Earnest Consulting Group

The Two Most Ignored Areas When Marketing to Government Agencies

March 15, 2023 | Business Development, Government

In my work helping companies do business with the government, I always start by evaluating two seemingly simple things: How they present themselves via email, and How do they handle incoming calls What I’ve learned is that a surprising number of would-be contractors have significant room for improvement in both areas, which also leads to significant lost opportunities. Here’s an overview. Email A professional email is essential because it can impact how others perceive you, particularly in a business setting. A professional email address typically uses your full name or possible first initial and last name. When you communicate with…

Earnest Consulting Group Turns 8 Years Old: A letter to myself in 2015

March 8, 2023 | Business Development, Government

March 1, 2023, marked the eighth anniversary of Earnest Consulting Group. Having been a successful business owner and government contractor, I thought it would be easy. I was wrong! One big difference is that this gig was my first as a solopreneur. To say I've learned a lot in the past years would be an understatement. In an attempt to help others avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made, I’ve written a letter to the 2015 version of myself, with a recap of everything I wish I knew when I started. I hope this helps people start a new venture…

How to Hire and Retain Rockstar Employees for your Government Contract: Exit Interviewing

March 1, 2023 | Business Development, Government

When team members leave your organization at increasing rates, it’s important to know why--especially in the current job market. One of the best ways to find out is through exit interviews, which can help you identify opportunities for organizational improvement, improve employee retention, better understand employees’ perceptions, and gain insight into managers’ effectiveness. Team members at all levels should be invited to participate in the process, not just key employees. Even so, only employees that leave the company on good terms should receive an exit interview–you can skip the exit interview for those asked to leave. Keep in mind, exit…

How to Hire and Retain Rockstar Employees for your Government Contract: Dealing with Low Performers

February 22, 2023 | Business Development, Government

If I were to challenge you to classify your employees as high, middle and low achievers, I’m willing to bet you can identify them pretty quickly. You’d likely come up with some truly high performers, a larger contingent of middle performers who serve as the backbone of your company, and a few low performers. This raises an important question: Why do we tolerate low performance? After all, what you permit, you promote. Think about what that phrase means and the effect low performers have on you. If you have a low performing team member, how do you deal with the…

How to Hire and Retain Rockstar Employees for your Government Contract: Keys to Retention Success

February 15, 2023 | Business Development, Government

If you ever watched Seinfeld, you may be familiar with this scene at a car rental dealership: Jerry is told the car he rented is unavailable, and he says to the agent, “you know how to take the reservation. You just don't know how to hold the reservation.And that's REALLY the most important part of the reservation, the holding.” The same is true when it comes to your employees. Hiring them is important, but keeping them is perhaps even more important. This is easier said than done, of course, so in this third of a five-part series on employee recruitment…

Rockstar Employees – Increase the Excitement and Lessen the Anxiety that Comes With Employee Onboarding

February 8, 2023 | Business Development, Government

Photo by Mabel Amber: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-standing-near-brown-welcome-on-board-printed-floor-map-128299/ This is the second in a five-part series about employee recruitment and retention. I’d like to thank my former co-worker and good friend, Don Barger, for being a major contributor to these articles. He provides years of expertise--and some great stories. When you bring a new team member on board, the bar is set pretty high. Unless it’s their first job, they likely just had a farewell party and were told by their former employer how great they are and that they will be sorely missed. As a result, it’s important to ensure their…

How to Hire and Retain Rockstar Employees for your Government Contract: Standardizing the Interview Process

February 1, 2023 | Business Development, Government

Photo by Sora Shimazaki: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-filling-job-application-form-in-office-with-boss-5668858/ Imagine the following scenario: you land your first few government contracts. They’re for multiple years, and you need to provide “butts in seats” to the Veterans Administration, which just happens to be the federal agency that obligated the most to NAICS Code 561320--Temporary Help Services--in 2022. You have doubled in size over a year and want to grow more. However, there’s a problem: you’re spending all your time backfilling positions because of turnover. This isn’t far removed from reality. Our company ran into the same issue in 2007. We were cruising along with one contract…

Reach Your Goals with a 90-Day Blitz

January 11, 2023 | Business Development, Government

Photo by Ronnie Overgoor on Unsplash How many times, whether in your career, business, or domestic situation, have you asked yourself, “What the hell do I do next?” Let’s use your small business as an example. Each of your team members has ideas about what priorities you should focus on. Operations wants to initiate new processes and look at new software systems to increase efficiencies. HR wants to overhaul its interviewing and onboarding process and address the most recent employee opinion survey. Each person or group has their own pet project and isn’t interested in their coworkers' ideas. And you,…

Starting Your Own Business in the New Year? Here’s What to Consider.

January 5, 2023 | Business Development, Government

Photo by Christina Morillo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-wearing-blue-dress-shirt-facing-whiteboard-1181343/ It’s the New Year—and that might have you thinking of big goals, like starting your own business. As someone who has made that leap, I’ve learned what to do – and what not to do. Here are a few things to consider. Start by doing your homework and getting established, as follows: Conduct market research. I tell my government sales clients the first step to a successful strategy is to find out who buys what you sell. However, this first step is not only for government business. It is actually industry agnostic. Even McDonalds knows…

Video: Another Year Without a Fed’ral Contract

December 21, 2022 | Business Development, Government

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