A new partnership putting CPD-certified, education-specific sales training in the hands of BESA’s members.

London, 15 June 2026 — Seventh Sibling has partnered with BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association, to deliver its Education Market Sales Mastery programme to BESA’s membership: education sales training built specifically for the people selling into schools, multi-academy trusts and colleges.

It’s a deliberate fit. BESA represents the companies that supply UK education. Seventh Sibling exists to help those companies sell into it well. Together, the two are making education-specific sales training available across the sector — not generic B2B advice with “education” bolted on the front.

Why this partnership matters

Education is one of the hardest markets to sell into, and one of the least well served by traditional sales training. Buyers are time-poor in a way few other sectors are. They’re risk-averse, because the stakes are children and staff, not just budget. Decisions involve teachers, heads, finance leads, governors and procurement — rarely one person. And after years of being over-promised, they’re sceptical by default.

Most sales training was never built for that reality. Education Market Sales Mastery was. It moves teams off feature-led pitching and into concept-led conversations that map to how schools and MATs actually decide: understand the buyer’s world, name the gap, position the bridge.

What BESA members get

• CPD-certified, self-paced education sales training built entirely around selling into education
• Practical frameworks, real-world examples and tools teams can use straight away
• An exclusive BESA member discount — 15% off the standard price
• For the first ten BESA members to enrol: two free resource downloads, early access to the Seventh Sibling community, and a 30-minute 1:1 with founder Stella James

“At BESA, we are committed to equipping our members with the practical skills and insight needed to succeed in the evolving education landscape. Our partnership with Seventh Sibling to deliver the Education Market Sales Mastery programme reflects this focus.

Seventh Sibling brings deep expertise in education sector sales, combining a strong understanding of how schools and institutions make purchasing decisions with proven commercial strategies. By working together, we are able to offer BESA members targeted, high-quality training that goes beyond theory, and provides actionable frameworks, real-world examples, and practical tools to help teams engage more effectively with the education market.

Our aim is to empower BESA members to strengthen their sales performance, build more meaningful relationships with educators, and drive sustainable growth in a highly competitive environment, and we believe Seventh Sibling is an excellent partner to help us achieve this.”

— Samantha Marsh, Events Manager, BESA

“I’ve spent twelve years selling into education and watching brilliant products fail — not because they didn’t work, but because no one ever showed the people behind them how this sector actually buys. BESA represents the entire industry. For them to put their name to this means the training reaches the people who need it most. That matters to me more than I can say.”

— Stella James, Founder, Seventh Sibling

About Education Market Sales Mastery

Education Market Sales Mastery is a self-paced, CPD-certified course that takes sales and business development teams beyond product-focused pitching and into strategic, concept-led conversations aligned with school and MAT priorities. It covers buyer decision-making, strategic discovery, and objection handling without discounting. Explore the course →

About Seventh Sibling

Seventh Sibling is a fractional commercial leadership business serving the UK education sector, founded by Stella James. It helps education technology and education-adjacent businesses build repeatable commercial growth through fractional CRO leadership, education-specific online courses, and the B2Education Unpacked podcast.

About BESA

BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association, is the trade association for the UK’s educational suppliers sector. With a 90-year legacy, it represents more than 400 member companies — from start-ups to the largest education businesses — and operates a Code of Practice that all members uphold.

ENDS · MEDIA ENQUIRIES: hello@seventhsibling.co.uk