Given the depth of our recession, more and more businesses are turning to other potential revenue generating areas to make up for losses in their traditional market space.  Almost everyone I talk to wants to do either more Federal business or do business with the Federal Government for the first time.

The advantages of working with the Federal Government are self-evident. First, they are clearly still spending……a lot.  Second, 3-5 year government contracts create a stable work/revenue base to offset the cyclical buying cycle’s characteristic of many commercial markets.

So here are a few suggestions/strategies to help guide you in your efforts:
1. All government procurement is closely guided by statute, in this case the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).  You will need to find someone who understands these procurement guidelines.

2. The sales cycle, depending on the size and type of opportunity is much longer than you may be used to, generally speaking as much as 6 months to 2 years or more.
So…….baby steps!

3. Give yourself a license to shop with some of the agencies that you are interested in.  Identify small and large businesses that have prime contracts with the agencies you are interested in. Make the business case for being added to their prime contracts so that you can gain access to subcontracting opportunities and begin to build solid record of quality past performance with the Government. You need a contract vehicle – the chances of sole source are remote at best!

4. Focus your efforts on the money trail – do some research, look for expanding requirements in well-funded Government agencies.

5. Build an opportunity pipeline; invest in a Government e-business pipeline tool such as INPUT or CENTURION to identify potential teaming opportunities.

6. Continue to build your past performance and reputation as a highly ethical provider of low cost/high value products and services – you can’t be anything else and hope to succeed in the long term.

7.  As you build your past performance look for opportunities to prime.

Good Luck Hunting!!

Comments

Write a comment

Name:
Email:
Website:
Comment: *

Help prevent spam - enter security code above: