Here’s what to expect at the end of the fiscal year. (Hint: It’s going to be more chaotic)

By Chris Wiedemann, consultant

The end of the federal fiscal year is just around the corner and it always brings its share of chaos as agencies scramble to make the most out of their “use it or lose it” money. This year will be no different.

In fact, given the truncated nature of this year’s omnibus funding bill, the situation on the buy-side has become even more chaotic, as customers try to move through FY17 appropriations and secure FY18 budget requests at the same time.

Anyone in the IT industry looking to navigate these waters will need to be strategic and focused in order to ensure the best use of the limited time remaining in the fiscal year. (There are 44 business days left in this fiscal year if you’re wondering.)

Perhaps most importantly, this is the time of the year when it becomes crucial to leverage existing customer relationships. Realistically speaking, government customers are going to look to keep their procurements as simple as possible to guarantee that they can move everything through contracts by Sept. 30 – and in most cases, simple procurements mean working with the tools and vendors they already have.

Look to leverage internal sales data and target customers for cross-sell or upsell campaigns, rather than beginning new whitespace activity, especially if you can leverage relationships with program managers or anyone else on the acquisition side.

However, if you do plan on going after new business towards the end of the fiscal year, remember that procurements take time, and plan your contracting strategy accordingly. Government agencies feeling the pinch of an approaching fiscal year deadline and they will be looking for contracting methods that can move through the process quickly – which, in the IT world, means more reliance on GSA schedules and product-specific GWACs like SEWP. Make sure you have access to the right vehicles, either through your own contract management activity or through the channel, to maximize exposure to possible year-end deals.

Learn what to expect in FY18 at immixGroup’s 4^th Annual Government IT Sales Summit on November 16 in Reston, VA. Get the early bird rate now!