Why Selling Software Keeps You Stuck — and Selling Peace Moves Deals
"Nobody asked about our tools. Nobody asked to review the curriculum. They just believed we knew their problem."
If you are a technical founder, that sentence should terrify you. Or, it should liberate you.
Michael Mahoney is a software engineer. He speaks in code, systems, and logic. When he co-founded Mediator Spark with Samuel Rabkin (a former teacher), his instinct was to sell the product.
He wanted to show principals the dashboard. He wanted to explain the user interface. He wanted to prove that the technology was robust, secure, and effective.
But as they started closing their first nine pilot schools, Michael noticed a strange pattern. The principals who signed the contracts didn’t care about the software. They didn't ask for a demo. They didn't ask about the tech stack.
They bought the contract because Sam and Michael stopped selling a "conflict resolution tool" and started selling a "pathway to peace."
This isn't just a semantic shift. It is a fundamental change in how early-stage education companies survive.
In this week's episode of The EdSales Edge, we unpacked exactly how Mediator Spark made this pivot. Here is the detailed breakdown of why "The Tool" is the wrong thing to sell, and how to build a sales process that acts like a mirror, not a pitch.
1. The "Clean Window" Strategy: Stop Trying to Save the Wrong Schools
Most education founders treat sales like missionary work. You see a district that is broken, and you want to save them.
In the episode, we discussed the Clean Window Theory.
Imagine you are a professional window washer. You are walking down a street looking for new business. You see two buildings:
Building A: The windows are filthy. Mud-caked. You can barely see inside.
Building B: The windows are sparkling clean. You can tell they were washed yesterday.
Who do you pitch?
Most founders pitch Building A. The logic seems sound: "They have dirty windows! They clearly have a problem! They need me!"
But this is a trap. Building A has dirty windows because they don't care about clean windows. They don't value the outcome. If you pitch them, you will spend six months trying to convince them that "cleanliness matters" before you even get to discuss your price.
Building B is your Perfect Client.
They have clean windows because they value clean windows. They have a budget for it. They care about the result. When you pitch them, you aren't selling the concept of hygiene; you are just selling a better, faster, or more reliable way to maintain the standard they already hold.
The Mediator Spark Application:
Sam and Michael realized they couldn't sell their student-led mediation program to schools with "Dirty Windows"—schools that relied on heavy-handed suspensions, strict policing, and punitive discipline. Those principals didn't want student agency; they wanted control.
Instead, they targeted the "Clean Windows"—principals who already believed in restorative justice and student leadership but were exhausted by the manual effort it took to run it.
The Lesson: Stop trying to convert skeptics. You don't have enough runway for that. Go find the people who are already trying to do what you do, and offer them a better vehicle.
2. The Signature Solution: The "Mirror" Effect
How do you sell a complex service without feeling "salesy"?
You stop pitching and start diagnosing.
Sam and Michael organized their entire methodology into a visual framework called The Peacemaker Pathway. It is a 3-Phase, 9-Step journey that takes a school from "Chaos" to "Student-Led Culture."
Michael explained why this works better than a feature list:
"The Signature Solution presents a mirror to the client. You ask: 'Does this look like you?' If it looks like them, they say, 'This is awesome, I’ve been looking for this.' If it doesn't, they walk away."
When you put a roadmap in front of a buyer, the dynamic shifts. You aren't a vendor begging for a meeting. You are a consultant holding up a map.
"You are currently at Step 2."
"You told me you want to get to Step 9."
"We are the vehicle that drives you across the gap."
This is why they didn't ask to see the code. The map was so clear, and the destination (Peace) was so desirable, that the "car" (the software) became irrelevant. They trusted it would work because the map proved Sam and Michael understood the terrain.
3. The Pivot from "User" to "Buyer"
Early on, Mediator Spark made a classic targeting mistake: They tried to sell to the School Counselor.
It made sense. The Counselor is the one who runs mediation. They are the "End User." They feel the pain of conflict every day.
But Sam and Michael quickly hit a wall. Counselors loved the idea, but they couldn't buy it. They didn't hold the budget, and more importantly, they didn't hold the Vision for the school culture.
They realized that Mediator Spark wasn't a "counseling tool"; it was a "culture shift." And culture is owned by the Administrator.
By shifting their pitch to the Principal, they aligned with the person who stayed awake at night worrying about school safety and reputation. The Principal had the authority to say "Yes," while the Counselor only had the authority to say "I wish."
The Lesson: The person who feels the pain isn't always the person who writes the check. Sell the transformation to the leader, and the utility to the user.
4. The "Stage" Strategy: How LinkedIn Built Their Team
Sam and Michael didn't just build in stealth mode. They made a conscious choice to "Build in Public" on LinkedIn.
For many founders, posting content feels like a vanity metric. You think, "I should be coding, not writing posts."
But Sam and Michael are proof that content creates gravity. They didn't just find clients on LinkedIn; they found their third co-founder, Esther.
Esther was browsing LinkedIn, saw their posts about student-led peace, and felt a deep alignment with their mission. She reached out, and now she runs their course creation.
As Sam noted:
"She would have never known what we were doing if it wasn't for us posting on LinkedIn. It attracted the right person at the right time."
The Lesson: Your "Founder Brand" isn't just a sales channel. It is a recruiting channel. Clarity attracts talent.
5. Faith as a Business Asset
We ended the episode on a topic that rarely makes it into B2B sales advice: Faith.
Building a company is brutal. You face rejection daily. You have technical failures. You have days where you feel like an imposter.
Sam and Michael were vulnerable about how they survive the grind. They start every morning with prayer. They hold each other accountable to their values, ensuring they don't sacrifice their families on the altar of their startup.
Michael gave one of the best definitions of "Entrepreneurial Faith" I have ever heard:
"Faith is believing that something is true even if you don’t necessarily see it in front of you. If you have that belief that this transformation helps people, you’re going to keep pushing even when you get a 'No'."
Whether you are religious or not, you need a "North Star." You need a conviction that your solution must exist in the world. That belief is what carries you through the 18-month procurement cycles and the ghosted emails.
The Bottom Line
If you are an early-stage founder, stop obsessing over your feature set.
Your clients aren't buying your code. They aren't buying your curriculum.
They are buying The Peace.
They are buying the result. They are buying the transformation. And most of all, they are buying You.
🎧 Listen to the full conversation with Sam and Michael on the podcast:
Stop selling the drill. Sell the hole.
— Josh
