UpGrad

The Market Context: Edtech’s New Growth Playbook

The first wave of edtech was direct-to-consumer—acquire learners online, drive conversions through high-touch sales, and scale via performance marketing.

But that playbook has evolved.

For a platform like UpGrad, which already had a strong brand and product portfolio, the next wave of growth was coming from:

B2B partnerships with enterprises, colleges, and government skilling programs

Expansion into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where trust and localised engagement matter

Hybrid funnels, where leads came from both digital outreach and institutional networks

This shift introduced a new kind of complexity:

How do you align B2B and D2C sales teams on goals, handoffs, and narratives?

How do you prevent duplicate work and friction between motion types?

How do you build a pipeline engine that feeds both corporate clients and individual learners—without burning budget or team bandwidth?

That’s where ScalePods stepped in.

The Challenge: Two Pipelines, One Brand — and Too Much Friction

UpGrad’s challenge wasn’t a lack of leads. It was a lack of alignment:

The D2C motion ran on speed, targeting individuals via performance campaigns and inbound calls.

The B2B motion required deeper discovery, longer cycles, and more stakeholders.

But these teams:

Operated in silos

Used different CRMs and tracking logic

Had conflicting definitions of what a “qualified lead” meant

Struggled to hand off high-intent users moving between tracks (e.g. a learner referring their company for a training program)

The result? Missed opportunities, slow conversion, and unclear attribution across growth levers.

What We Did: Build a Unified GTM Engine with Two Tracks

1. Rebuilt the ICP and Funnel Logic for Both Motions

We started with a ground-up audit of how each funnel worked:

What channels were feeding the top of funnel?

What qualification steps were creating bottlenecks?

Where was overlap or leakage between D2C and B2B?

Using this, we redefined:

The Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) for each motion—breaking them down not just by role or company size, but by behavior, urgency, and buying intent

The funnel stages and qualification criteria for each team, making sure there was a shared language across D2C and B2B

A unified lead tagging system, so both sales pods could spot cross-funnel handoffs

2. Persona-Led Messaging Frameworks

We developed tailored messaging based on decision-maker psychology:

For B2B: HR heads, L&D managers, and business unit leads focused on outcomes like retention, upskilling, and cost savings

For D2C: Early and mid-career professionals evaluating career pivots, credibility of certification, and placement assistance

Each persona got a distinct value narrative, aligned content assets, and revised outreach scripts across email, WhatsApp, and sales calls.

3. Restructured Sales Handoffs and Lead Workflows

We mapped every critical touchpoint across both motions:

When a D2C learner showed interest in B2B (e.g. worked in HR or referred a company)

When a B2B lead entered via a workshop or webinar but wanted to personally enroll in a program

When channel partners or regional agencies brought in mixed leads

Then we built a cross-track sales sync model:

Shared dashboards with lead handover triggers

Weekly huddles between B2B and D2C pods

Clear ownership protocols—who moves, who closes, who tracks

This turned what was once leakage into revenue flow.

4. Campaign-Level Growth Loops

We helped UpGrad run integrated campaigns that served both motions:

“Upskill Your Team” webinars promoted on learner dashboards

Referral workflows that let individual learners nominate their employers for L&D pilots

Regional activations where colleges and enterprises co-sponsored program access

Every campaign came with its own measurement system—tracking ROI not just in enrolments, but in pipeline impact.

Impact Delivered

2X improvement in lead quality, measured by downstream conversion and engagement

23% faster conversion cycles through better sales handoffs and funnel visibility

Unified B2B–D2C pipeline system, now used across regional and enterprise sales teams

Improved attribution clarity—marketing could now link creative and spend to both motions

Higher CSAT scores from learners and clients due to smoother onboarding and experience