Margarita Howard’s Nuanced Approach To Building and Maintaining Client Relationships at HX5

In government contracting, where technical expertise meets rigorous compliance requirements, successful client relationships hinge on much more than winning initial contracts. For Margarita Howard, sole owner and CEO/president of HX5, cultivating and sustaining client partnerships represents a sophisticated discipline requiring deliberate investment, consistent performance, and genuine understanding of client missions.

Howard’s relationship philosophy begins with demonstrating technical competence from the earliest interactions with potential partners. This dates back to thefounding of HX5 in 2004, when she began making critical infrastructure decisions and investments that would signal the company’s commitment to excellence long before securing major contracts.

“Right from the beginning, we invested heavily upfront in purchasing and implementing a specialized accounting system developed for government service contracting firms,” Howard explains. “A system we knew the government was very familiar with and that would provide us the necessary accounting tools to pass government billing audits and gain government approval for use in the performance of our government contracts.”

This early investment demonstrated to potential government clients that HX5, though newly established, was fully prepared to meet the rigorous technical and regulatory standards required for successful contracting relationships.

Research-Driven Client Understanding

Margarita Howard emphasizes that meaningful client relationships demand comprehensive knowledge of agency missions, priorities, and operational contexts. According to her, effective partnerships begin with thorough research.

“To excel in government contracting, it is imperative to understand the unique characteristics and intricacies of this marketplace,” Howard notes. “Government agencies at federal, state, and local levels have diverse needs and requirements, which can vary significantly across industries and regions.”

This research-driven method enables HX5 to tailor its services precisely to client needs rather than offering generic solutions. Howard elaborates: “In order to be a successful government contractor, you have to invest time in researching and understanding your target market. You need to analyze government procurement trends, identify key decision-makers within agencies, and track upcoming opportunities through government procurement websites.”

Networking and Relationship Development

Beyond formal contracting channels, Howard recognizes the importance of establishing connections throughout the government contracting ecosystem. Her mode includes systematic participation in industry events, association meetings, and government outreach programs.

“We are always looking to build our relationships with the government and other prime contractors within the government contracting community,” says Howard. “We attend industry events, networking functions, and government-sponsored outreach programs as they allow us to establish new connections and stay informed about upcoming opportunities within the sectors we operate and support. The information that we learn through these activities often is important to the proposal writing process.”

This vital networking creates multiple touchpoints with potential clients, allowing for relationship development outside the constraints of formal procurement processes.

For Howard, the foundation of lasting client relationships lies in exceptional performance delivery. This commitment pervades HX5’s organizational culture, with Howard leading by personal example.

“Our guiding principle is to lead by example. We hold ourselves to the same high standards of performance, and integrity, and honesty that we would expect of our employees,” she shares. “We try to remind them always that our customers have important missions, and we are trusting in them to help us support our customers. We always want to provide the best possible services at the highest levels.”

This performance-focused recipe has yielded substantial results for HX5, which now employs over 1,000 professionals across 34 states and 90 government locations, providing specialized services in research, development, testing, evaluation, hardware and software engineering, and mission support operations.

Client-Centric Talent Strategy

Margarita Howard recognizes that client relationships ultimately depend on the quality of interactions between individual professionals. This insight drives her take on talent acquisition and development, with a focus on hiring individuals who understand the unique context of government operations.

“We prefer to hire experienced individuals, so we look for people that have worked with, or supported, NASA or the Department of Defense, as this experience is always very helpful,” Howard points out. “Experience in their respective fields, while supporting these agencies’ respective programs and missions, is very different than experience gained from working in the commercial world.”

This selective hiring ensures that HX5 professionals can engage meaningfully with government clients from day one, understanding their operational contexts, communication preferences, and performance expectations.

Value-Based Relationship Continuity

Howard’s relationship philosophy extends beyond individual contracts to create sustained partnerships. She articulates a clear value proposition that has enabled HX5 to develop lasting client connections despite the typically transactional nature of government procurement.

“Large businesses and the government have to meet small-business goals,” she explains. “So when they find a small company that they know understands the industry, that performs well, takes care of its employees, and know they’re not going to have to hold their hand, so to speak, that makes for a very positive long-term relationship between the two companies and oftentimes leads to new contracts and the expansion of existing work.”

Howard further emphasizes how these relationships yield tangible benefits: “Building strong relationships with government agencies is an invaluable asset for successful government contractors as it can serve to provide the contractor with positive performance appraisals and sometimes even lead to new or additional business.”

Maintaining Relationship Integrity Through Regulatory Compliance

Client relationships in government contracting operate within a complex regulatory framework that demands meticulous attention to compliance details. Howard’s approach integrates relationship management with systematic compliance processes.

“From working in the industry, we knew the importance of impeccable record keeping,” Howard states. “Therefore, we’ve always ensured our finances, and all our records of everything we say we do must always be supported with the appropriate documentation and recorded accurately because, as a government contractor, all of our records are open to the government’s inspection and audits at any time.”

This transparency reinforces trust with government clients, demonstrating that HX5 can be relied upon as a partner that understands and respects the unique accountability requirements of federal contracting.

Howard’s relationship strategy extends to financial partners, vendors, and business associates, embodying a comprehensive commitment to relationship continuity across all business dimensions. She applies the same principles of loyalty, performance, and integrity to these relationships as she does to government client partnerships.

“We have remained very loyal to our key people that started with us,” she shares. “I fully believe in trust and loyalty. And when I talk about success, those are some of the keys.”

Through Margarita Howard’s leadership, HX5 demonstrates that successful client relationships in government contracting require more than technical capabilities or competitive pricing. They demand a sophisticated touch that integrates thorough research, consistent performance, talent excellence, and relationship continuity principles – creating partnerships that deliver value for both the company and its government clients.