What We Do
Carpe Datum, LLC is a business development consulting firm specializing in growth acceleration for data companies. Our approach starts by meeting with an organization’s senior leadership team, as well as key contributors from a cross-section of the organization to understand what’s working and, more importantly, what’s not. From there, we identify an action plan that highlights both near-term tactical and long-term strategic goals and focuses an appropriate level of effort on a manageable group of both. While a government business unit can’t be built overnight, there should be near-term objectives with tangible metrics that demonstrate progress. At the same time, it’s essential to have a long-term perspective when entering the government marketplace and dedicate time and effort to activities that may not pay dividends for years.
Our expertise crosses all aspects of building a successful government data business, and our goal is to not be pigeon-holed into one area of the business or another, but rather go where your needs best align with our experience (we’re also comfortable enough to tell you what we don’t know, and recommend people we trust to fill those gaps).
Our Advisory Model
There are several characteristics of our advisory model that we believe are critical to achieving success.
The first is that we have sponsorship and regular engagement at the highest levels of the organization; typically, the CEO or direct reports. While we’re happy to engage at all levels, this type of high-level sponsorship is needed not only for sustaining an early-stage government practice, or a more established one with designs of rapid growth, but also for running interference at times when internal resistance runs strong.
A second factor is the client’s long-term commitment to the government market. The Federal Government does not move quickly, and significant returns should not be expected in fewer than 18-24 months. However, government clients tend to be “stickier” than their commercial counterparts, so this initial commitment pays off in ongoing, stable growth.
Third, we firmly believe that your “federal message” or value proposition must be tailored to the government audience and not simply borrowed from your commercial sales and marketing operations.
The most effective way to sell in this market is to develop specific use cases for the government, ideally ones that address functions common to multiple agencies or levels of government.
A sample of the projects performed under our advisory services:
- Acquisition Targets and Vetting Services
- Talent Assessment
- Relationship Building and Door-Opening
- Partnering Strategies and Introductions
- Procurement and Capture Strategy
- Product Strategy and Design
- Market Assessment
- Creative Pricing Strategies
- Opportunity Identification
- Bid/No Bid Decisions
Our Services
CORPORATE STRATEGY
Whether you’re a commercial data provider looking to break into the federal space, or an established government contractor seeking to inject some new ideas, we can provide concrete and actionable insight around the structure, investments, talent, solutions, and go-to-market approach you need to succeed.
CAPTURE AND PROPOSAL SUPPORT
From our unique, data-driven approach to prospecting and opportunity evaluation, to insights on teaming, solution design, stakeholder engagement, and pricing, we can help navigate the unique challenges of the government procurement environment.
ALLIANCES AND PARTNERSHIPS
More often than not, commercial data and analytical tools are components of large, complex and often customized government solutions. Forging a relationship with the right partners can be critical to participating in these opportunities, as well as a source of ongoing referrals as successful solutions are replicated elsewhere in government.
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
The same organizational structure that delivered commercial success may not translate to the government model of high-touch, services-focused engagements, and the challenges of adapting commercial offerings to address uniquely governmental needs.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
Building relationships in the government is different than in a commercial environment; and it can be daunting to navigate new organizations with cryptic terminology and special rules of engagement. We’re not selling our Rolodex, but have done this from the ground-up across multiple domains, diverse geographies, and all levels of government. We can help your organization develop and execute its relationship-building strategy as well.
TALENT ASSESSMENT
What makes a successful government sales executive or program manager? What kinds of team members do you need to be successful? What skill sets are critical to positioning data and analytic capabilities with federal customers, and where can you find them? Is raw talent or prior government experience more important for a particular role? Nothing is more critical to an organization than its talent, and we can help identify and develop the resources necessary to be successful in government.
Learn More About Our Services Here