Part 1 of 3 · Federal Sales Hot Wash Series — Part 2: How to Run One That Works · Part 3: Make It a Habit + Facilitator Guide
It’s November. The phones are quiet, inboxes sparse, and the Federal marketplace feels like it’s holding its breath.
Nearly a month into the government shutdown, many business development teams are frustrated, frozen, or furloughed.
But the most successful Federal sellers aren’t standing still. They’re using this pause to reset.
A Federal Sales Hot Wash isn’t just a year-end ritual — it’s your strategic launch pad for the new fiscal year. Whether your October went exactly to plan or completely off the rails, your next wins depend on what you learn right now.
What’s a “Hot Wash,” Really?
In Federal contracting, a “hot wash” comes from the military and emergency management world. After an operation, teams gather while the details are still “hot” to capture what worked, what didn’t, and what they’ll do differently next time.
For Federal business development professionals, your Hot Wash is the same idea applied to capture management. It’s a structured, honest review of the past fiscal year’s activity — from bids and meetings to relationships and results — so you can raise your Probability of Win (PWIN) in the year ahead.
It’s not about blame or bureaucracy. It’s about building momentum on truth.
Why November Is the Perfect Time
October’s rush is over. FY26 has officially begun — but with the shutdown, most agency activity is on hold. You finally have breathing room.
That makes November the perfect window to do your Hot Wash. You’re close enough to remember what really happened, but far enough from the Q4 scramble to think strategically instead of reactively. You can see your efforts with fresh perspective before your next forecast or capture plan locks in outdated assumptions.
Even if your October didn’t unfold the way you hoped, this quiet stretch offers something powerful: the chance to turn downtime into design time. Your Hot Wash is where you make sense of everything that came before — so you can move forward with confidence.
The Mindset Behind a Great Federal Hot Wash
A winning Hot Wash starts with mindset. High-performing Federal sellers don’t see reflection as delay — they see it as discipline.
This process isn’t about looking backward to criticize; it’s about looking inward to optimize. It’s a space where you and your team can be candid without judgment, and curious instead of defensive. That’s where real improvement begins.
One of the most overlooked skills in Federal business development is the ability to pause and learn. It’s uncomfortable to stop chasing opportunities long enough to ask, “What did we really achieve?” Yet, that’s where growth lives. Every Hot Wash you do becomes an investment in clarity — and clarity is what drives consistent wins.
Still wondering why more Federal contractors don’t make time for this? You’re not alone.
If a Federal Sales 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?
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 my gut feel about this question has roots in grounded theory research!
Brown’s podcast episode resonates for everyone considering a Federal Sales 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.
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 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.
Oh, did I mention it’s going to feel uncomfortable?
“If you’re comfortable…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 Free RESOURCE: The Dare To Lead Hub
Why Skipping The Hot Wash Costs You
Most small businesses (and large ones, too) in Federal contracting skip the Hot Wash. They dive straight into the next chase — often with the same blind spots they carried all last year. And that’s a costly mistake.
The data alone doesn’t tell you why something worked. A spreadsheet of win rates or contact counts won’t reveal which conversations built trust or why a buyer stopped calling back. You lose sight of the real story behind those numbers — the patterns that explain what’s actually driving your business forward.
A Hot Wash pulls those insights out into the open. It shows you where early engagement really paid off, where the timing slipped, and where partnerships quietly underperformed. Without it, lessons that could have reshaped your next capture strategy fade fast.
That’s why the teams who consistently grow in Federal sales are the ones who learn faster. They take the time to ask “what really happened here?” — and then act on what they find.
The Real ROI of a Federal Sales Hot Wash
Think of your Hot Wash as your PWIN multiplier. Every insight you capture and act on this month compounds across every bid you’ll chase next year.
When you finish, you’ll notice things start to click. You’ll know which Federal agency relationships are worth re-investing in — and which ones can fade gracefully. You’ll spot the difference between opportunities that truly fit and those that only looked promising on paper. You’ll understand which capture steps delivered results and which were too little, too late.
