How to Apply Military Precision to Succeed in Government Contracting

June 04, 2024•2 min read

How to Apply Military Precision to Succeed in Government Contracting

4 June 2024

As a seasoned government contract expert and former DoD procurement officer, my journey began in a different realm. The first half of my career was dedicated to navigating intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft. This experience profoundly shapes my approach to government acquisitions, sales, and professional strategies. This unique perspective is what I bring to GovClose Training Academy, enabling our students to navigate the intricate world of government contracting successfully.

Strategic Planning: From Air Missions to Acquisition Success

In the Air Force, every mission starts with meticulous flight planning. We didn’t just know our destination but every detail about how to get there: the route, contingency paths, potential resistance, and required resources. Similarly, in government contracting, a strategic plan is essential. You need to identify who buys what you're selling, which government offices need your products or services, their purchasing methods, and the challenges and advantages you might face. This comprehensive understanding sets the stage for crafting targeted strategies, significantly enhancing your chances of securing government contracts.

Executing with Discipline

Just as maintaining a precise flying log is crucial in aviation, utilizing a sophisticated CRM system like GovClose CRM is vital in government contracting. This disciplined approach allows you to manage your pipeline effectively, evaluate each opportunity's worth, track conversion rates, and make adjustments based on successful leads. This precise tracking mirrors a pilot’s detailed logs, ensuring every part of the process is accounted for and preparing you for the next steps.

Continuous Feedback and Adjustment

Post-mission debriefs are integral to military operations, providing opportunities to analyze what worked and what didn’t. This principle directly applies to government contracting. At GovClose Training Academy, we emphasize the importance of analyzing every interaction with potential clients and every submitted proposal to refine techniques and strategies continually.

A Personal Invitation

I invite you to bring the same rigor and precision to your journey into government contracting by joining our free training session at GovClose Training Academy. Here, we apply these principles to prepare you thoroughly for your government contracting missions. Additionally, you’ll benefit from a free advisory session, where we can discuss your specific challenges and opportunities in government contracting.

Sign up for our free training and advisory session today and learn how to apply the disciplined, strategic approach of military operations to your government contracting endeavors. Let’s prepare you not just to compete, but to win.

Richard C. Howard, Lt Col (Ret)

Richard C. Howard is the founder of dodcontract.com, and government contracting advisor to companies of all sizes. He is the host of the "DoD Contract Academy" podcast, the leading defense procurement podcast and author of the Government Contracting Planner. Richard helps business owners and sales teams win lucrative government contracts. As a former military acquisitions officer, Richard oversaw $82B+ in DoD contracts and ran the award winning Kill Chain Integration Branch, which rapidly developed cutting edge technologies with Boston & Silicon Valley based companies, deploying completed systems to the warfighter in record time. Richard's clients have won over $300M in government prime & sub-contracts. He is the host of "DoD Contract Academy" which is ranked in the top 2% of all podcasts. Howard is the author of the "Government Contract Planner' and speaks extensively on the nuance of federal contracting strategy.

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