A successful pilot and a signed contract are two different outcomes. Plenty of learning products do well with a group of teachers and then go quiet when it is time to scale. Much of that is decided by what you build before the pilot starts.
Know who decides, not just who uses
Teachers and learners use the product. A head of department, a principal or a training manager usually decides whether to keep paying for it. If the pilot only produces value for users, the decision-maker has nothing to point to. Find out early what that person needs to see.
Build the reporting before the pilot, not after
The most common gap we see in pilot plans is missing data. If you cannot show usage, progress and outcomes at the end, the conversation falls back on anecdotes. Plan the reports the decision-maker will want, and make sure the product collects the data to fill them from the first day.
Reduce the setup burden
Every extra step for a teacher, from creating accounts to uploading class lists, costs you engagement. Single sign-on, roster imports and sensible defaults are not glamorous features, but they decide whether a pilot gets used at all.
Agree on success in writing
Before the pilot starts, agree with the institution on what a good result looks like and when you will review it. A clear finish line turns a pilot into a buying decision instead of an open-ended trial.
Plan the path from pilot to rollout
Know what changes when you go from one class to a whole school: pricing, support, onboarding, integrations. If the product cannot handle that step, the pilot's success does not help you.
If you are preparing a pilot and want a second view on the product or the reporting, we are happy to take a look and share what we would change.