And maybe most important, you’ll see your team come back together. After the chaos of Q4, a good Hot Wash helps people reconnect around what they learned and what they’re proud of. That energy — that renewed sense of shared purpose — is the real return on investment.
The Hidden ROI of a Federal Hot Wash
Every year, teams tell me the same thing: “We need more marketing money.”
But here’s the truth — you probably already have it.
A Hot Wash isn’t just a look back at performance. It’s an ROI review of every dollar and hour you spent last year trying to win Federal business. And it’s one of the fastest ways to uncover hidden resources you can redeploy for growth.
Think about what your company invested in the past 12 months — the conferences, memberships, trade shows, webinars, sponsorships, consultants, and campaigns. For most small Federal contractors, that’s somewhere between $30,000 and $200,000 in cash and sweat equity combined.
Now ask: which of those investments actually paid off? Which ones generated real leads, meaningful relationships, or repeat work? Which ones simply burned time and budget?
A great Hot Wash treats your sales and marketing spend like an investment portfolio. You evaluate performance, manage risk, and make decisions based on results, not habit.
Maybe you discover that an “essential” association membership hasn’t produced a new lead in two years. Or that the annual conference everyone “has to attend” delivers nothing but receipts. When you can see those patterns, you can redeploy funds and energy toward the ideas that have been waiting in the wings — the innovations that never got a chance because legacy line items ate the budget.
This is how smart Federal sellers increase their ROI without increasing their spend. They stop repeating the same old moves that “should work” and instead back the new ones that will.
The Hot Wash is where those decisions start.
Download the Hot Wash Guide V6
Want a proven checklist to make your FY26 Hot Wash count? The complimentary Federal Sales Hot Wash Guide walks you step by step through reviewing your pipeline, relationships, and performance to raise your PWIN and reset your growth strategy.
Download the Hot Wash Guide V6 today turn the remains of the year into your Federal sales launch pad. >> Get the guide now!
A Quick Reality Check
If your company’s still in “shutdown limbo,” you may be thinking, Why bother?
Here’s the truth: this downtime is your competitive advantage.
While competitors are waiting for the phones to ring, you can be debriefing yourself. Pull your FPDS and SAM.gov reports. Compare your forecasts to actual awards. Look at which Federal agencies slowed down or shifted funding streams. Notice the new primes and vehicles that quietly surfaced during Q4.
This isn’t busywork — it’s reconnaissance. And when Federal operations resume, you’ll already know where the current is flowing next.
Start With Three Core Questions
Every Hot Wash starts with the same foundation: what, why, and how.
What did we actually do?
Look at your activity, not just your outcomes. How many Federal buyers did you meet? How many capture plans were actually executed? Which teaming partners added value, and which drained your time?
Why did we get the results we did?
Celebrate the wins, but study the losses. Did timing, teaming, pricing, or relationships make the difference? What patterns show up when you step back from the numbers?
How will we do it better in FY26?
Don’t just promise to “work harder.” Define what you’ll do differently — which vehicles to prioritize, which buyers to engage sooner, and what messages will earn faster trust.
The beauty of these three questions is their simplicity. They cut through the noise and point you straight to the insights that matter.
Do It Fast, Then Go Deep
Your first Hot Wash doesn’t have to take weeks. Start with a one-hour team conversation to get everything out of your heads while memories are vivid. Capture the ideas quickly — you can dig into data later.
Then, within a week, schedule your deeper dive. Pull in your reports, debrief notes, and opportunity pipeline. Ask someone to record or take notes — you’ll be amazed at the patterns that emerge when everyone’s perspective is in the same room.
The key is momentum, not perfection. The faster you start, the more value you’ll get before the next quarter sweeps you away.
How Top-Performing GovCons Do It
The companies that treat their Hot Wash like an annual executive debrief — not just a task — see exponential payoff.
They start by gathering hard data (award records, FPDS trends, CPARS feedback, and SAM.gov watch lists) and pair it with soft insight from conversations, debriefs, and informal buyer feedback. Then they look for alignment: did our actions match our strategy?
