5 Ways to Lean Into National Principals Month

October is National Principals Month, which makes it a perfect time to connect with school leaders.

But before you start thinking about campaigns, lead magnets, or sales calls, there’s an important distinction to make:

National Principals Month should not become one giant sales pitch.

Yes, as education consultants, we need to market our businesses. We need to make offers, build our networks, and create visibility.

But school leaders are also real people doing incredibly demanding work.

So instead of asking, How can I use Principal’s Month to sell more? consider asking:

How can I genuinely serve, encourage, and celebrate school leaders this month?

Some of the ideas below may create visibility for your business. They may grow your email list, open conversations, or even lead to future contracts.

But that doesn’t have to be the immediate goal.

Education consulting is a relationship-driven industry. Sometimes you need to make a relationship deposit before asking for a withdrawal.

Here are five practical ways to do exactly that.

1. Personally Thank Principals

This is probably the simplest idea on the list, and it costs you nothing.

Choose a handful of principals and personally reach out to them.

And when I say personally, I mean personally.

This is not the time to send a mass email that says, “Dear School Leader, Happy National Principals Month!” to hundreds of people.

Instead, identify five or ten principals you genuinely want to encourage.

Send an individual email or LinkedIn message letting them know you notice the work they’re doing.

You might say something like:

Hi Sarah! I know October is National Principals Month, and I wanted to take a minute to thank you for the work you’re doing at Johnson Elementary. School leadership is incredibly demanding, and I hope you know the work you’re doing matters. I hope someone takes the time to celebrate you this month, too!

That’s it.

No sales pitch.

No link to book a call.

No paragraph about your professional development services.

Your email signature already tells them who you are.

You can make this even more meaningful on LinkedIn by referencing something specific you’ve noticed.

Maybe a principal consistently celebrates teachers or highlights student accomplishments. Tell them.

A message like, “I love seeing how intentionally you celebrate your teachers. It’s obvious how much you care about your campus and your people,” feels very different from generic outreach.

You saw them.

You noticed something specific.

You acknowledged it.

Keep the logistics simple.

Create a spreadsheet with:

• Principal’s name

• School

• Email or LinkedIn profile

• Something you noticed about them

• Date you reached out

Then give yourself a realistic goal.

Maybe it’s five principals per week.

Maybe it’s ten.

The goal isn’t, “How many sales calls can I get?”

The goal is:

How many school leaders can I genuinely encourage this month?

2. Run a “Nominate a Principal” Campaign

This might be my favorite strategy because it accomplishes several things at once while still beginning with service.

And here’s the first thing I’d recommend:

Get outside of your education consultant audience.

If you only promote this campaign on your business page, you’re probably talking to many of the same people you already reach.

Instead, consider posting it on your personal Facebook page or sharing it with your broader network.

Parents know principals.

Grandparents know principals.

Teachers know principals.

People in your church, neighborhood, or community know principals.

Create a simple post like:

October is National Principals Month, and I want to celebrate some amazing school leaders! Do you know a principal who deserves some recognition? Nominate them and tell me why they’re amazing.

Then link to a simple Google Form.

You don’t need a complicated funnel.

Ask for:

• The principal’s name

• Their school

• Their email address

• Why they are being nominated

• Whether the person nominating them wants to be identified or remain anonymous

The most important part is asking why.

Imagine being a principal in October.

You’re juggling staffing issues, parents, budgets, discipline, testing, meetings, teacher support, student needs, and approximately 4,000 other responsibilities.

Then you receive an email that says:

“Congratulations! Someone in your school community nominated you to be recognized for National Principals Month.”

Underneath is a message like:

Mrs. Smith knows every child’s name. She makes our kids feel like they belong, and I’ve never met a principal who cares more about her teachers.

That could completely change someone’s day.

And yes, from a business perspective, there are natural ways to build from here.

You might offer each nominated principal a useful free resource, such as:

5 Ways to Reduce Teacher Burnout Without Adding Another Initiative

or

A Principal’s Guide to [the problem your business solves].

Make the resource optional.

Do not automatically add principals to your marketing list just because someone else submitted their email address.

You could also enter each nominated principal into a drawing for a $50 or $100 gift card.

Now you’ve created a campaign that celebrates school leaders, expands your visibility, introduces you to new administrators, and potentially grows your audience.

But service came first.

3. Buy Them a Cup of Coffee

Sometimes the simplest gestures are the ones people remember.

Choose several principals and send them a small digital coffee gift card.

