What do you think when you hear ROI? Return on Investment is a financial term that measures the gain or loss on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. The term originated in the accounting world but is commonly used across most industries today. A common question I receive when discussing the benefits of membership to the Skyway Community is, “What is my return on investment?”
The answer to this question is (you guessed it) – It depends! It depends on the government contracting problem being solved and the operating environment. Also, when does the ROI get measured? When is the investment over? I have had multiple client engagements where our clients were extremely satisfied with the support received and feel as though they had a high ROI. I think they will continue to receive a return on their investment over time due to the education the will receive and increased savvy they will gain in the contracting space, as well as the potential to capitalize on any opportunities they will be pursuing. There is a different ROI for proposal writing and RFP response than there is for a detailed and comprehensive Red Team review. Some ROIs can show a clear gain or loss in percentage, while other ROIs are measured on a more intangible scale over time.
Here are a few examples of how ROIs vary within government contracting:
Client A was pursuing a massive contracting effort with U.S. Special Operations Command. The project is valued at $10s of millions of dollars and required an complex RFP response. Client A was comfortable with the technical aspects of the RFP because they’re already operating in the space. However, RFP compliance proved challenging. The government was asking for very detailed data and lots of it. Skyway performed a thorough Red Team review and identified multiple areas to help improve the proposal. Client A wanted to be sure they were presenting their technical data in the best way possible. Client A was extremely happy with the results of the Red Team review and credited the Skyway team to having an improved and solid RFP response.
Client A problem: The opportunity is critical to the company. Client A required compliance review and needed to ensure their proposal was air-tight and presented in the best format. What is Client A’s ROI?
Client B was the incumbent on her contract with the government. When the contract was re-competed, Client B was not awarded the contract. Client B thought there were some improprieties with the award and sought expert opinion from Skyway. The client joined as a member and was provided expert support from Skyway over a weekend so she could submit a timely protest to the government.
Client B problem: She immediately needed expert support due to shrinking government timeline. What is Client B’s ROI?
Client C is a long-time member of the Skyway community and has received varying amounts of support from the Skyway team over time. Skyway was helping Client C with proposal response to a specific Veteran Affairs contract opportunity. The competition got a little tricky during the process, but due to the expert advice and support from Skyway, our client won a contract in excess of $400K.
Client C problem: They were involved in a competition that proved to be more challenging than they expected. They needed our contracting expertise to navigate the source selection process and win. What is Client C’s ROI?
ROI is a popular term in the business world and has different meaning to different people. What does ROI mean to you?