They review which Federal events actually produced qualified leads — and which just drained travel budgets. They examine their teaming and subcontracting partnerships, asking, “Who delivered?” and “Who didn’t?” They identify where their capture processes broke down — not to assign blame, but to improve coordination.
In many companies, this analysis also includes revisiting proposal spend. Was the ROI on each bid worth the labor hours invested? Did each effort align with your core competencies and long-term agency relationships?
The best Federal sellers also go one step further: they create a living lessons-learned repository. They capture their insights in a shared folder or CRM so that when staff or leadership changes, institutional memory doesn’t walk out the door. The result? Every year’s Hot Wash builds on the last — turning experience into a competitive edge.
Shutdown-Year Capture Priorities: Seven Smart Moves for November
Use this pause to re-center on the moves that compound:
- Re-qualify your top three agencies. Confirm mission priorities, likely vehicles, and any consolidation ripple effects.
- Advance two micro-purchase offers. Package quick wins — which can now be worth up to $15,000, as of October 1st 2025 — that help new buyers try you with low risk.
- Refresh your Simplified Acquisition pathway. Make it easy for buyers to purchase between $15,000 and $350,000 (under the revised threshold) with a clean, current menu of services.
- Tighten bid/no-bid criteria. Protect team energy; only pursue what you can shape, staff, and price to win.
- Reassess one “legacy spend.” Identify a membership, sponsorship, or event that hasn’t produced pipeline — and redeploy those dollars.
- Schedule three Federal buyer conversations. Not to pitch — to learn. Ask what changed in their world last quarter.
- Stand up your lessons-learned library. Create the shared space where this year’s insights will live — and be used.
Vignette: From “We’ve Always Done It” to “This Actually Works”
A midsize firm had renewed an association membership for five straight years. Good people, good community — but zero leads and no teaming momentum. During their Hot Wash, the team admitted they kept paying because “we’ve always done it.” They cut the line item and used the funds — and the two staff weeks of prep/travel — to pilot a micro-purchase offer with a new Federal program office. That pilot turned into three follow-on task orders and a teaming relationship with a prime they met through the delivery. Same budget. Better outcomes. The difference wasn’t money. It was management attention — powered by a candid review.
Your Hot Wash Isn’t About the Past — It’s About the Launch
The name might sound like cleanup, but a Hot Wash is really ignition.
When you finish, you’ll have a sharper picture of where you stand — the Federal agencies that still trust you, the partners who delivered, and the gaps you can close now. You’ll have clear direction for Q1 and beyond.
That’s what turns the next twelve months from random opportunity chasing into purposeful pipeline building.
From Reflection to Momentum
Once you’ve done your Hot Wash, don’t stop there. Your next move is to translate those lessons into action — updated capture plans, fresh messaging, and renewed buyer outreach.
That’s where Summit Insight’s Federal Business Breakthrough Call comes in. In just 30 minutes, we’ll look at your results, pinpoint where you’re losing traction, and identify the fastest ways to build momentum again.
Book your Breakthrough Call with Judy — and turn your November insights into FY26 wins.
The Bottom Line
Even in a shutdown, progress doesn’t have to stop. When others hit pause, you prepare.
That’s what separates the businesses that survive from those that scale. Your Hot Wash isn’t a post-mortem — it’s your pre-launch sequence.
Use this November wisely.
Because when the lights come back on, you’ll already be three steps ahead.
And if those lights come back on while you’re still in the middle of your Hot Wash — don’t stop. Capture what you can now, and finish when the pace settles again. The ROI doesn’t disappear when government reopens — it grows. The same clarity you build today will help you prioritize faster and focus resources the moment your buyers are back at their desks.
Special thanks to Scott Semple, Managing Partner of | GovCon & Federal Procurement Expert, Advisor to Small & Mid-Cap Businesses and now advisor to the National Veterans Small Business Coalition (NVSBC). This content about Federal Sales Hot Wash has its origins in our collaboration during my four years producing the Boot Camp program when he was President of the National Capital chapter of NVSBC. I have always loved the power of these concepts, and continued to build it out since my original presentation on this in 2015.