It could be $5 or $10.

Then send a short note:

Happy Principal’s Month! Coffee is on me today. Thanks for everything you’re doing for your teachers and students.

And once again:

Let the coffee be the coffee.

You do not need to follow that sentence with, “While I have you, would you like to schedule a 30-minute discovery call?” 😂

Instead, set a budget and be intentional about who receives one.

Maybe you spend $100 and send ten $10 gift cards or twenty $5 gift cards.

Consider principals who already have some connection to your business:

• Past clients

• People you’ve met at conferences

• LinkedIn connections

• Administrators who have downloaded one of your resources

• People who attended one of your presentations

• School leaders who have referred others to you

• People you’ve spoken with who never became clients

Small, unexpected touches help strengthen relationships.

4. Give Away Your Favorite Leadership or Education Book

Think about a book that genuinely influenced the way you think about education, leadership, school culture, instruction, or people.

Then give away a few copies to school leaders.

And no, it doesn’t have to be your own book.

In fact, there’s something especially meaningful about saying:

“This book helped me, and I want to give a few copies away to school leaders this month.”

Choose the book.

Decide how many copies you’re willing to give away.

Maybe it’s three.

Maybe it’s five.

You can invite principals to enter themselves or allow your audience to nominate someone.

When you mail the book, include a handwritten note.

Not a brochure.

Not your service menu.

A note.

Happy Principal’s Month! I hope this book encourages you as much as it encouraged me. Thank you for the work you’re doing.

Will they see your name?

Of course.

They may look you up, visit your website, follow you on LinkedIn, or eventually become a client.

That’s great.

But that isn’t why you gave them the book.

You gave it because you wanted to make another relationship deposit.

5. Give Away Your Expertise

This final strategy connects more directly to your business.

Offer a limited number of complimentary strategy sessions to school leaders.

But I wouldn’t simply call them “free strategy calls.”

That’s too vague.

Instead, name the session according to the specific problem you solve.

For example:

20-Minute Behavior Strategy Session

20-Minute Literacy Planning Session

20-Minute School Culture Strategy Session

20-Minute Teacher Retention Strategy Session

Whatever your expertise is, make the offer clear and specific.

Then you might post:

In honor of National Principals Month, I’m opening five complimentary 20-minute [specific topic] strategy sessions for school leaders.

There’s a reason behind the offer.

There’s a legitimate limit because you only have so much time.

And you’re giving principals something they can actually use.

Here’s the important part:

Actually coach them.

Don’t spend the first 18 minutes secretly conducting a discovery call so you can pitch your package during the final two.

Let them bring you a real problem.

Ask good questions.

Give recommendations.

Help them think through a solution.

Allow them to experience what it feels like to have your expertise applied to their situation.

Then, if it makes sense at the end, you can say:

If you ever want support implementing this on a larger scale, that’s something I help schools with. I’m happy to send you more information.

That is a natural next step.

You aren’t pretending the session has nothing to do with your business.

You are a business owner.

But once again:

Service came first.

Before You Add More Marketing, Find the Revenue Leaks

If you’re working hard to grow your education consulting business but your revenue still isn’t where you want it to be, you may not need another marketing strategy.

You may need to figure out where opportunities are already slipping through the cracks.

My free 5 Revenue Leaks Guide walks you through the five places I most commonly see education consultants losing opportunities and revenue in their businesses.

Sometimes we assume we need more leads, more visibility, and more outreach when that isn’t actually where the problem is.

Before you add more to your plate, figure out where the leak really is.

Grab the free 5 Revenue Leaks Guide.

The Bigger Lesson

You need to market your education consulting business.

You need to make offers.

You need to follow up.

And you absolutely need to tell administrators what you do.

Selling is not bad.

But you also don’t want the only time a school leader hears from you to be when you want something.

Come to my webinar.

Download my freebie.

Book a call.

Buy my professional development.

Hire me.

That’s a lot of withdrawals if you haven’t made many deposits.

So use National Principals Month as an opportunity to make a few.

Send the email.

Send the LinkedIn message.

Buy the coffee.

Give away the book.

Celebrate a principal someone nominated.

Offer your expertise.

And do some of it without needing anything in return.

Because you’re not just building an email list.

You’re not just filling a pipeline.

You’re building relationships with real people doing incredibly important work.

And yes, those relationships can absolutely grow your business.

But sometimes the best way to start an important business relationship is simply to say:

“I see the work you’re doing. Thank you.”