How to Market to the Federal Government

The Federal Government is currently spending billions of dollars on Professional Services. No longer do they procure or perform these types of services “in house”. Now, they look outside for the answers …often they look towards small businesses who are certified with a socio-economic status. Businesses that possess a WOSB, VOSB, SDVOSB, EDVOSB, HUBZone or 8(a) certification have a definite advantage!

Many government agencies will look to small businesses such as yours for help with engineering, environmental, logistics, consulting, medical or language services. How can you maximize your potential to obtain these Government customers? How can you become the company that lends its expertise towards their complex needs? This guide hopes to provide answers to these questions.

• How do you find Government customers?
• What is a successful marketing strategy?
• Who are your customers?
• What resources can you use to become a successful marketer?

By conducting market research, you can find out which Federal agencies are procuring what professional services. Gathering information about your federal target market should be your first step towards increasing federal sales. Below, we have listed a number of sources that provide important data about potential federal customers:

The Federal Procurement Data Center (FPDC), part of the U.S. General Services Administration, operates and maintains the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). The FPDS is the central repository of statistical information on Federal contracting. The system contains detailed information on contract actions over $25,000 and summary data on procurements of less than $25,000. Executive branch departments and agencies award over $300 billion annually for goods and services. The system can identify who bought what, from whom, for how much, when and where. By researching this database, you can find potential customers. If you know that a particular agency contracted for a service that you can provide, contact them, and let them.

A huge opportunity for business exists on military installations. The trick is being able to locate the right Program Office. Good places to start are with the above sites.

The Federal Yellow Book is a directory of the executive branch of the federal government within and outside of the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Quarterly editions, available on CD-ROM, keep you current with personnel and organizational changes and provide you with contact information for more than 39,500 Federal officials. You can also obtain the same information in electronic form via the Leadership Library ® on the Internet, which is updated daily. All information in all listings in the Federal Yellow Book is verified directly with each organization listed, making it an accurate and reliable source of contact information for officials in federal departments and agencies.

By conducting market research, you can find out which Federal agencies are procuring what professional services. Gathering information about your federal target market should be your first step towards increasing federal sales. Below, we have listed a number of sources that provide important data about potential federal customers:

First understand your company’s value position, i.e. what you can do to help solve an agency’s problem. Consider what value your product or service brings to the customer.

• What does your organization do?
• Who in the Government has a requirement for your product or service?
• How does your company help the government meet its goals and objectives?
• How does your company help the government meet its goals and objectives?
• What appeal did your product or services have that caused customers to use you in the past?

• Evaluate why the agency would buy your product or services.
• Get information on their budgets, and look at their mission and goals.
• It is also helpful to look at Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports. To find copies of GAO Reports, go to: www.gpoaccess.gov
• Get the agency’s organization chart and then develop a call plan.

Make sure you provide the web address that sends the customer directly to your online Capabilities Statement. Also, if you have a company website established, consider providing links directly to your home page. This is an excellent way to avoid a quick dismissal of your efforts and “wow” your potential clients. It’s your business. Make the most of it.

• Target the size and scope of agency opportunities to be pursued within the next 12-18-24 months.
• Construct a database in which to track federal opportunities, including supplemental information (i.e., names, addresses, and phone numbers of agency contacts and procurement personnel).
• Prepare additional print and online materials marketing your company.
• Obtain copies of expiring contracts, if possible.
• Contact procurement, technical and program manager personnel to build relationships.
• Attend workshops to further develop presentation skills, to better understand the federal purchasing processes and to improve your proposal preparation skills.
• Look for Inspector General Reports that identify problems your company can solve.
• Learn about the Agency’s Budget and how much money they have going into various functional areas.

• Understand your organization’s value relative to the opportunity i.e. can you do it yourself, or should you team?
• Does your team uniquely solve the Government’s problem?
• Is it the right job for your company?
• Understand what risks are involved and how they would be mitigated?
• Develop a competitive matrix and rank yourself against others who are bidding.
• Question your solution to ensure it is truly the best.
• Reach out to the GSA Office of Small Business Utilization www.gsa.gov/sbu

The Office of Small Business Utilization (SBU) is an advocate for small, minority and women business owners. Its mission is to promote increased access to nationwide procurement opportunities for small businesses.

