Earnest Consulting Group

Executing Your Q4 Strategy: Five Practical Steps

July 17, 2025 | Government

If Sunday was about what to do, this is about how to get it done. Execution is where most companies fall short. Everyone wants to win in Q4, but few are willing to put in the work that gives them a shot. One email blast won’t do it. Neither will checking SAM once a day. Here are five tactical steps to get your Q4 sales strategy moving in the right direction: Run Targeted Research Don’t guess who your buyers are. Use tools like FPDS, USAspending, and SAM to figure out who buys what you sell. Take it a step further…

5 Ways to Be Successful in Selling to the Federal Government in Q4

July 13, 2025 | Government

Federal procurement has went through a lot of change this year. Some folks I know say that Q4 won't be like it normally is. Others say it will be bigger. Regardless, here's how we make the most of Q4. Here are five essential moves to be successful in Q4 federal sales: Target High-Probability Buyers Don’t waste time emailing 300 people hoping one replies. Figure out who buys what you sell. Use tools like SAM, FPDS, USAspending, or even a well-placed Google search for agency directories. The best Q4 wins come from knowing exactly who to talk to. Organize and Prioritize…

How to Measure Your Government Sales KPIs

July 2, 2025 | Government

One of the biggest challenges in government sales isn’t finding work, it’s managing your pursuit of it. Too many teams rely on scattered notes, gut instincts, and last-minute scrambles. Tracking your 7 KPIs isn’t about making extra work. It’s about creating a system that gives you clarity, control, and better results. Here are seven ways to get tactical about measuring your KPIs: Define Your Sales Stages Clearly Your pipeline isn’t a single bucket, it’s a process with distinct stages. Define stages like Lead > Contacted > Meeting Held > Proposal > Awarded so you can track where opportunities really stand.…

Sunday Sales Spark: 7 KPIs to Measure Success in Government Sales

June 29, 2025 | Government

One of the easiest traps in government sales is to confuse activity with progress. We send emails, attend conferences, watch bid boards, and tell ourselves we’re busy. But are we actually moving toward our revenue goals? That question only gets answered if you track the right numbers. The best government sales professionals don’t just work hard, they measure what matters. They know their numbers, adjust their strategy when needed, and avoid wasting time on the wrong opportunities. If you want to manage your sales plan proactively, here are seven KPIs worth tracking. 1. Qualified Leads Generated It’s not about collecting…

Midweek Summit: Five Places to Find the Metrics that Matter

June 25, 2025 | Government

On Sunday, we talked about what not to lead with in government sales and what to say instead. But if you’re like a lot of companies, you might’ve read that and thought, “That sounds great… but where do I get those numbers?” This week’s Midweek Summit is all about finding those metrics. Because if you want to communicate value in a way that’s credible, relevant, and clear, you need real data behind your message. You have more metrics than you think. You just need to go looking for them. Here are five places to start: Your Customer List Start simple.…

Sunday Sales Spark: Lead with What Matters

June 22, 2025 | Government, Sunday Sales Spark

In government sales, first impressions aren’t just important, they’re everything. Whether you're cold emailing, pitching in a capabilities briefing, or introducing your firm at a matchmaking event, how you position yourself in those first few seconds sets the tone. Unfortunately, many contractors make the same mistake: they lead with things that don’t move the needle. They lead with what they are, not what they do. They talk about certifications, registrations, and labels. They assume that saying “We’re SDVOSB-certified and on the GSA Schedule” is enough to stand out. It’s not. That’s why this week’s focus is on helping you shift…

Midweek Summit: The Lack of Sales Blame Game

June 18, 2025 | Government

Our culture has a blame problem. You see it in sports all the time. A team loses, and fans immediately turn to the officials. Bad call! Missed strike! Phantom foul! But the box score tells the truth: missed free throws, dropped passes, unforced turnovers, lazy defense. If those mistakes didn’t happen, most of the time the outcome would have been different. It’s not that the refs don’t make mistakes, it’s that the team made more of them. Sales is no different. Especially in government sales. We tell ourselves a story about why we’re not winning. We externalize failure because it's…

Midweek Summit: How to Build the Community That Will Accelerate Your Government Sales

June 11, 2025 | Government

In Sunday’s Sales Spark, we talked about the things that accelerate success; Community, Accountability and Expertise. But let’s get tactical: how do you actually build a community around your government sales efforts, especially if you're not part of a larger organization? When you work for a big company, the structure often bakes in your community: National sales meetings Weekly team huddles Internal mentorship programs Built-in accountability But what if you're running your own company or leading the government sales push for a small business? That’s when it starts to feel like the Wild West, lone ranger style. And that’s exactly…

Sunday Sales Spark: Don’t Go it Alone

June 8, 2025 | Government, Sunday Sales Spark

Salespeople who work for large companies often have something built-in that many small business owners don’t: a sense of community, accountability, and a constant sharpening of their skills. Now, whether or not salespeople take advantage of it is a completely different topic. They’ve got sales managers. Teams. Pipeline reviews every Monday morning. Weekly sales meetings. Quarterly business reviews. National sales meetings. The machine keeps them moving. But when you’re the owner of a small business, and sales sit squarely on your shoulders, it’s a different world. You're out there like it's the Wild West. I know. That’s exactly where I…

The Tactics Behind the Metrics: How to Actually Measure Your Government Sales Performance

June 6, 2025 | Government

In government sales, it’s easy to say: “Know your numbers.” Revenue targets. Pipeline size. Prospect touches. Conversion rates. You’ve heard them all before. But most companies don’t just struggle with what to measure; they struggle with how to get those measurements in the first place. So let’s get tactical. Today, we’re not talking theory, we’re talking tools, habits, and processes you can implement to finally get your hands on data that drives your sales strategy forward. 1. Don’t Just Use CRM, Design CRM Most companies think buying a CRM tool is the answer. It’s not. The answer is building a…