United States Capitol west front
If you think of the federal government as an industry, then it is one of the top ten industries in America.
So you think you want to add the federal government as one of your high-paying clients.
Be warned. Typically business leaders selling to the federal government have little knowledge of their real buyer or where the contract funds originate.
According to Gene Moran, it can be a real circus.
Moran wrote the most comprehensive book of its type on the three-ring circus of selling to the federal government. His Amazon best seller, Pitching the Big Top: How to Master the 3-Ring Circus of Federal Sales, describes his mastery of the highly complex federal environment.
Moran is the man when it comes to selling to the feds. He has successfully established and increased funding of formal acquisition programs, protected funding of existing programs, and achieved favorable budget, policy, legislative, and contract outcomes for clients.
I met Moran through an author buddy of mine. I asked Moran to share his best tips on selling to the federal government as your buyer.
“Approaching the government is much like the allegory of the blind man approaching an elephant,” says Moran. “It is so big, it’s very difficult to know what part you are touching. Successful companies elevate their thinking to see across the entire federal funding and acquisition spectrum.”
Thinking like a ringmaster, orchestrating a multi-front, multi-level spectacle, can be a helpful mindset to adopt. Moran says the game is not checkers or bean bag, it’s more like chess. It’s complex and in perpetual motion, but it can be mastered with study.
“The government buyer is not one person; It is a constellation of people or committees among all three rings,” explains Moran. “Many businesses are blind to this reality.”
Moran advises that success in federal sales requires an understanding of the relative motion associated with critical activities in three rings of influence: industry, agency, Congress. A complex process unfolds throughout the three rings and along a deliberate and predictable timeline.
“Most companies focus only on the contract or acquisition end of the process within the agency ring,” says Moran. “That’s the tail end. Ignoring or failing to understand the opportunities that are present much earlier in the process in the other rings (industry and Congress) can be costly.”
According to Moran, messaging support for your product needs to be consistent and choreographed among the three rings. He says you don’t have to do it alone. That’s because industry associations, for example, can be a great way for a third party to advocate for your product.
A former Navy captain, Moran has represented the US Navy and Department of Defense to Congress in numerous capacities, including service as Director, Navy Senate liaison, where he regularly led Congressional delegations around the world.
“The federal government often doesn’t know what it needs,” says Moran. “Congress is often willing to help encourage or direct agency behavior and investment. Businesses overlook their opportunity to help their federal customer get to the best solution.”
Bottom line: Moran contends that federal business can form a bedrock of strategic revenue for any company. It won’t be easy. Committing to working the entire process takes time (one to three years), but can yield high-paying and long-lasting results.
