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[ Market Watch ]
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Go fishing for government bids
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by Andrew Mohr and C. Kelly Kroll
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When talking about GSA Schedule contracting with a client for the first time, we’ve often remarked that a GSA Schedule contract is nothing more than a hunting license. We’ve now come to believe that going after government contracts is more like fishing than hunting. Both require concentration, skill, and luck. But the image of casting a line in the water over and over again, waiting for a nibble and then a strike, resonates better than patiently waiting in a blind or a tree for the prey to come near.
How do you find a good federal fishing hole? We’ll start with the most obvious and worst place to look: FedBizOpps.
Formerly known as the Commerce Business Daily when it was a print publication, FedBizOpps is the electronic face of federal bid opportunities. Yes, FedBizOpps does list government-wide procurement opportunities, but you don't have a lot of time to respond to them, 30 days at most even for complex multi-million dollar procurements.
Much more important is the fact that if you’re learning for the first time from a FedBizOpps listing about an agency's need for products, services, or solutions that your company can provide, then you're really out of the loop. Chances are very high that a competitor has already been in contact with the agency and helped to shape the statement of work.
FedBizOpps is more of a tool to find schools of fish than it is a net to catch them. You can certainly respond to opportunities as they arise (there's no harm in trying if you have the time) and use it as a basis for filing Freedom of Information Act requests. But you should mainly use FedBizOpps to see which agency is buying what from which procurement office and to learn the names of the contracting officers and specialists who do the buying. You can call up the users and procurement officers, talk to them about what they buy and when they plan on buying it, and even arrange to pay them a visit.
Next to last on the fishing pole of usefulness is electronic contracting, like GSA's e-Buy for its Schedule contracts. e-Buy shoots e-mails to GSA Schedule contractors about bids for their items. But only a very small percentage goes through e-Buy. It’s still a passive technique; you're sitting there by the telephone waiting for buyers to call.
A better tool is the Internet, through which you can access agency Web sites for procurement opportunities. Some of these same opportunities will show up in FedBizOpps, but you usually get a better understanding of what the agency is about, what it's buying, and which particular activities are involved in procurements. If you can get a hold of an agency or base directory, even better to find out who's who in programs and procurement.
All this leads to the only consistent way to get federal business, which is to get in front of the customer. Once you ascertain your customer pools through FedBizOpps and the Internet, go where they go. If it's trade shows (like next month’s GVExpo), exhibit at those shows to meet and talk with prospective customers. You've got to follow up leads, of course, but you should be in a position to start and develop a personal relationship with the users, program managers, and contracting officers who buy the goods, services, and solutions you offer.
The point is that you want to let the users and buyers know about your company so they can consider your company for their next procurement. You want to actively help your customers to achieve their agency missions.
Last but not least, think about hiring an experienced federal sales representative to develop business. An experienced federal sales representative understands the federal sales cycle, the federal procurement process, and how to get into federal buildings. You can't expect your commercial sales reps to become part-time experts in government contracts.
There are thousands of points of contact in the government, and it's entirely up to you to find out which ones have a need for the stuff you sell. You simply can't wait for government buyers to come to you. Ultimately, selling to the government is about getting to know and be in front of your customers. If you keep casting with a baited hook, sooner or later you'll catch some contracts.
Andrew Mohr is a partner in the law firm of Cohen Mohr LLP and a Professorial Lecturer at American University in Washington, DC, who specializes in government and commercial contracts, including GSA schedules. C. Kelly Kroll is an associate at Cohen Mohr with extensive experience in GSA Schedule contract proposal preparation, negotiation, and administration. Contact them at (202) 342-2550, fax (202) 342-6147, or at www.cohenmohr.com.
MORE INFO
FedBizOpps fedbizopps.gov
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