Bloomberg Government routinely estimates that between 40-60% of federal business is conducted in the last quarter.  As noted above, this year’s Q4 has started with mixed results.  Here are tips on what – and what not – to do to drive business from now until midnight September 30^th.

1.  Do Stay in Appropriate Contact With Customers:  Never assume that your customer remembers you or the solutions you showcased in a meeting back in the spring.  Make sure you stay in proper communication with that customer and remind them that your company has the experience and solutions they need to execute important missions.

2.  Do Not Engage in Inappropriate Contact:  Experienced govcon pros know that there is limited ability to have discussions with an agency once a procurement is on the street.  With few exceptions, agency officials will not communicate with contractors under these circumstances.  Even though the FAR allows some limited discussions, our experience has been that most contracting offices won’t consider even those out of concern over the appearance of impropriety.  This can be challenging, especially when a senior executive with limited federal experience is pressuring you to get answers.  Resist the pressure.  Inappropriate contact can boomerang against contractors.

3. Do Stay Focused:  This is our annual reminder to stay focused on business in your pipeline and avoid distractions on opportunities you’ve never heard of.  Bluebirds are always welcome, but a bluebird-based BD strategy is a recipe for failure and frustration.

4.  Do Not Team With Companies You Don’t Know:  This is the time of year where many contractors are contacted by people they’ve never heard of who have a “sure thing” in terms of a federal project.  Guess what, it can all be done over the phone with nothing in writing, too!  These should be warning signs for your company.  Business in your area that you didn’t know about?  A company you’ve never heard of?  No need to get anything in writing?  Take a hard pass and go back to the third recommendation above.  Follow these do’s and don’ts and your company should finish strong and have something to celebrate October 1^st. 

While the House left Washington a week early, the Senate will follow suit on time this week for the August recess.  In addition to appropriations bills, here is the status of three legislative topics of interest to government contractors:

1.  Senate Punts on FY’25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):  The Senate left town without a floor vote on the FY’25 defense authorization bill.  Progress on the measure has gotten caught up in election year politics with Republicans seeking to force uncomfortable policy votes on vulnerable Senate Democrats.  While this isn’t the first time the chamber has gone on break without passing a defense measure, there is increased concern now over timing.  No one should expect an FY’25 NDAA until December at the earliest.

2.  In a move that’s good news for contractors, the Senate did make progress on a measure that would consolidate and streamline cyber-related regulations. The Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act will create an interagency group in the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director focused on harmonizing U.S. cyber regulatory regimes and establish a pilot program to test new regulatory frameworks.  The measure has broad bi-partisan support and is important to contractors that currently face a patchwork of overlapping, and often inconsistent, cyber rules.

3.  The Senate also moved forward on multiple AI-related legislative initiatives.  The Future of AI Innovation Act, the CREATE AI Act, and the NSF AI Education Act are just three measures that saw action as a package.  Although some have bi-partisan support, others have drawn criticism from Republicans who fear that a slew of new regulations will hamper, not help, AI development and implementation.  Another looming question for these bills is that, under normal circumstances, the NDAA would be the expected vehicle of choice for passage but, as noted above, that measure has its own challenges.  Nevertheless, contractors absolutely do want to pay attention to what Congress has in store.  New laws could change your business for better or worse.