Four Steps To Close More Federal Contracts In Q4

Introduction

Here’s how one GovCon turned a $10,000 project into a $1M contract in less than 8 weeks…and how easily you can get on track for that kind of result.

If you’re pumping out proposals for prospects you’ve never met, in agencies you’ve never worked in, you’re working 12 times harder than you need to. Jennifer Rhodes’ story shows that it doesn’t have to be that way.

How to turn $10,000 into $1m in 8 weeks.

Jennifer Rhodes, VP of Business Development at Tagence, had just finished a $10,000 prime contract for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon.

This pilot project went well. But her biggest win was the opportunity for a follow-up conversation to ask her happy client, “Who else needs what we do?”

Her contact had heard about a need from another office inside DoD, someone who needed a records management system (like the one she just worked on) to comply with National Archives and Records Administration requirements.

That single question led to a contract award for a million dollar project within just a few weeks of finishing the original work.

Here’s how she did that.

• Before the follow-up conversation, Jennifer built what she calls a “soft capture deck”—a semi-generic presentation for an unspecified client.
• During the call, she kept asking questions to find out who the client really was and the point of contact.
• Next, she sent a few emails and made a few phone calls.
• Armed with the details she had gathered, she did a “drive by,” telling the buyer that she was going to be in the area… could she come in to talk?

The buyer said yes, and together they whiteboarded out the project, and put together the skeleton of what a proposal would look like.

Tagence delivered that project, continued to provide enhancements, and was able to modify the contract to add more work for that same fiscal year.

Nearly a million dollars in revenue — 100x the value of original contract — came from asking the question, “Who else needs what we do?”

Step 1 (and why it’s the key)

Someone who’s already done business with you is 12 times more likely to buy from you again than someone who’s never heard of you.

It’s the “12X Factor”. In the Federal arena, here’s why that happens.

As July arrives, Federal buyers are running short on time to spend their money but also need to get everything done right. Their agencies establish cutoff dates for purchasing weeks in advance of fiscal year-end. As those deadlines loom, they tend to be more comfortable with the vendors they know, like, and trust, whose performance is proven and who doesn’t make mistakes.

If you’re an incumbent vendor who is performing well, ask for the business in the account where you are. What related tasks or phases could you finish up for them before fiscal year-end is up?

Worst case, they say no-go.

If you think you might feel embarrassed for asking…here’s how to turn a potentially awkward moment into a positive experience. Buyers often know who else has money because peers talk to each other. And people naturally want to help their friends succeed by introducing them to top-performing vendors.

So, first, respond with grace (and even acknowledge that that felt awkward or was hard to ask). Thank your contact for the opportunity to serve them, and for giving you clarity on their situation. Ask “when might be a good time to circle back with you?” Or, “When could we get some time on the calendar in mid-October, when you’ve got a new fiscal year started?”

Then be optimistic and confident. Ask,

• “If this isn’t the right time for you, who do you know at your other locations or regions, or at your sister agencies, who might need what we offer and has money to spend?
• “What rumblings have you heard?”
• “If you were me, who would you be talking to?”
• “Who do you know who would value the kind of results we’ve just brought your team? Would you introduce me to them?”