Newsletter Archives Past Presentations
March 2006
How do manufacturers choose federal channel partners?
The companies we serve at immixGroup are manufacturers of technologies that are usually sold first to the Fortune 1000. These are the technologies that government departments and agencies want to implement at the enterprise level such as security and privacy solutions, ERP (enterprise resource planning), BPM (business performance management), ECM (enterprise content management) and EAI (enterprise application integration) to name a few.
After proving success in private sector vertical markets like healthcare, finance or logistics, these companies cast their eyes toward the public sector seeking opportunities for their technology within the government. That's when they are introduced to a dizzying number of government contractors, each with a different story about how to best penetrate the government market.
This is why we recommend plotting a federal go-to-market strategy around two fundamental dimensions. First, market segmentation, and second, channel partner specialization.
Team Collaboration is Essential for Winning Government Business
One of the greatest obstacles to winning new business that government contractors face today is effective communication among team members in the opportunity development and bid and proposal phases. Team collaboration plays an important role during opportunity assessment, proposal development and bid approval. The time-frame to review an opportunity, assess project requirements, assemble a capture and/or proposal development team, and respond to a request, can range from several weeks to several months. During this time frame a team of people are responsible for quickly assessing an opportunity for a bid/no bid decision, developing a project schedule, assigning responsibilities, establishing resource requirements and preparing the proposal.
Proposal team members often have little or no experience working together, having been brought together for the sole purpose of responding to the specifics of an RFP. The team is also often geographically dispersed and may involve company employees and outside teaming partners. With more team members involved in opportunity identification and proposal creation, lag times between email threads and voicemails increases, document edits are more likely to overlap, roles and assignments take longer to assign, fulfill and manage, and error rates may increase. These factors can lead to an incorrect bid decision and/or slow the production of a high-quality proposal. From a business value standpoint, an inefficiently managed bid and proposal process takes longer to complete, resulting in a higher cost of doing business. Missing deadlines or focusing on mismatched opportunities because of inaccurate information may easily result in the loss of a contract.
Join Synchris at their weekly webinar series as they demonstrate how the right collaboration, workflow and document and pipeline management tools will increase your revenues and win rates while decreasing your B&P costs. For more information, contact info@synchris.com or 571-434-2982, ext. 230.
Mark Your Calendars!
| B2G Committee Meeting | |
| Title: | What’s Hot in the Business 2 Government (B2G) Space? |
| Date: | Friday, March 10, 2006 |
| Time: | 7:30 – 8:00 am: Networking |
| Cost: | No charge for meeting |
| RSVP: | |
| Location: | immixGroup Inc. |
| Speakers: |
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| Save the Date! | |
| Date: | April 21, 2006 |
| Time: | 7:30 – 8:00 am: Networking |
| Location: | |
The NVTC B2G Committee and newsletter would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. We would like to showcase the contribution of one of our key sponsors, AH&T Insurance.
Armfield, Harrison & Thomas is an insurance brokerage, risk management, employee benefits, surety bond and 401(k) professional services organization dedicated to providing innovative solutions globally for businesses and individuals. Founded in 1921, AH&T is an employee owned, independent insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm, with offices in Leesburg, Virginia, and Seattle, Washington. AH&T is one of the largest independent insurance brokerage firms in the nation and a partner of the RiskProNet and TechAssure global broker networks.
For more information about AH&T, visit www.ahtins.com.
Does Your Business Target the Technology Community?
Hit your mark by participating in Member Advantage, NVTC’s member-to-member discount program, exclusive to NVTC members. Through a variety of advertising and promotional vehicles, the Member Advantage program can facilitate business relationships between your company and other NVTC member companies—potentially boosting your company's sales and industry brand exposure. And, it’s affordable.
As a Member Advantage participant, you will enjoy:
- Opportunities to exhibit at NVTC member networking events, golf tournaments and other events throughout the year
- Promotion in NVTC’s eNewsletter
- One 1/4 page, 4-color ad with company logo in one issue of NVTC's The Voice of Technology magazine
- Display of promotional materials at Titans breakfasts
- Complimentary set of NVTC Technology Member list mailing labels.
For more information, contact Robin Randall, Director of Member Relations, at rrandall@nvtc.org.
Platnium Sponsors: LeapFrog Solutions, Inc. | PwC
Gold Sponsor: AH&T | Aronson Capital Partners, L.L.C. | Synchris
Silver Sponsors: Dickstein & Shapiro | immixGroup | Panacea Consulting, Inc. | Venable LLP | Vistronix, Inc.
