The Federal Market Has Changed. Your Growth Approach Needs To, Too.

If your federal growth strategy still looks the same as it did a few years ago, you’re not alone. Most teams haven’t had the time, space, or clarity to rethink how they pursue work. They’ve just been reacting – adjusting around the edges and hoping the market settles.

Here’s the reality: the federal government never stopped buying. What changed is how it buys, how fast decisions get made, and how much tolerance buyers have for noise, confusion, and unnecessary risk.

That shift is exactly why so many firms feel stuck right now. They’re busy, bidding, and showing up… but not gaining traction at the rate they expect.

The Old Playbook isn’t Just Outdated. It’s Slowing Teams Down.

For years, federal growth followed a familiar rhythm: shape early, run long capture cycles, lean heavily on access, and rely on proposals to do the heavy lifting at the end. That model doesn’t hold up in today’s environment.

Influence windows are shorter. Buyers are overwhelmed. Contracting teams are way understaffed. And decisions are being made faster, with less patience for contractors who make the process harder than it needs to be.

What’s working now looks different:

• BD is about reducing buyer risk, not forcing meetings
• Marketing is part of competitive positioning, not “brand fluff”
• Capture cycles are tighter, simpler, and faster
• Proposals are expected to signal clarity and confidence, not creativity

Teams that haven’t adjusted are still competing, but they’re doing it uphill.

FY26 Rewards Focus and Discipline

The firms gaining momentum aren’t chasing everything. They’re choosing fewer lanes, aligning BD, marketing, and proposals around those lanes, and building systems that make execution easier… not heroic.

They’re also being more honest about readiness. Being eligible to bid is not the same as being positioned to win. And in a market where competition is dense, that distinction matters more than ever.

This is the shift we’re seeing across defense, IT, cyber, infrastructure, and professional services firms heading into FY26. And it’s the reason we created a new resource focused on what actually works now.

Introducing the FY26 Federal BD Field Guide

The FY26 Federal BD Field Guide is a practical reset for teams who know they can’t keep doing BD, capture, marketing, and proposals the same way and expect different results.

Inside the guide, we break down:

• What modern BD really looks like when access is limited
• How to influence buyers without overplaying your hand
• How to bring discipline back to your pipeline and pursuit decisions
• Why marketing now plays a direct role in BD success
• What evaluators actually want to see in FY26 proposals
• The contract vehicles and buying patterns shaping the next year

It’s built from what we’re seeing work across the market… not Shipley theory, not recycled frameworks from 1990, and not tactics from a very different federal landscape.

If FY26 Needs to Look Different Than FY25

This guide isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things with intention so growth feels steadier, decisions feel clearer, and teams stop scrambling at the last minute.

If you want FY26 to feel more focused, and less reactive, this is a good place to start.

👉 Download the FY26 Federal BD Field Guide