Sunday Sales Spark: The Data-Driven Discipline of Government Sales

June 1, 2025 | Sunday Sales Spark

Let’s talk research and metrics.

Government sales gives you a ton of information to work with. That’s both the good news and the bad news. You have more data at your fingertips than any other market. But so does everyone else. The companies that win aren’t just the ones pulling reports. They’re the ones who know what to do with the data.

If you’re going to grow in this space, you have to develop two skill sets:

1. Researcher

2. Analyst

Both feed your strategy. But neither means anything if you don’t convert them into action.

Here are the types of research and metrics you need to build into your process:

Who buys what you sell?

Agency, contracting office, and even the contracting officer’s name. You need to know exactly who to target instead of sending emails into the abyss. SAM, FPDS, USAspending, Spending Explorer, all useful if you know how to pull the right data.

How are they buying?

Contract vehicle, open market, simplified acquisition threshold. More than half of federal dollars are moving through contract vehicles now. GSA. NASA SEWP. CIO-CS. It’s not just about who buys, it’s how they’re transacting.

When are they buying?

Buying patterns matter. End of fiscal year spending bumps. Q2 agency spikes. Historical data tells you when to be aggressive.

How much are they buying?

The market may look massive at first glance. But drill down to your exact product or service. You may find $200M being spent on a category or $8M. That difference determines whether it’s worth your squeeze.

How many touches are you making?

• RFIs Submitted

• RFPs Submitted

• Phone Calls Made

• Emails Sent

• Capability Briefs Delivered

• You’re Overall Conversion Rate

What does your past performance say?

Don’t just list projects. Research your past performance to quantify the impact. It might also give you insights into other areas where you could provide products or services. Here are some basic examples:

• “Installed 800 power exam tables at 30+ Federal Health facilities saving them 2400 hours of preventative maintenance.”

• “Supported 55,000 users through 50 developed applications supporting 20 customers including 6 government agencies.”

That sounds different from “we sell exam tables” or “we do app development.”

And here’s the punchline:

Too many companies get romanced by the research. They build spreadsheets, pull reports, stare at pivot tables but never pick up the phone. Research without action is wasted energy.

The smartest companies build research systems that generate sales moves.

Wednesday’s Midweek Summit will take this a step further. We’ll dive into specific tactics you can use to gather this data and build scoreboards to measure your activity. Because if you don’t measure it, it’s not important.

Enjoy your Sunday. Monday’s coming.

If you like what you see in this article and are ready to get to work on increasing your product sales margins, just visit my profile and use the “Book an Appointment” link at the top to schedule a time. Let’s put together a plan that works.

If you like what you see in this article and are ready to get to work on increasing your product sales margins, click here to schedule a call with me. Let’s put together a plan that works

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