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Talking to the Government: A Beltway Bandit Myth
By Sylvia Montgomery
Funny thing about myths and urban legends: repeat them enough and they begin to sound like the truth. For example, take the myth that companies can’t learn anything meaningful from decision makers in the government.
Just yesterday, I was having a conversation with a prospect looking to expand in the Federal public sector. I asked, “Have you considered conducting client research with current and past clients and maybe even some of the ones that got away?” The response I got was, “You can’t talk to the government!” At that moment, the myth surfaced its ugly head.
Government Buyer Tells All
By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.
Please forgive the tabloid-like headline. I simply couldn’t resist. This story is so revealing and so relevant for professional services firms that want to sell their services to the government I didn’t want it to get lost beneath a less provocative headline.
How valuable would it be to have a top government procurement executive tell you the right way and the wrong way to sell to him? Well, that’s exactly what happened to me this week. Now at Hinge we don’t sell directly to the government, but many of our clients do. So the topic was of intense interest to me.
The procurement executive was none other than the legendary Greg Rothwell. If you are not familiar with him, here’s a brief introduction. Greg recently retired after 34 years in the federal acquisitions community. During that time he served in 10 agencies, including Interior and Treasury. But perhaps his most notable achievement is that he stood up the massive procurement function for the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He personally developed several of the largest procurement programs in history. After his retirement, Rothwell started a private consulting firm, Evermay Consulting Group so he is now free to tell it like it is.
He did not disappoint. Here are a few of his key insights:
CEOs Weigh in on Government 2.0 at Obama Administration Briefing
By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent
On January 14, the Obama administration held a series of events to support its campaign promise to use technology to make government more transparent. A selection of executives and CEOs, largely from the tech sector, were paired with government officials and asked their opinions on how technology could be better used to streamline government programs.
Among those in attendance was Craig Newmark, founder of Craig’s List and Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer. The administration is pushing for the use of new technology in an effort to improve the efficiency of antiquated government processes using technology similar to the private sector.
Invizion - a Firm to Watch in the GovCon Space
By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.
As you may know, Hinge conducts regular research on professional services firms and their clients. We are just finishing data collection on a national study aimed at identifying professional services firms that are growing fast, even in this challenging economic environment. The good news is that there are some impressive performers.
Today, I’d like to highlight one such company, a technology firm called Invizion. They operate in the GovCon space and are focusing on the security market.
Deltek Survey of Government Contractors Shows Paths to High Growth
By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.
Sometimes the data speak volumes. I recently had that experience when reviewing the new survey of government contracting firms released by Deltek. The survey, called Clarity 09, is a great resource for anyone who sells professional services to the federal government (and you can download it for free).
Here is the first nugget that caught my attention: How should you approach proposal writing if you want to maximize growth? Be selective (the so called “write fewer and win more” strategy)? Or should you maximize proposals to maximize wins? How about a compromise and be moderately selective?
Getting Past the Economic Ice Age
By Aaron Taylor
The air outside was noticeably colder this week, but each day brings new signs that the worst of the economic winter may be behind us. That’s good news, but nobody is pouring champaign just yet. Many professional services firms are still struggling with the same issues that dogged them a year ago — sluggish demand, competitive price cutting and reduced budgets. You can catch whiffs of caution almost anywhere you go.
One notable exception — the federal government contracting marketplace — has remained relatively hot throughout the recession. But even that industry hasn’t put away it’s winter coat just yet. A recent pair of articles on the WashingtonTechnology website discuss strategies government contractors can use to make it through these difficult times. Whether or not your business prospects are warming up as the economy thaws, the articles offer solid advice for marketing any professional services firm in good times and bad. The four tips below, taken from “Marketing Tips for Today’s Business Climate,” are supported by independent research Hinge has conducted into professional services firms: