JetCo Solutions offers clients a proven capture process, stellar bid cycle workflow, and talented employees.
That’s not enough to win.
As a client myself (there are two JetCo companies), I know firsthand that without my active engagement, we don’t win. JetCo Federal is a warehousing, distribution, supply chain management, and logistics firm. We are obsessed with efficient warehouse operations. Obsessed.
That’s also not enough to win.
If we don’t win, our obsession doesn’t help clients.
Below, I offer my personal observation of how to maximize JetCo Solutions services to win. Yes, it’s somewhat jaded. I’m a founder in both companies, so I have a bias. But I’m wearing my client hat in our convoluted Ven diagram.

Steps to Maximize Using JetCo Solutions
If you are going to outsource any aspect of your government sales, whether it’s writing, proposal management, research, capture, or all of it:
- Have a clearly defined, single decision maker. For our company, that’s me. I have others on my team that influence the decision. If you have four people giving guidance on the ‘right’ opportunity, you’re injecting confusion. Pick one person. One. Just one. Yes, even if you are a family business. One person.
- Own the subject matter expertise, and do NOT pawn it off. JetCo’s talented writers can guide, and they will learn your business well. However, they will never know as much as you. If you lean too heavily on the writer, you are not building customized solutions for each opportunity. Copy and pasted boilerplate does not win.
- Explain your no answers. If you get an opportunity that does not feel like the right fit, or might be better for you in six months, explain that. It helps inform future research.
- Be honest. If you lack capabilities to do a significant component of a government opportunity, explain that. With decades of experience and relationships, there is a good chance that JetCo can help augment your skills with that of a partner organization.
- Don’t have pretend differentiation. Seriously. If your competitors can claim the same thing, then by definition IT IS NOT DIFFERENT.
- Engage in the bid cycle. JetCo Solutions streamlines client involvement to solution and pricing. So really own that focus. The solution is yours, not JetCo’s. Participate meaningfully in the bid development process. Tell them if they miss the company voice in the writing, but don’t ask them to make it wordy and grammatically incorrect. They should (and will) push back.
- Be realistic. This applies to timelines and sales goals. If you are new to Government sales, do not expect a quick win, or to have Government revenue be a significant part of your revenue in the first year. Work with your capture lead to understand the timeline, and set milestones with them.
- Government doesn’t want your flowery bullshit. For each requirement, be prepared to tell your writer / proposal manager what you are going to do, how you are going to do it, and how you can prove it works.
- Don’t be a whiner. Whining doesn’t generate revenue. Sometimes, you will lose. Sometimes, that will feel wrong. Sometimes, it really will be wrong. Come up with a tactical action plan. Can you protest? Can you debrief and learn? Can you subcontract to the winner? Find the silver lining.
And finally, celebrate the wins. Say thank you. Give guidance when you don’t like something. Offer praise when you do. Team sports require trust and talent.
How JetCo Can Help
The JetCo Solutions team is prepared to assist your business with the development of a plan to target government funding opportunities—at any level of government—and assist in assuring your business properly complies with the government's new and existing regulations.
About the Author

Sue is a leader in JetCo Solutions, a consulting firm she and her husband Jon formed in 2009 to help highly qualified small businesses sell to government agencies. She is also a JetCo Solutions client, as the owner and president of JetCo Federal, a warehousing, supply chain management, and logistics company focused on solutions for the defense industrial base.