.png)
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
From Invisible to Irresistible: Michael Campbell on Using Research and Proof to Build Trust, Generate Leads, and Drive Education Growth
Every education founder, EdTech CEO, and school leader wants growth. But here’s the mistake almost everyone makes: they chase revenue before they’ve earned trust.
In education, trust is the real currency—it turns a pitch into a meeting, and a meeting into a deal.
In this episode, I’m joined by Michael Campbell, president of Advancing Global EDU, Inc., Chief Executive Officer of Dual Bridges Academy and Advisory Board Member at edWeb.net, LIVE from the ASU-GSV Summit (the edtech conference each April in sunny San Diego) —to unpack why rushing to hire sales stalls early growth—and how the smartest founders turn research studies, customer listening, and evidence-backed storytelling into trust that fills their funnels and converts prospects into paying clients.
💡 He even gets into hard numbers: why a $20K–$30K university research study might be the best marketing investment you’ll ever make—and how to turn it into white papers, videos, and proof points that fuel your pipeline.
If you’re tired of stalled pitches and sales hires that underperform, this episode is your blueprint for turning evidence into revenue, trust, and consistent leads.
🔑 5 Big Takeaways for Education Founders
1️⃣ Invest in Evidence
Invest in a structured research study to prove your solution works. Turn the results into white papers, videos, and other assets that double as lead-generation tools.
2️⃣ Proof = Pipeline
Case studies, pilots, and research-backed evidence create credibility that fuels conversations, earns trust, and gets buyers to say yes.
3️⃣ Sales Isn’t Your First Hire
Hiring a teacher or untested salesperson won’t magically create revenue. Validate your market and build proof first.
4️⃣ Slow Sales = Smart Sales in Education
One-call closes are rare. Trust, referrals, and relationships are your real growth multipliers.
5️⃣ Courage + Consistency = Contracts
Most founders quit before traction. Those who stick with research, realistic goals, and customer listening win contracts and sustainable growth.
📩Want to flip research into a repeatable lead-generation engine? DM me “Lead Gen” and I’ll walk you through the exact framework we use to help founders turn proof points into paying customers.
📤 Know an EdTech founder struggling to turn their proof into pipeline? Send them this episode—they’ll thank you later.
✍️ Love the show?
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so more education leaders can turn research, credibility, and proof into measurable growth and leads.
#EdTech #FounderSales #LeadGeneration #EdSales #EducationInnovation #ASUGSV #BreakingTheGrade #GrowthStrategy
