How to Uncover Buyer Signals from Local News & Media: Guide for SLED Sales Teams in 2025

How to Uncover Buyer Signals from Local News & Media

Sometimes, the strongest buying signals don’t come from contracts or budgets.

They come from the stories districts are telling in public. On TV, in local news, or on podcasts... Signals that shape what decision-makers care about before an RFP is ever written.

Until now, this kind of insight has been nearly impossible to track at scale.

That’s why we taught Kevin to listen.

Kevin, NationGraph’s AI-powered assistant, now scans local TV news, radio broadcasts, and podcasts—alongside over 100,000+ public-sector documents—to help you spot the moments that matter.

Let’s show you how to use it.

The Problem: The Buyer’s World Moves Outside the Data Stack

You can know a district’s contracts, budgets, and plans, but still miss what’s driving urgency in the moment.

• A school shooting sparks district-wide safety funding.
• A storm exposes gaps in remote learning infrastructure.
• A superintendent speaks out on workforce readiness.
• A town hall draws community attention to student mental health.

These moments shape policy, budget priorities, and buying behavior. And they don’t show up in your CRM.

Kevin brings them into view.

The Prompt: What’s in the Local Narrative?

Let’s say you want to sell into districts where school safety is top-of-mind.

Ask Kevin:

“What districts have recent local news or board discussions about school safety or emergency preparedness?”

Kevin returns a list of districts where:

• Local TV or radio segments feature school safety
• Board meetings reference emergency protocols or new funding
• Community sentiment is shaping the conversation

Each result includes citations and clips, so you can hear what’s being said straight from the source.

The Output: Real-Time Buyer Context

Here’s an example of what Kevin could return:

• District: Cobb County Schools (GA)
• Signal: March 2025 radio segment covered “new safety alert system rollout,” quoting the superintendent’s commitment to “real-time, district-wide alerts.”
• Board Note: April meeting referenced a new line item in the budget for emergency response tools
• Action: Reach out to Director of Safety & Security with use cases tied to mass notification and situational awareness

You don’t just know what they need.

You know what they’re saying publicly, and why it matters now.

Go Beyond Safety: Track Any Topic

Kevin can track the issues that matter to your solution or segment:

“Which districts have recent news or podcast coverage on digital equity?”

“What are superintendents saying about AI in the classroom?”

“Where is student mental health being discussed in the media or meetings?”

These insights give your outreach relevance and urgency + help you lead with empathy, not just product.

🎥 See It in Action

Want to see how Kevin surfaces local stories that lead to sales conversations?

In this walkthrough, we show how reps use Kevin to find timely, media-driven signals and turn them into context-rich outreach.

Ready to explore your own use cases?

Start chatting with Kevin in your NationGraph workspace or book a walkthrough with our team.