Federal Sales Q4 Hot Wash: How To Make Sure You Do Yours

If a Federal Sales Q4 Hot Wash is so valuable, why doesn’t everybody do one? Take your pick, or add your own.

• “We’re exhausted and overtaken by events.”
• “We’ve closed the book on the year; it’s time to move on.”
• “We’re onboarding our newest clients! No time now!”
• “It’s important, but not urgent. It can wait (for a day that never comes)”
• “We’re doing fine; we’ve never done this before. Why try something we don’t know how to do?”
• “We haven’t got the resources – energy, time, cash, sweat equity… we’re just tapped out.”
• “We’ve got too many balls in the air and not enough hands.”
• “We don’t have anyone who can pull this together.”
  or
• “Oh, we already do that. We’re getting to it, really.”

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

When I was thinking about this blog post, I picked a podcast to listen to on the road. I clicked an episode of Brene Brown’s Dare To Lead podcast series.

Boy, did I get an earful…and a brain-full…and a heart full. I was gratified to realize that what I wanted to share with you has roots in solid research! 

Dr. Brown’s research on leadership resonates for everyone who’s considering doing a Federal Sales Q4 Hot Wash! I hope you’ll listen.

PODCAST RESOURCE: Brene Brown’s Armored Versus Daring Leadership (Part One).

The Takedown: Fear of Imperfection

Underneath every one of these objections is our glorious humanity. Plenty of CEO’s tell me, “Oh, we don’t do shame and blame here.”

Meh. We all do shame and blame. The question isn’t whether those emotions affect us, but how they’re camouflaged, whether we notice them, and what we do next!

We’ve got a lot at stake when we go out into the Federal market to serve our buyers, build our companies, create and sustain jobs for our employees and wealth for our families and our communities.

Facing where we fall short is hard, every time.

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.”
~ John Cage, American Composer

If we want the growth that comes from innovation, if we’re looking for the resources, we need to bring creative ideas to life, we also need to wrestle with the tough conversations. We need to work through the discomfort of facing our failings. We need to both give and accept feedback.

When Dr. Brown contrasts what she calls “armored leadership” with “daring leadership,” her insights tackle all these objections head-on.

Only when we take the time to stop, take stock, and ask the hard questions, can we learn and tap our strengths — as individuals and as a team.

Otherwise, all too often our natural, unthinking, response is driven by a nearly overwhelming desire to avoid conflict, blame & shame, frustration, and disappointment.

“If you’re comfortable, I’m not teaching and you’re not learning. It’s going to get uncomfortable in here and that’s okay. It’s normal and it’s part of the process.”
~ Brene Brown

 RESOURCE: The Dare To Lead Hub 

You’re In! Who’s Invited To Our Federal Sales Hot Wash?

If it’s a sales Hot Wash then…the people who do the selling, right? 

The list may be longer than you think! Here’s why.

Sales includes research into who you want to woo. It includes recognizing or creating an opportunity. It includes building connections and trust with Federal humans — lots of them — long before the proposal is written. Sales absolutely includes everyone who’s in the account today delivering, creating what’s going to become your past performance. 

My most successful clients all tell me, “Everybody sells.” Just about everyone on our team has a unique contribution to make, because just about everyone in our company contributes to the customer experience, in building our relationships with prospects and clients — whether they talk to our clients or never meet them. 

The Invitation List 

Let’s start with…

• The C-suite or business owner
• The sales and business development leadership
• Those involved in direct sales – those making calls to prospects, having conversations with prospects and clients
• Team members involved in proposal development – whether written in-house or by a contractor, consultant, or specialist
• Support personnel, research assistants, interns, analysts in the company
• Contract Administration staff – those managing the customer experience and the contract terms and condition
• Program managers and account leads, who are subject matter experts, with a close ear to the ground
• Those involved in frontline service delivery
• Maybe key partners and resellers! 

In short, team members in just about every functional area in the company can contribute to — and benefit from — participating in a Hot Wash. 

What Are The Steps To Doing A Hot Wash?

• Reflect & Gather Information

We start by casting a wide net to capture ideas, intuition, and observations as well as facts and data, from the whole team. The Hot Wash leader sorts through those to recommend a short list of topics to explore in depth in Step Two. The management team considers whether and how to work with the other things that are still important but can’t be tackled in a single day session.

• Discover & Explore

The Hot Wash session leader we’ve chosen — whether from within our own team, or an experienced facilitator from outside our team — brings us all together for a full day to explore and share what we learned as well as how we earned.

• Decide & Act

Our session is only as good as our implementation! Once we’re on the same page about lessons learned, we’ll have a firm foundation — and probably have identified new resources! — to begin the full business plan for the new year.