Building a Business-to-Government Framework for Advisory Trail & SAI

Overview

In partnership with Advisory Trail and Service Acquisition Institute (SAI), Exquis Executive Management Solutions (EEMS) developed a structured and repeatable business development framework to accelerate Advisory Trail’s entry into the Business-to-Government (B2G) space.

Advisory Trail had a clear vision of why they wanted to shift into government contracting—leveraging their SVOSD (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business) designation—but lacked clarity on the how and when. EEMS provided the missing structure, designing a joint business development process that transformed informal activities into a scalable system.

The Challenge

Strategic Shift: Advisory Trail sought to transition from operating solely as an MBE/DBE-certified firm to leveraging SVOSD certification to enter competitive federal and state government contracting.
Process Gaps: The team needed a defined framework to answer essential questions: Where do we house information? How do we evaluate opportunities? What templates, tools, and processes should guide submissions?
Resource Constraints: Limited bandwidth and inconsistent workflows created inefficiencies and risked missed opportunities.

The Solution

EEMS introduced a comprehensive business development playbook anchored in project management discipline and collaboration across partners. The framework addressed the end-to-end lifecycle of sourcing, qualifying, bidding, and tracking government opportunities.

Core Elements of the Framework

Centralized Intake & Sourcing
- Standardized intake form for all opportunities.
- Monthly and rolling submissions into a shared portal.
- Integration of AI to generate preliminary outlines within 24–48 hours.
Pre-Qualification & Go/No-Go Decisions
- Decision-tree logic to evaluate fit, alignment, and feasibility.
- Budget thresholds and past performance considerations.
- Protocols for collaboration with go-to-market partners.
Drafting & Submissions
- AI-assisted first drafts, human quality reviews, and asset tagging.
- Pricing calculators and submission templates developed for consistency.
- Goal of submitting polished proposals 2–3 days before deadlines.
Archiving & Tracking
- Unified archiving protocols with tagged reference projects, calculators, and templates.
- Real-time RFP opportunity tracking through tools like Wrike, Smartsheet, or Monday.com.
Continuous Improvement
- Post-mortems to measure effort and outcomes.
- Proposify and AI-enabled workflow automation under exploration.
- Scheduled 3–4 week and monthly follow-ups with contracting agencies.

The Results

Tangible Outcomes

Structured Bidding SOP: Advisory Trail now follows a clearly documented SOP for sourcing, pre-qualification, bidding, submission, and follow-up.
Tools & Templates: Delivered pricing calculators, intake forms, submission templates, and trackers.
Brand Modernization: Supported SAI with rebranding (logo) and prepared them for website updates to align with their government-facing strategy.

Organizational Impact

Efficiency: Reduced duplication of effort through centralized intake and archiving.
Confidence: Teams operate with clarity around roles, timelines, and priorities.
Sustainability: The framework remains self-sufficient, requiring minimal oversight and ensuring continuity for future pursuits.

“It is with extreme delight that I share with you how Exquis Executive Management Solutions, led by Principal Consultant Olivia Russell, has been an exceptional partner to our efforts at The Advisory Trail. From the very beginning, Olivia showed a genuine commitment to collaboration—bringing together multiple stakeholders, clarifying roles, and making sure our priorities were clearly understood. Her communication style is clear, consistent, and highly effective, which allowed us to shift from an informal business development process to a far more strategic and streamlined approach. Within just six months, she helped us establish a repeatable framework that has significantly strengthened both the efficiency and the quality of our business opportunities.”

Simeon Sessley — Owner/CEO of advisory trail

Looking Ahead

Advisory Trail and SAI are now equipped to pursue federal and state opportunities with a consistent, disciplined approach. The framework developed by EEMS positions them to scale across markets, deepen relationships with agencies such as FAA and DOT, and grow a strong pipeline of qualified government contracts.