Calm & Hope in Chaotic Times - Game Changers for Government Contractors with Michael LeJeune

Emily's guest, Michael LeJeune, an award winning business coach, talks about the need for calm & hope in chaotic times. Michael is the host of the Game Changers for Government Contractors podcast. Furthermore, Michael successfully consults with and mentors companies in the government contracting space. Not surprisingly, the advice Michael provides in this episode is for government contractors to stick to the basics, especially in chaotic times. In other words, develop relationships with your government customer and solve their problems. Furthermore, this advice applies even when government contractors aren't experiencing chaotic times. Finally, Michael says its a good time to be a government contractor. In summary, remain calm. Have hope. We will get through this chaos.

 

Episode Highlights:

First Michael shares that most of his clients are very prepared for these chaotic times.

The reason for this is they are proactive and focused on relationship building.

As a result, his clients have a healthy pipeline of work.

Furthermore, companies in reaction mode are not going to be as successful.

We can't overemphasize the need to have a good working relationship with your government customer.

Next, Emily and Micheal discuss the fact that audits are coming.

Contractors need to maintain well documented files.

Micheal sees three types of companies in his business coaching work.

One, government contractors that are strategic. In other words, they have a good plan but don't focus on execution.

Two, government contractors focused on execution with no strategy.

Three, government contractors with a hybrid approach.

Furthermore, successful companies execute a strategy and then feed information back to the team.

Then, the team adjusts based on what's working and what's not working.

In addition, Michael observes that most government contractors are solely in execution mode.

In other words, they focus mostly on bid matching sites and just responding. That’s like building your house in the sand.

Michael shares an example of one of his clients pivoting and finding new customers in these chaotic times.

Emily and Michael discuss the need for government contractors to build relationships with their top 3-4 potential customers.

Then, Michael and Emily talk about HOW to build relationships.

In addition, companies need to focus on solving customer's problems and NOT on their socio-economic status.

After that, Emily and Michael discuss free resources for government contractors. They also talk about when a company might want to hire a coach.

Business owners are experts in their industry. Coaches are experts in business. Michael has invested close to $300K honing his skills to help clients learn faster.

In addition, coaches like Michael can link clients with new teaming partners. Sometimes company owners don’t even know companies in the same industry in their city.

Michael talks about his new best selling book, Game Changers for Government Contractors. 

Micheal is a co-author along with Joshua Frank and other experts in the government contracting field.

In summary, remain calm in chaotic times. In addition, it always boils down to the basics.

Furthermore, if you need help, reach out to people with whom you resonate and to people you feel are grounded.

In other words, reach out to the calming people. The people offering the message of hope. 

Three Tweetable Quotes: One, “When I look at our coaching clients, I’m not seeing any panic. I’m seeing people that were very prepared...they were focused on having a healthy pipeline. They were focused on getting to know their customers. They were focused on all of the basic fundamentals that we talk about all the time." - Michael LeJeune Two, "It all boils down to relationships." - Michael LeJeune Three, “If you’re playing the numbers game, you can only play so many numbers. And if the conversion rate is really low at playing the numbers game, then you’re going to run out of prospects. Do you want to make 200 calls a month or do you want to make 50 or less?” - Michael LeJeune Resources Mentioned: RSM Federal  Best selling books on Government Contracting and other resources Michael LeJeune on LinkedIn Game Changers for Government Contractors Podcast Emily Harman Soul Pajamas Onward: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Onward Facebook Group PodcastPress