you sell into education, this is where you earn your edge.
EdSales Edge Show
Your Summer Fix: How Education Founders Can Rebuild Lead Flow Before Back-to-School
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Let’s get one thing straight:
September doesn’t start in September. It starts now—in June, July, and August.
Because the biggest mistake founders make in summer isn’t taking a break.
It’s confusing rest with silence.
You can recharge and still generate leads.
But most EdTech founders go dark.
They hunker down. Rebuild ops. Tweak product.
And completely disappear from LinkedIn.
Then they roll into Q4 hoping “back to school” will bring the momentum.
Spoiler: It won’t.
In this episode of Breaking the Grade, I’m sounding the alarm on the Summer Stall-Out—the silent pipeline killer that traps even seasoned education leaders in inconsistent revenue cycles.
Because here’s the reality:
Your dream buyer might be ghosting you today…
But they might also be:
- In transition
- Replacing a vendor that didn’t deliver
- Or finally ready to say yes
And if you’ve been visible and valuable this summer?
You’ll be the first call they make.
🎯 Inside this episode, you’ll learn:
✅ Why Q4 momentum is built in June—not September
✅ The 3-step Summer Fix Framework we coach inside EdSales Elevation
✅ What to say now to match buyer psychology during slow seasons
✅ How Raise Your Hand campaigns convert warm leads—without ads
✅ How founders like Mitch, Ernie, and others are booking calls right now
✅ The LinkedIn mistake that kills credibility—and what to post instead
✅ Why summer isn’t about volume—it’s about precision
If this resonates, pair it with our recent episode The Rest Advantage (Apple | Spotify), which goes deeper into how rest isn’t lazy—it’s leverage. When combined with the Summer Fix, it’s a one-two punch to reset your voice and rebuild real traction.
This isn’t hustle advice.
It’s the same clarity-first system we teach inside the EdSales Elevation Experience—and it works.
I’ve lived it too. Back when I was running Flex Academies, we didn’t wait for fall to scramble—we built relationships in the summer, so we were ready when the bell rang.
🧠 This episode isn’t about productivity.
It’s about positioning.
📍If you want to start Q4 ahead, not in catch-up mode—this is your Summer Fix.
📩 Know an education founder about to vanish for the summer?
Send this to them.
Their future self—and their pipeline—will thank you.
👉 Want help applying the Summer Fix to your business?
DM “Summer Fix” and Josh will personally walk you through it on a quick strategy call.
#EdTech #EducationFounders #LeadGeneration #SummerFix #MessagingFramework #LinkedInMarketing #FounderSales #E
Connect with Josh Chernikoff
Founder, Edsales Elevation Experience
Host, Edsales Edge Show
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachernikoff/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.chernikoff
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuadcdc/
📩 Email: Jc@joshchernikoff.com
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