The final days of federal FY17 are here, with many government contractors scrambling to take in final orders and ensure that there are no opportunities that have been overlooked or left untouched. While we know that most of our reseller audience is heads down during these next 10 days, we thought it would be appropriate to do a roundup of our best advice and insights for VARs and government contractors during this final countdown.
10. Have strong pipeline discipline. This is the time of year when it is critical to communicate and discuss all top priority opportunities to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
9. Maintain deal control analysis for top opportunities. The more control and knowledge you have at every step of an opportunity, the more likely it will convert into a win.
8. Marketing still matters. While most contractors are heads down closing business, marketing should not be forgotten. Maintain the reassurance that your organization is a trusted resource for agencies. Larry Allen, President of Allen Federal Partners and Mark Amtower, Principal and Founder of Amtower & Co., discuss some of the most critical steps government contractors should take to market themselves now and in the future, in this EDGE360 federal podcast.
7. Highlight small business, veteran-owned, and minority-owned status. Larry Allen highly recommends that VARs perfect their game plan and represent themselves as small businesses, veteran owned, service disabled or women owned as appropriate. “You should be actively marketing this at this time of year,” Allen says. “If you have a partner that is a small business, then you should market that/capitalize on it,” because most agencies need a percentage of business from these types of organizations. Click here to listen to the recent podcast with Guy Timberlake regarding small business opportunities.
6. Know the federal opportunities that exist. According to Jeff Smith, President of True Upside, a strategic consultant in the public sector, and partner of Comstor Federal, agencies “will not risk losing any O&M budgets for any reason, so those monies will be the main priority to renew, slot, and compete. If mission critical capital budget spend has been approved for projects or IT investments, then those monies will also become a quick priority. Be prepared to support both types of spending or the buying season will swiftly pass you by without the wins you deserve.”
Our federal expert contributors to EDGE360 have many more tips for you as you approach these final days of the federal buying season. Click here for more federal content and come back to EDGE360 as we cover the remaining five tips we have for resellers and VARs closing out FY17.
