Defense & Federal Advisory · Southern Pines, NC

Defense contractors hire The SP Group when programs are at risk: unfunded requirements, misaligned POMs, and contract exposure that costs them their seat at the table. We fix that.

Non-representational strategic advisory built on direct experience inside the federal resource cycle, from Combatant Command program budgeting to engaging Congress on resource priorities. PPBE-fluent guidance that keeps your program funded, aligned, and defensible.

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Engagements

Fixed-fee, fixed-scope advisory

Every offering is priced as a defined package with clear deliverables. No open-ended retainers, no scope creep.

90-Day Federal Traction Engagement

Pricing on request

Fixed scope. Evidence-based milestones.

Principal-led 90-day track that maps what your company can build against what the warfighter actually needs, then closes one federal instrument.

  • Reconnaissance: opportunity map and positioning artifacts (Day 30)
  • Engagement: warm intros converted, positioning package delivered (Day 60)
  • Execution: one federal instrument signed on DoW paper (Day 90)
  • Evidence-based milestones tied to deliverables, not promises
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Program and Budget Review Simulation

Pricing on request

One contract. 30 days.

See your contract the way the annual program and budget reviewers will, before the budget is final.

  • Funding-line map
  • Mock issue paper (program review lens)
  • Mock budget decision (budget review lens)
  • Evidence pack and 90-day action plan
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Monthly Advisory Subscription

Pricing on request

Ongoing. 90-day term.

Ongoing partnership following a review simulation or engagement. Monthly principal-led read on your position.

  • Ongoing POM signal monitoring
  • Monthly strategy call
  • Written follow-up analysis
  • 90-day initial term
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Targeted Document Review

Pricing on request

10 business days.

Focused PPBE-fluent review of one capability statement, proposal, or operating area.

  • One artifact, one focused read
  • Prioritized action list
  • 30-minute debrief with founder
  • Delivered in 10 business days
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Digital Resources

Pricing on request

Buy once. Use every cycle.

Two digital resources for teams not yet ready for a full engagement. Reference material and templates.

  • The PPBE Playbook
  • Resource Library (7 resources)
  • Single-user or single-org license
  • Immediate download
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Training and education

Teach the budget cycle to the team that has to sell into it

Most business development teams can describe their product and cannot say which fiscal year it could realistically be funded in. These sessions close that gap. Each one is built from public documents and taught by the founder, and every session ends with participants placing a live pursuit against the material.

Executive Briefing

Pricing on request

One 90-minute session. Live or virtual.

A single focused session on one topic, for a leadership team or a BD group that needs to get fluent quickly.

  • One topic, scoped to your portfolio
  • Reusable instructional deck, licensed to your company
  • Application segment against a real pursuit
  • Written note to the sponsor afterward
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The PPBE Education Series

Pricing on request

Most requested. Recurring sessions across the year.

A sequence of sessions timed to the budget calendar, so the team is learning each phase of the cycle while it is actually happening.

  • The funding lifecycle, requirement through contract
  • Color of money and obligation windows
  • The POM build and the service budget calendar
  • Unfunded priorities as an opening
  • One reusable deck per session, licensed to your company
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Two-Day Immersive Workshop

Pricing on request

Full curriculum. Onsite with your team.

Two days inside the build, from the requirements baseline through the funding decision, ending with your own pipeline on the table.

  • How authorized quantities are set before the POM
  • Authorization-based quantity analysis
  • Funding cliffs and formation cliffs
  • Live triage of your current pipeline
  • A copy of the PPBE Playbook for every participant
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All instruction is non-representational and drawn from public documents. Sessions can be contracted directly or through a prime or consulting partner, and The SP Group is a certified Women-Owned Small Business where set-aside or supplier-diversity criteria apply.

The Principal

Heather Brown

Founder & Principal Advisor

Certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)

The SP Group is built on a simple premise: the contractors who keep their seat at the table are the ones who understand how defense dollars actually move. Heather founded the firm after a career in federal defense program and budget work.

