Government Contracts Decoded

09/07/23 • 39 min

Welcome to another episode of "Accelerate Your Business Growth"! In today's episode, we have a special guest, Richard Howard, who is here to share his expertise on the topic of selling to the government. Richard believes that pursuing government contracts can be a game-changer for small businesses, but he cautions against ineffective methods. Instead, he recommends a strategic approach, starting with identifying opportunities and focusing on specific areas, like bookkeeping services. Richard shares valuable resources and tips on how to find the right companies to partner with and how to navigate the government contracting process. He also emphasizes the importance of building relationships and utilizing certifications to increase the chances of winning contracts. Tune in to this episode to learn more about selling to the government and how it can accelerate your business growth.

Richard Howard, Lt Col (Ret) is a leading authority on US federal government contracts. As a career military acquisitions officer, he oversaw $82B+ in DoD contracts and has advised and trained over 400 companies as a consultant. Richard is the CEO of DoD Contract which guides, trains and mentors small business owners and sales executives through the government sales process.

If you are a small business owner or salesperson who struggles with getting the sales results you are looking for, get your copy of Succeed Without Selling today. Learn the importance of Always Be Curious.

Accelerate Your Business Growth is proud to be included on the list of the 45 Best Business Growth Podcasts.

Each episode of this podcast provides insights and education around topics that are important to you as a business owner or leader. The content comes from people who are experts in their fields and who are interested in helping you be more successful. Whether it’s sales challenges, leadership issues, hiring and talent struggles, marketing, seo, branding, time management, customer service, communication, podcasting, social media, cashflow, or publishing, the best and the brightest join the host, Diane Helbig, for a casual conversation. Discover programs, webinars, services, books, and other podcasts you can tap into for fresh ideas. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode and visit Helbig Enterprises to explore the many ways Diane can help you improve your business outcomes and results.

Government Contracts: "Government contracts are not rigged, but there is a process for selling to the government that is quite different than selling commercially or selling B2B, and you need to understand that process if you really wanna be effective, selling to federal agencies."

— Richard Howard 00:13:29

The Importance of Market Research Phase in Government Contracting: "Usually, companies give up before they discover this. In government contracting, there's something that comes before the solicitation called the market research phase. And this is a legal phase where you can talk to the government. You can talk to the office that buys what you sell, you can legally influence the process."

— Richard Howard 00:16:26

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Accelerate Your Business Growth is proud to be included on the list of the 45 Best Business Growth Podcasts.

— Richard Howard 00:13:29

— Richard Howard 00:16:26

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Previous Episode

The Science of Habits

Welcome to another episode of "Accelerate Your Business Growth!" I'm your host, Diane Helbig, and today we have a special guest, Andrew Sykes. Andrew is an expert in understanding how habits, culture, and brand intersect in the business world. With experience working for top companies on multiple continents, Andrew is here to share insights on the crucial role salespeople play in shaping a company's reputation and driving business growth. We'll delve into the power of first impressions, the importance of trust in sales, and how small changes can make a big impact. Join us as we explore the fascinating world of sales, leadership, and building trust on this episode of "Accelerate Your Business Growth" with Andrew Sykes.

Andrew grew up in South Africa and has lived, worked, and run businesses on six continents, and has been a salesperson for 25 years. Andrew is the author of The 11th Habit, a Tedx speaker, and a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Andrew is the founder of Habits at Work, where he helps sales and customer success teams build relationships, create and leverage trust, and uncover their customer’s needs beyond the surface.

Accelerate Your Business Growth is proud to be included on the list of the 45 Best Business Growth Podcasts.

The Myth of Building Trust: "There's this disconnect between what we think is going on taking months to build trust. And what's actually happening, which is oftentimes people have seen us get out the elevator that don't like the look of us, or they know that we sales people because they did a little research on LinkedIn. And while we think we're building trust, we're actually clawing our way out of a trust hole into which we stepped or were put because we blew our first impression. and we didn't even know it happened."

— Andrew Sykes 00:06:28

The Importance of Salespeople: "I think that without salespeople, nothing happens. Without good salespeople, the reputation of your company is in extraordinary jeopardy."

— Andrew Sykes 00:20:00

The Importance of Company Culture and Brand: "Company culture and brand in the end is nothing more or less than the sum of the habits of the people that work for you... The only data I've got to judge your entire company on is how a salesperson treats me, how they speak to me, how they interact with me over time."

— Andrew Sykes 00:22:48

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Next Episode

Delegation Strategies for Managers

In this episode, Jerry Dugan shares some powerful insights on delegation and trust-building that he learned through his own experiences. He recounts a pivotal moment in his military career where the consequences of not delegating effectively were devastating. Through this experience, Jerry realized the importance of empowering and equipping team members to take charge. He also discusses the significance of celebrating wins and supporting the growth of those within your team. Jerry's inspiring stories and practical advice will leave you with a renewed perspective on delegation and its impact on business growth.

Jerry Dugan is the CEO and Senior Leadership Consultant of BtR Impact, LLC, a leadership development business focused on helping leaders create impact at work and home through the principles of servant leadership. His leadership experience includes serving in the U.S. Army, Christian ministry, and corporate talent development leader. Jerry lives in Dallas, Texas, enjoying the empty nester life with his wife Olivia. They have two adult children, three cats, and a dog!

Accelerate Your Business Growth is proud to be included on the list of the 45 Best Business Growth Podcasts.

Servant Leadership: "I also have a framework called tent, which, since the last time we chatted to get me on here, I came up with a framework. I feel great. I was a little bored, you know, got it done. so tent, you know, in the military, for thousands of years, militaries have used tents as a command center."

— Jerry Dugan 00:01:11

Delegation and Growth Competencies: "If you start looking at your team in terms of leadership competencies, growth competencies, and you share those competencies with your team and have a meeting with that first person, you think you can delegate something off like I'm trying to take something off the top of my head."

— Jerry Dugan 00:16:45

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