Pentagon Unveils Reduced Spending Plan

by lbbristow

Today, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta unveiled a budget plan that cuts half a trillion dollars in spending increases over the next 10 years, ultimately illustrating how the Obama administration feels America’s military needs to change.  Cuts would begin in October 2013.

Panetta said he will request a total budget that is $33 billion less than the current budget.  To achieve this, Panetta said a new “flexible and agile” strategy was developed for the military of the future.  From examples provided, savings will come from reduced headcount, closing of European bases, and retiring of antiquated hardware.

Programs like the Special Operations Forces (e.g. Navy SEALs) and unmanned aerial vehicles will actually see increases in spending.

Becoming a Star: Listening & Value Translation Skills

by lbbristow

In our consulting practice, we’re often asked what individual qualities best predict success in government sales and business development.  In our research (and practical experience over the years) we’ve actually identified seven personal traits that contribute to effective selling within the complex government environment.  For a discussion of all of these, feel free to request our free white paper, “Seven Key Traits of Star Government Salespeople” (see the link on the right).  For now, let’s examine the strongest predictor of success:  listening and value translation.  We’ll break this down into smaller bites in order to better understand this vital factor.

First, star salespeople are perceived to be good listeners by their prospects.  No surprises here.  Buyers want their problems and needs to be truly heard.  Of course, listening means more than hearing.  Good listeners know what questions to ask to get to the core of prospects’ stated (or unstated) needs.  They listen for clues regarding the decision-making chain, and they effectively discern non-verbal cues.

Second, star sales people are able to translate prospect problems into meaningful customer “answers”.  Hearing is one thing.  Being able to diagnose problems, align needs with company offerings, and provide real solutions (an unfortunately overused term) is another.  Being “consultative” is a part of the equation, but only a part.  Persuasion is also a valid part of the value translation process.  We often see salespeople who, in striving to be consultative, fail because they get mired in prospect “wish lists” and details they don’t know how to address.  They are unable to persuade the prospect to adopt new ways of thinking (ways that are more aligned with their company’s offerings).  Star government salespeople don’t fall into this trap.

Third, star salespeople have learned to adapt their listening and value translation skills to the structured process of government selling.  While other salespeople might be turned off by the rigid procedures involved in government procurement, star government salespeople utilize this to their advantage.  They are comfortable with the playing field (and frankly know how to work the system within bounds).

A government salesperson’s ability to listen empathetically, and then translate products or service features into clear value for the buyer is essential for long-term success.  If you’re sitting around waiting for RFPs to be released before you begin selling, you’re too late.  Commit to getting in front of the RFP, building relationships, listening effectively, then translating prospect problems into solutions your company can provide.  You’ll find yourself with “star” status before long.

President Obama Proposes Merging Agencies and Elevating SBA Head to Cabinet Position

by lbbristow
Seal of the U.S. government's Small Business A...

Image via Wikipedia

Today, President Obama proposed merging six trade and commerce agencies into a single agency, while elevating the head of the Small Business Administration to a cabinet level position.  The plans would affect the Commerce Department, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

The president can’t make the change on his own, so he will ask Congress for authority to undertake the reorganization quickly.

According to the Journal article, “the president appears to be seeking to show that he is looking out for a part of the business sector that Republicans say is the main engine of job growth, and one that other Obama policies have hurt.”

At this point it is unclear whether Congress will give President Obama what he seeks. Reorganizations are tricky in Congress because they impact certain committees’ oversight structure.  At least, however, discussion and focus are being placed on Small Business–a key engine for economic growth.

Government Technology’s Five Most Important Stories of 2011

by lbbristow

The use of technology  in government is a common interest of our readers as the topic impacts a wide variety of government contractors.  As such, we recommend you check out this linked article from Government Technology magazine.  Here, they highlight what they consider to be the five most important technology stories of 2011.  The stories cover the gamut from cloud-based services, to social media in government, to ultra high-speed broadband.  It’s well worth a read.

New Report Reveals Trends in Federal Contracting for Small Business

by lbbristow

Despite, current procurement tracking methods at the federal level, it’s not easy to get a real picture of how small business fares within government contracting.  However, a new report, Trends in Federal Contracting for Small Businesses, published by American Express OPEN’s Victory in Procurement (VIP) program provides some unique and interesting insights.  For this study, 740 “active small business federal contractors” were polled during the months of October and November.  Here are a few key findings from the first of four publicly-released summary reports:

  • Small businesses spent more chasing federal contracts. Over the past year, the amount of time and money that active small business contractors have invested in seeking federal contracts averaged $103,827, an increase of 21 percent over previous year figures.
  • Small businesses bid less frequently on contracts. Even as the average investment has risen over the past year, bidding activity has declined by nearly half.  This includes both prime and subcontracting bidding activity. In addition, the average success rate for small business contractors (in both prime and subcontracting) has declined, indicating a more competitive environment.
  • Try, and try again. Active small business contractors reported they had to submit an average of 4.4 bids before they won their first prime federal contract. Two-thirds of active small business contractors have performed on more than one federal contract, and, on average, it took them just under a year to win their second contract.
  • Experience pays. Contractors with ten or more years experience have success rates of 53% on average.  This compares to contractors with three or less years experience who have success rates of 20% on average.

