The Summit Explorer

Federal contracting is in a weird spot right now. You’re seeing RFPs pulled at the last minute, indefinite delays, budget reshuffling, and long sales cycles getting even longer. And if your entire BD strategy is built on “wait it out and hope things pick up,” that’s not a strategy. That’s denial. It’s time to talk about SLED.

If your team is stuck in a cycle of reactive business development, disconnected marketing efforts, and proposal fire drills, you don’t need a new CRM. You need a Win System™. A Win System™ is the foundation behind consistent growth. It’s how successful companies align business development, marketing, capture, and proposals into one intentional strategy – so they’re not just chasing work, they’re winning it. Here’s what that actually looks like in practice.

Government contracting is crowded and competition is fierce. To stand out, you need bold, precise messaging. At Summit Strategy, we know that a modern capabilities statement and briefing are your front-line ambassadors. Here’s how to build them with a laser focus on what decision-makers truly value.

In government contracting, past performance is one of the biggest factors in whether you win or lose. And in a hyper-competitive GovCon market, “good enough” won’t cut it. If you’re aiming for a Blue rating (aka “Exceptional”), you need more than just a list of contracts. You need to prove that your experience is relevant, recent, and exceeds expectations. Let’s break down how to craft past performance write-ups that actually score.

Navigating the world of federal contracting is no small feat, and as any experienced contractor knows, the landscape can shift unexpectedly. As the current federal contracting world gets a bit more... well, unpredictable, many small businesses are exploring new avenues for growth—specifically, SLED (State, Local, and Education) contracts.If you’re considering a shift from federal to SLED government contracting, you're not alone. With federal budgets tightening and procurement slowing down, SLED contracts offer a fresh opportunity to scale your business while potentially sidestepping some of the chaos in the federal space.

Government contracting doesn’t always feel or seem straightforward when you’re looking in from the outside. Even once you get past all the acronyms for different agencies, just trying to understand different contract types and their acronyms can be a lot. We get it. The good news is that once you understand the different contract vehicles the federal government uses, it gets a lot clearer AND you might even get excited when you see a specific type of contract vehicle pop up on an opportunity you’re interested in. 

Every growth-minded company hits this moment eventually: You’re bidding more. You’re working harder. Your team is “busy”. But the wins? They’re not keeping pace. If anything, it’s getting harder to tell which opportunities are worth chasing — and even when you do bid, the process feels clunky, rushed, and exhausting.The problem usually isn’t effort. It’s the system.

Government contracting can be painfully slow, but Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) cut through the red tape, making it easier for agencies to get what they need—fast. A BPA is a flexible, long-term agreement between a government agency and a vendor, designed to streamline the purchasing process for frequently needed goods or services. Instead of issuing individual contracts for every individual purchase, agencies establish a BPA to call up pre-approved vendors whenever necessary—without drowning in paperwork.