U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)

Program and Budget Analyst, 2020 to 2023. Program and budget analysis within the Planning, Programming, Budgeting & Execution process, including work on resource priorities with Congress.

U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command (USAWHC)

Department of the Army civilian, 2023 to present.

Founder, The SP Group LLC

Founded a certified Women-Owned Small Business focused on PPBE education and defense market strategy.

Heather works with The SP Group in her personal capacity. The views and work of The SP Group are her own and do not represent the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense. All work is drawn from public sources and client-provided materials.

Why non-representational matters

The SP Group provides strategic advisory only, not lobbying and not representation. That distinction keeps the guidance clean, the incentives aligned with your program, and the relationship free of the conflicts that come with advocacy work. You get honest analysis of where your program stands and what to do about it.

Why The SP Group

A different kind of advisory

  • 01

    Principal-led delivery

    Every engagement is led by a single dedicated principal with direct federal-resourcing experience. No handoffs to junior staff.

  • 02

    Fixed-fee, fixed-scope

    All offerings are priced as defined packages with clear deliverables. You know the cost and the outcome before we start.

  • 03

    Non-representational

    Strategic advisory only, not lobbying. Clean incentives, honest analysis, no conflicts of interest.

  • 04

    PPBE-fluent from Combatant Command level

    Guidance grounded in how the resource cycle actually works, informed by program and budget experience at USSOCOM.

How we work

The 90-Day Engagement, step by step

A three-phase execution track that maps what your company can build today against what the warfighter actually needs, then closes one federal instrument inside 90 days. Every phase ends with named, evidence-based milestones tied to a defined deliverable, not a promise.

  1. Phase 1 | Days 1-30 1

    Reconnaissance

    Profile the opportunity space and build the artifacts before anyone hears from us.

    Day-30 milestone: DoW Opportunity Map delivered. Named intake contacts, target pathways, and positioning artifacts in your drive.

  2. Phase 2 | Days 31-60 2

    Engagement

    Convert warm intros into Tier 1 meetings. Reconcile what you can build against what the warfighter needs.

    Day-45 & Day-60 milestones: Documented meeting with a Tier 1 target; tailored positioning package delivered on the chosen vehicle.

  3. Phase 3 | Days 61-90 3

    Execution

    Negotiate and sign one federal instrument. Stage the follow-on before the ink dries.

    Day-90 milestone: One instrument executed on DoW paper. Past performance established. Follow-on pursuit staged.

Common questions

Before you book.

The four questions defense contractors ask most often before signing.

  • How is this different from working with a lobbyist?

    The SP Group is not a registered lobbyist and does not perform representational work before the federal government. Lobbyists advocate for a client's position with Congress or the Executive Branch. We provide strategic advisory only: analysis of where your program sits inside the resource cycle and what to do about it. The distinction matters legally, ethically, and practically. It keeps our incentives clean, keeps the guidance honest, and keeps you free to hire representation separately if you determine you need it.

  • Do engagements involve classified information?

    No. Every engagement is built on publicly available budget documents and the unclassified materials your team provides. The SP Group does not perform classified work.

  • Who owns the deliverables?

    You do. On engagement, work product is delivered to the client outright. You own the analysis, the roadmap, and the written materials produced under the engagement. The SP Group retains no residual rights beyond the ability to reference the engagement anonymously in aggregate, and only where the engagement letter grants that permission. Any case-study permission is disclosed and negotiated up front, not assumed.

  • How long does an engagement take to start?

    Fast. After the initial consultation, if there is a fit, we can typically execute an NDA and engagement letter inside a week and kick off the following week. The Program and Budget Review Simulation runs on a 30-day clock from kickoff. The Targeted Document Review is 10 business days from kickoff. The Monthly Subscription can start right after a completed review or engagement. Digital resources are available for immediate download after purchase.

Get in touch

Is your program at risk?

Book a consultation to walk through where your program stands in the resource cycle, and what it will take to keep your seat at the table.

Book a consultation heatherbrown@thespgroupllc.com