You have built a stellar product and feel it is time to sell to the government. You have set your sights on the federal behemoth, United States Government. You are aware of its cultural impediments and may have even hired a leadership member who has internalized its procedural nuisances and structural deficiencies. What’s next?
Your first step is to gather as much data on federal needs and priorities as possible to make a compelling case for the demand for your product. Ensure your head of product includes additional data points required to make the product team invested in building a federal sales business unit. The product team sees the demand signal, and explores the marketplace further to gain a crisp understanding of the real opportunity for your business. This exploration should include an understanding of the systems architecture into which you will be inserting your product, the security requirements of the acquirer, and incumbent companies that may provide an inside track.
Accurately characterizing this real opportunity to the rest of your company’s executive team, while including a healthy risk profile, is the second step. Companies rarely have a factual view of the government enterprise business. It can be seen as either an easy or inconvenient opportunity, but it’s neither: it can be lucrative with the right product-agency fit, or it can be expensive and futile. However, it is always a challenge, so ensure your data and demand signal are solid.
With the support of your company’s leadership, the last step is the pitch to the relevant technical advocate or acquisition officer primed to make sure the product will end up in the hands of your direct consumer. Sure, the Broad Agency Agreements, Request for Information, and Request For Proposals will be on the street every fortnight and these are worth considering. However, anyone who’s worked with the government successfully understands that not only contractual vehicles, but relationships are key. This is why you should keep your briefings succinct and actionable, and conduct a demonstration or trial run that is memorable.
Armed with data, a demand signal, and great relationships, the federal government can indeed become your oyster. Then you will receive the privilege of implementing a secure and resilient version of your product for your toughest customer. It’s go time.