SBU is responsible for the scope of small business programs mandated by law. Every Federal agency is required by the Small Business Act of 1953, as amended by public law 95-507, to establish an office that reports to and advises the head of the agency on the implementation functions and duties under this Act

Small business activities are supported by program experts at GSA headquarters, through Small Business Centers in 11 regional offices and by the Small Business Technical Advisors in the GSA Federal Supply Service, GSA Federal Technology Service and GSA Public Building Service.

SBU monitors and implements small business policies and manages a range of programs required by law. GSA’s small business programs nurture entrepreneurial opportunities, open doors to new business horizons and enhance technological capabilities.

In addition, SBU outreach activities make it possible for the small business community to meet key contracting experts and be counseled on the procurement process. This includes procurement networking sessions, marketing strategies and technique workshops, electronic commerce/electronic date interchange training sessions, interagency networking breakfasts, workshops for historically black colleges and universities, trade missions, roundtables and procurement conferences.

For further information about GSA’s small business programs, contact SBU via e-mail at [email protected].

• Procurers (including contracting officers/specialists)
• Influencers (including program managers/high-level decision makers)
• End Users (project managers)

The main type of procurers: the contracting officer/specialists are the “gate-keepers” to the program managers and end users. The program managers know what they want but turn to their contracting specialist to get the materials/services they need and advice on the best way to procure those services. This makes the contracting officer/specialist a key customer because of their influence over the project manager/end user and their responsibility for selecting the contracting method.

*End users can also be classified as an influencer, but their motives usually differ from a program manager. Although we touch upon some of the key elements and issues that affect both program managers and end users, a targeted message and profile of an end user was created as a separate audience.

• Procurers (including contracting officers/specialists)
• Influencers (including program managers/high-level decision makers)
• End Users (project managers)

The main type of procurers: the contracting officer/specialists are the “gate-keepers” to the program managers and end users. The program managers know what they want but turn to their contracting specialist to get the materials/services they need and advice on the best way to procure those services. This makes the contracting officer/specialist a key customer because of their influence over the project manager/end user and their responsibility for selecting the contracting method.

*End users can also be classified as an influencer, but their motives usually differ from a program manager. Although we touch upon some of the key elements and issues that affect both program managers and end users, a targeted message and profile of an end user was created as a separate audience.

Identified as contracting officers, contracting specialists, acquisition/policy shop personnel or others who actually select the procurement methods and conduct the procurement. The procurers have substantial authority to determine the procurement method, but they also must consider the needs of the influencers and organizational policies. However, they are also guided by self-interest to be seen as an in-disposable person. While awareness is an issue among procurers, the primary impediment to successfully marketing to this group is their lack of knowledge about how and when to use the schedules process.

Identified as program managers and high-level decision-makers. Program managers and end-users are individuals who have generated the requirement or are responsible for facilitating its execution. These are individuals who may exercise influence over an individual procurement or organization-wide procurement policy, but do not actually conduct the procurement process itself.

Program managers and end-users have a stake in how the process is conducted. The method of procurement may impact the contractors who will be considered, the speed with which the procurement will be conducted, and the ease with which the contract itself will be administered. Although they may not be in a position to dictate the procurement vehicle to be used, they can likely have influence over the decision.

High-level decision makers within a Government organization view the procurement process from a broader standpoint. They may be concerned with manpower, allocation of resources and other big-picture issues. These decision-makers may set policies that guide how procurements will be handled. Both influencers and users look to these policies to help guide them in determining the appropriateness of various procurement methodologies.

Very influential in getting the most qualified contractor (in his/her opinion). He/she has been given tight deadlines and wants the quickest way to procure needed services. Most end users are confused about the procurement process and turn to their contracting specialist for help. End users are savvy at their jobs and in their selection of contractors they want to assist them. They do not care how they get the contractor on board: they want the quickest mechanism to get the contractor. They still want to be in charge of the selection of the contractor and they want to remain the key contact in the working relationship with the contractor.

Whether you are talking to a contracting officer/specialist, a program manager or an end user, there are some messages that should be stressed to all of them. Your Capabilities Statement should be given to them and you should be stressing the value you have to the contract. Make sure to point out your certifications, differentiators and core competencies. Prove to your contact that you are the most viable option.

In this section, we hope to offer you some useful resources that will enable you to become the ultimate marketer. These resources include: SBA’s Pro-Net, mailing lists, associations and forums, conferences, publications, success stories, websites and GSA provided resources.