Overall, the study highlights the fact that government contracting is not an easy, short-term strategy for small business.  It takes commitment, work, and investment to succeed.  On the other hand, for small businesses who know what they’re doing and/or are willing to make the effort, it is also clear government contracting can be a smart, highly lucrative pursuit.

DHS Releases Blueprint for Cybersecurity

by lbbristow
Department of Homeland Security

I know it’s geeky, but I rather enjoy reading through federal government strategic plans–particularly those related to technology or homeland security.  Makes me feel a little Jack Bower-like (I miss you man!) to see what’s going on in the minds of our leaders.  It also helps, from a business perspective, to know where the strategic areas of focus and opportunities lie within top target government agencies.

We have an opportunity to do this once again with the release of DHS’s Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future:  The Cybersecurity Strategy for the Homeland Security Enterprise.  According to Janet Napolitano, DHS Secretary, “The framework aims to help better use existing capabilities and promote technological advances that make government, the private sector and the general public more resilient online.”

The document focuses on two core areas of DHS’s cyber mission: protecting critical information infrastructure, and strengthening the broader “cyber ecosystem.”

Protecting Critical Information Infrastructure

According to the plan, DHS will protect critical information infrastructure by reducing exposure to cyber risk, ensuring priority response and recovery, maintaining shared situational awareness and increasing resilience.

DHS looks to create the National Cybersecurity Protection System, develop incident reporting guidelines, issue alerts regarding significant threats, and run the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center among other tactics.

Strengthening the Cyber Ecosystem

The other focus area relates to strengthening the cyber ecosystem. DHS says it will empower individuals and organizations to operate securely; make and use more trustworthy cyber protocols, products, services configurations and architectures; build collaborative communities; and establish transparent processes.

While the blueprint may not be as exciting as an episode of 24 (particularly the first few seasons), it may just provide you technology-oriented government contractors out there with some new ideas or at least some support for existing roadmaps

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Five Government Procurement Rules that Stifle Innovation

by lbbristow

Government procurement is often no picnic.  If you’ve been involved in selling to government for any length of time, you know the myriad of rules, regulations and hoops you must jump through in order to successfully compete.  Of course, these rules are required to a degree to protect us, the American taxpayer and promote fair business practices.  Yet, many times these formalities have detrimental unintended consequences.  This is particularly true in the rapidly changing world of technology.

The linked article, Five Government Procurement Practices that Stifle Innovation, by Justine Brown in Public CIO magazine brings up some great points about how procurement rules can stifle technology (and what some agencies are doing to make things better).  It’s well worth a quick read.

 

Federal Contract Preferences for Companies that Hire Vets?

by lbbristow

A federal task force has raised the idea of offering special privileges to government contractors with a certain percentage of employees who are veterans.

The new type of business would have privileges similar to those afforded to small businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones, or HUBZones (federally designated economically depressed areas). To be eligible for set-aside contracts, HUBZone small business must have 35 percent of its total workforce living in the zone (and agencies have annual goals for awarding them contracts).

The task force said the government could apply that same principle for companies whose total workforce is comprised of at least 35 percent or more of veterans, including guard and reserve members.

President Obama signed an executive order in 2010 to establish the task force with an intent to help veterans in the government marketplace. He also announced the new Interagency Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses, which will take a broader look at small-business contracting.

 

Finding Business Opportunities within Federal IT

by lbbristow

A new survey by the immixGroup (highlighted in Washington Technology) says federal agencies are emphasizing value measurement, process improvement, elimination of redundancy, and the adoption of new technologies to improve operations.  Buying trends expected to emphasize cybersecurity, cloud computing/virtualization and telework/mobile computing.

The 2012 Federal IT budget request is approximately $80.9 billion up slightly from the $78.8 billion IT budget in 2011.  For 2012, 52 percent of the request is for the civilian sector and 48 percent is for defense.

Some 75 percent of civilian agencies are expected to be utilizing cloud technology in some capacity by the end of 2012, the immixGroup survey said.

Teleworking and mobile computing are also among the most important new initiatives being considered by the federal government, with mobile Internet and e-mail usage surpassing desktop Internet and e-mail by 2014.

Federal IT Market to Remain Flat According to New Survey

by lbbristow

The federal IT market will remain flat or decline slightly during the next five years according to a new survey from the TechAmerica Foundation.  IT spending is forecasted to increase from $81.2 billion in fiscal 2012 to $85.7 billion in 2017, for a compound annual growth rate of just 1.1 percent over five years.

Civilian agencies’ IT spending will largely remain flat at $42.7 billion in fiscal 2012, increasing during the next five years to $46.8 billion (a 1.9 percent growth rate).  Defense Department IT spending will hit $38 billion in fiscal 2012 and then decline to $35 billion by FY 2017.

The survey involved more than 200 senior industry experts from 90 companies and more than 300 meetings with key government executives, think tank experts and congressional staff.

“Although IT will be leveraged to streamline government operations, increase productivity and achieve cost-savings, upward pressure on IT spending will be counteracted by cost containment strategies and strategic sourcing,” the survey said.

TechAmerica Foundation spokesman Dan Heinemeier said debt reduction politics is dominating the federal spending debate.

Heinemeier said four budget scenarios were developed for the forecast; the most likely one being congressional agreement on a $2.1 trillion in deficit reduction.