Transition turmoil

Stay close to your customers,understand their needs, andrealize that they will re-enter a buyingand contracting mode, particularly inthe second two quarters of the year.So you need to position yourself forthose two quarters.You do that by understanding yourcustomers' problems. Usethis period of time to preparethoughtful whitepapers for those customersabout how toaddress those problems.Position yourself so that when themoney is freed up, your customersalready understand what you recommendthey do and how you can helpthem solve their problems.This is not the time to give up on acustomer, even if the customer is notin a buying mode. It's tempting to keepyour head down during transitions orunsettled times and try to fly belowthe radar. Don't do it. Be visible andbe involved far before the point whenthe agency begins to look for someoneto help.Just being there isn't enough. Youmay know as much or more about theproblems your customers will face than they do. Spend a little time withyour senior people exploring theissues from your customers' perspective.You might even consider investingsome time in some issue papersthat address some of those problems.When the request comes, jump intothe fray. You can't help from the sidelines.If you aren't there, someone elsewill be. And the people who are thereare going to be the trusted advisers tothe new management team. Place heightened priority ondelivering flawlessly so that as thingschange for agency personnel they canrely on you to assist them in maintainingcontinuity.Present the customer with a whitepaper on why their contract meets thegoals of the new administration.Make changes to the contract performancemonitoring system to reflectthe goals of the new administration.Implement any and all possiblecost-reduction steps that can beshown visibly as either direct costreductions or improvements in measurablecontract outputs.In short, work with them as a businesspartner ? you both will experiencethe same pain.