Procuring agencies and contracting officers who relied on PRO-Net as the authoritative source for vendors that are certified in SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program, HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program and Small Disadvantaged Business program will now access this information through CCR. To conduct market research and confirm eligibility for SBA’s procurement preference programs, users can now go to the CCR Web site at www.ccr.gov and click on the “Dynamic Small Business Search” button. All of the search options and information that existed in PRO-Net will now be found at the CCR Dynamic Small Business Search site.

Within SBA, PRO-Net has been superseded by the Small Business Source System (SBSS), an internal database of firms certified by SBA under the 8(a) Business Development and HUBZone programs, and as Small Disadvantage Businesses. The SBSS will populate those fields in CCR. The SBSS will automatically review the NAICS codes supplied by a firm and perform calculations against each NAICS code size standard to determine which NAICS codes the firm qualifies as a small business, based on employment and revenue information entered into CCR. Firms will update their records via the CCR Update Web page and should follow the links and directions found there. This automated review of a firm’s size is being done to determine if it is eligible to be included in the SBSS and does not affect, in any way, the self-representation requirement for Federal procurement.

There are several mailing lists available that will give you the names and titles of some of your targeted customers. The following is a list of just some of the sources you may want to contact for these lists.

• Federal Yellow Book Leadership Directory: www.leadershipdirectories.com
• Dun & Bradstreet: www.dnb.com
• Amtower & Company: www.federaldirect.net/mailinglist.html
• Various readership lists: Many publications will provide you with the readership lists if you advertise in their publications.

Join and actively participate in associations or groups targeted at the Federal Government audience. They will put you in contact with the people you want to talk to about your services. We have included some associations that you might want to get additional information about. These associations include:

The Coalition for Government Procurement is a non-profit association of Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Schedule contractors. Founded in 1979, it is a multi-industry organization of companies providing a wide variety of commercial products and/or services to the Federal government. The Coalition’s mission is to protect the interest of its members by providing needed information on issues affecting their Government market, and by constantly advocating common sense in Government procurement policy. Representing the interests of all Federal Supply Schedule contractors, both those who contracts administered by GSA, and those who contracts are administered by the Veterans Affairs, the Coalition helps to shape procurement policy. Its members now account for more than half of all commercial products and services sold to the Federal government each year.

There are many conferences and meetings that target the Federal Government audience. If you attend or exhibit at these conferences, you will be sure to get the word out about your company’s skills and potentially gain foundational relationships.

The Federal Executive Boards (FEB) were established in 1961 by a Presidential Directive to improve coordination among Federal activities and programs outside Washington. The FEB’s perform highly valuable functions. They provide: a forum for the exchange of information between Washington and the field about programs, management strategies, and administrative challenges; a point of coordination for the development and operation of Federal programs having common characteristics; a means of communication through which Washington can strengthen field understanding and support of management initiatives and concerns; and Federal representation and involvement within their communities.

GSA sponsors an annual free-training seminar for GSA customers and potential customers in April or May. The Expo provides an opportunity for contractors to display their products and services that are available through GSA Schedules. The Expo also features over 100 hours of training on the latest updates in procurement regulations and on using Schedules. Booths are usually released in October. Contact your GSA Acquisition Center marketing representative for more information.

Depending on your marketing budget, there are various options you can take for advertising your company’s capabilities to the Federal Government. These publications may also offer opportunities for you to find out more about who is doing what in the Federal Government.

• Government Executive Magazine: www.govexec.com/mediakit and GovExec.com (an online service of Government Executive Magazine)
• Federal Times News: www.federaltimes.com Managed by the Army Times Publishing Group. They are also responsible for other newsweeklies such as: Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Times, Air Force Times and Defense News.
• Armed Forces Journal: www.armedforcesjournal.com/
• Contract Management: the official publication of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), is a monthly magazine edited for industry and government contract managers, procurement professional, officers and administrators. It also addresses the concerns of program managers, industry executives and other secondary market professionals

The official U.S. gateway to all government information, is the catalyst for a growing electronic government. You can search more than 186 million web pages from federal and state governments, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Most of these pages are not available on commercial websites. USA.gov has the most comprehensive search of government anywhere on the Internet.

This is a consolidated site that provides electronic access to telephone listings for various Federal entities.

The following links provides helpful background information on the structure and various offices of the three branches of the U.S. Federal Government.

• Cabinet Agencies: www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html
• Federal Agencies and Commissions: www.whitehouse.gov/government/independent-agencies.html
• Judicial Branch Links: www.whitehouse.gov/government/judg.html
• US Senate: www.house.gov
• White House Offices and Agencies: www.whitehouse.gov/government/eop.html