12 Questions to Ask When Building

Your Federal Sales Program

Government Sales Specialists

February 2013

1. Can you attract and retain an

“A”-level sales rep?

• The “A”-level talent is not looking for a new

position

– They work for large established companies

– Base pay is >$200k

– Annual compensation packages >$500k

• Be realistic about the talent you can attract

• Early stage tech not appealing

2. How much time and money will it

cost to recruit a federal sales rep?

• Federal sales is a specialty

– Civilian/Defense/Intel are sub-specialties

• Expect established B/C level talent to

demand minimum $130k base + expenses

• Recruiting costs will run >$30k

• Average recruit time 2-3 months

3. What’s your plan if your sales hire

doesn’t work out?

• New rep requires minimum 12months to

determine effectiveness

– Revenue will take 12-18 months

• Replacement requires additional recruitment

costs and time

• Any federal momentum lost

• Start over with new network of contacts

4. Do you have a federal sales lead

generation process?

• Your sales rep is only as good as the leads

they pursue

• Lead generation requires active research to

identify projects and contacts

• Inbound marketing requires federal database

of technology execs

5. Do you have relationships with

systems integrators?

• Most large projects are awarded to systems

integrators

• The integrator evaluates and selects

technology providers, not the government

• Most tech providers already identified

• Lengthy sales process but huge potential

6. What specific areas of government

will you target?

• Government is too large to pursue as whole

• Civilian/defense/intel work differently

– Entirely different network of contacts

– Virtually no overlap

• Identify programs or locations that need your

technology

7. How extensive is your network of

federal technology executives?

• C-level execs and Project Managers

determine technology providers

• Senior execs get you in the door for potential

evaluation

• Nearly impossible to reach directly without

introduction or existing relationship

8. Can you leverage success in one

federal agency across others?

• There is very little communication across

civilian/defense/intel agencies

• CIO’s are interested in hearing how others

solved similar problems

• Replicating success requires access to senior

execs to tell your story

• Civilian/defense/intel need to understand how

your tech can help them

9. Do you know the ins-and-outs of

federal procurement?

• Must be able to turn interest into orders

• No similarity to commercial procurement

• Rules appear complex and arcane

• One wrong step can imperil future sales and

devastate margins

• Avoid competitive bidding situations

• Sole source by the rules

10. How will you minimize fixed overhead

costs while building revenue?

• Maximize amount spent on sales activity, not

sales support activity

• Keep overhead as low as possible

• Avoid long-term financial commitments

• Share local resources

11. Do you plan to develop inside

research and sales support?

• Sales reps can’t do it all

• Researchers should identify existing and

upcoming tech projects

• Inside sales make initial contacts and

schedule meetings

• Procurement specialists manage GSA listing

and process orders appropriately

• Marketers generate leads

12. Do you have the resources to pursue

short, mid & long-term sales?

• Sales funnel should have short, mid and

long-term opportunities identified

• Each deals with different level of executive or

partner

• Larger deals require personal contact with

senior tech executives

• Major programs require relationships with

system integrators and may

take > 1 year

for more federal sales insight, visit

GSSFedSales.com