Resellers that work in the public sector will know that it can take a long time to go through the sales cycle with public sector organisations – and research from Gartner has revealed that it can take almost two years for government organisations to go from kicking off an assessment to making a purchasing decision. While that might be off-putting, the firm has some tips for partners targeting the sector.
► Public sector buying teams are large, with varying levels of participation in the process
► Government C-level executives are less involved (41%) than private sector counterparts (55%)
► 68% attribute delays to lack of specific information from the technology provider
At 22 months, says Gartner, the public sector has the longest average buying cycle for technology purchases compared to other industries. Nearly half (48%) reported six or more moderate or significant delays in the buying process. The cumulative impact of factors such as changes in scope added seven months, on average, to the technology buying cycle.
‘Technology acquisition brings challenges to the public sector that do not commonly exist in other industries,’ said Dean Lacheca, VP Analyst at Gartner. ‘Each jurisdiction has its own procurement laws and policies, and within that, each agency or department can have its own interpretation of them. A failure to conform to the rules can have serious consequences, from unwanted publicity to personal risk of prosecution.’
A typical public sector buying team has 12 participants, with varying levels of participation in the process. Government C-level executives tend to be less involved (41%) than private sector counterparts (55%) in technology purchases to avoid association with the process and creating the perception of political influence in the outcome. This also makes government C-level executives less willing to defend the process if challenged by unsuccessful vendors or the media.
Public sector buying teams are significantly more likely than other industries to be composed of lower-level operational staff (46%) impacted by the buying process, taking on the role of business subject matter expert. While the government equivalents of a C-level executive or executive governance body may have the authority to make the decision, they are heavily guided by the evaluation results and recommendations made by the subject matter experts.
The factors most reported as resulting in significant delays often occur before what would be considered the official procurement process begins. Some of these factors include developing the business case (74%), scope changes requiring additional research and evaluation (76%) and reaching agreement around budgeting (75%).
‘While government buying cycles can be long, it is important to note that these time frames are not set,’ said Lacheca. ‘Initial planned timelines can be delayed as a result of a combination of both controllable and uncontrollable factors, especially when no external deadlines exist.’ Almost seven out of ten (68%) in the public sector indicate a moderate to significant delay because of their inability to obtain specific product or implementation requirements details from the provider.
Public sector organisations are significantly more likely to value references from existing clients than non-public sector buyers are, partly because they are rarely in direct competition and often share common challenges.
Gartner recommends technology providers maintain an easily accessible list of public sector reference clients and build a diverse library of product collateral with a strong focus on value assessment, which can be leveraged across all stages of the buying cycle.
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