The silent killer of GovCon growth: Are you in denial?

Ever feel like you're chasing shadows with lost bids and sluggish organic growth?

Many GovCon executives at mid-sized companies blame external factors. But during our conversations, denial of internal issues often emerges as the real culprit.

This recurring GovCon theme of unrecognized or unaddressed internal challenges leads to stagnant growth.

Sound familiar?

Ready to confront reality? Let's peel back the layers of denial to see if you recognize these challenges in your organization:

Program Managers Don't Act On Growth

Do your PMs talk a good growth game, but are MIA when asked to perform BD tasks?

Most PMs believe their role is solely project execution, leaving BD to others. This mindset leaves money on the table and stifles growth.

Consider this:

• Every client engagement provides new insights and intelligence
• PMs are first to identify new client needs
• Without PM involvement, you risk losing recompetes and miss on-contract growth

In mid-sized organizations, every employee must contribute to growth.

Are your PMs driving growth or just paying it lip service?

Subject Matter Experts Prematurely Solve Problems

Your SMEs, eager to impress, interrupt the client mid-conversation with a 'perfect' solution without fully understanding their needs.

Imagine a doctor prescribing before the patient finishes describing their symptoms. Sounds absurd, right?

Yet, it happens often and can damage client trust and lead to misaligned solutions and proposals.

Are your SMEs patient enough to fully understand the client's need before jumping to solution?

Business Development prefers giving rather than getting intel.

Are your client meetings filled with capability briefings and PowerPoint slides?

Listening is a superpower, but often, BD teams fall into the trap of 'show and tell,' preferring to talk about what they could do, missing the opportunity to gather game-changing customer intel about what they should do.

Is your team uncovering needs or just peddling solutions?

Proposal Teams Lack the Client Intel Needed to Articulate Discriminators

Armed with the same intel as every competitor, your proposal team writes a proposal with no real differentiators.

When BD, PM and capture teams ask the same questions as everyone else, they get the same intel, resulting in a compliant proposal that lacks differentiators.

Winning proposals don't come from superficial engagement. They come from engaging the right clients at the right time with the right questions and then going deeper to unearth the nuggets your proposal team craves.

The False Illusion of Strong Client Relationships

Think you're on solid ground with your clients? What you see as a strong relationship might be nothing more than polite small talk. Clients in need turn to those they trust – their inner circle.

Is your team developing winning relationships or chit-chatting with acquaintances?

The difference could make or break your next big deal.

The Capture Process Trumps Client Intelligence.

Your team diligently follows every step of the capture process but lacks the intel needed to win, causing a disconnect between what you offer and the client's needs.

With limited intel, gate reviews become solution brainstorming sessions, filled with assumptions often presented as facts.

Executives must separate fact from fiction by verifying the 'why' behind the 'what' by asking, "Who gave you that intel, and why did they respond that way?"

The Penny Drops

As our conversation concludes, clients ask how they can address these challenges. I remind them of the change paradox: Everyone is for change, but most people don't want to change.

Change is difficult and scary and requires executive leadership to:

1. Encourage Open Communication: Create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing concerns and ideas.
2. Promote Collaboration: Break down silos and encourage collaboration between PM, BD, SMEs, and proposal teams.
3. Set Clear Expectations: Define roles and responsibilities to ensure everyone understands how they contribute to growth.
4. Monitor and Measure Performance: Implement metrics to track progress and hold teams and individuals accountable for results.
5. Playbook: A well-crafted playbook streamlines BD efforts, enhances win rates, and fosters strong client relationships.

Conclusion

This article might hit close to home if you're a mid-sized GovCon executive.

Denial is a silent killer of success, and the journey from denial to growth isn't easy, but it's critical for the survival of mid-size organizations.

To unlock your full growth potential, Leadership must confront denial, adopt a proactive, growth-focused approach, and hold their teams accountable.

The choice is yours: Embrace change and confront the uncomfortable truths, or cling to comfortable denial and fade away. What will your legacy be?

With over 20 years in the Government market, Nic Coppings, a Senior Partner at Hi-Q Group, has been pivotal in helping clients secure billions (and counting) in contract wins by enhancing their customer relationships and intelligence quality. Hi-Q training programs go beyond theory, equipping teams with the 'how' to forge Winning Relationships and weaponize customer intelligence. Connect with Nic on LinkedIn for more information on how to win more with winning relationships.