It’s September – Do You Know Where Your Federal Funding Is? Or Deals Are?
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…as the song goes and that is also true of the U.S. Federal IT market right now. The month of September marks the end of the fiscal year and the beginning of the federal government’s annual spending frenzy. Federal agencies scramble to spend what’s left in their budgets, in fear that leaving excess funds will prompt Congress to send less in the following year. We call it “use it or lose it” spending, and it happens every year. From all reports this year will be another strong IT buying period for us all, so keeping PACE this federal fiscal year end (FFYE) will make your life simpler:
Prepare: Identify which key partners are involved in which deals. Ensure they are lined up operationally and have proper credit facilities. Know all the steps involved in getting a purchase order (PO) to you. Also, what are their hours and service-level agreements (SLA)?
Act: Create the success plan for the month – drive an atmosphere of urgency, accountability and actions needed for all your opportunities.
Communicate: This is the time of year to commit to over communicating 7/24 all month long. Timing is critical on many deals and a missed call or email can be deadly for your deal. Keep everyone in the loop!
Execute: Focus on the things that matter this month. Vendors and solution providers should treat each other with integrity, transparency and responsiveness. Tensions get high over the next couple weeks. For some a single deal will make our break their sales year and plan. Don’t hesitate to ask others for guidance or help!
*Article written by: Skip Liesegang, VP of Channels, DLT Solutions
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