A general perception of companies outside the federal market is that the market is unique or special because the public's money is being spent. Many outsiders believe that the government and their congressman are eagerly awaiting their call for assistance in making a sale. The reality is that they are not awaiting your call. Then who will assist us in making a sale? Answer, no one. You have to make federal sales yourself, just as you would in the commercial market. The next question is whether small business programs will help you to make a sale? No, but they will help you close a sale after you have sold an end user on the value of your product or service.
Federal end users must be sold directly -- either in person or by telephone -- and in most cases this will require that companies outside of the market make the dreaded "cold call." Companies in service business are particularly reluctant to make cold calls. They tend to sell through a network of satisfied customers and that network does not exist for newcomers to the federal market.
So how does a newcomer to the market develop a cold call list? We strongly suggest that you do so by using historical data on "who bought what" in the federal market. Separate the wheat from the chafe by segregating historical purchase data by key word, product service code, geography, and agency.
Fedmarket.com's FedBuying Intelligence (FBI) product provides users with the capability to develop focused cold call lists. Let's say that you hope to sell office products to federal customers. The result for a search on the key word phrase "toner cartridges" is shown below
| Buyer Detail For: Merle Jones - Contract Specialist |
| Federal Agency |
Defense Logistics Agency |
| Office |
Logistics Operations |
| Location |
Defense Supply Center Richmond |
| Contracting Office Address |
Defense Logistics Agency
Logistics Operations
Defense Supply Center Richmond
8000 Jefferson Davis Highway
Richmond VA 23297-5000
|
| Email |
merlejones@dscr.dla.mil |
| Point Of Contact |
Merle Jones |
| Orig Point Of Contact |
Merle Jones, Contract Specialist, Phone 804-279-5006, Fax 804-279-5061, Email merlejones@dscr.dla.mil - Merle Jones, Contract Specialist, Phone 804-279-5006, Fax 804-279-5061, Email merlejones@dscr.dla.mil |
| Found 1 Records Matching Your Search Criteria |
| Posted |
Title |
Award $ |
Award # |
SOL # |
| Jun 30, 2003 |
68 -- NSNS: 6850-01-416-7995, 6850-01-216-6823, TONER CARTRIDGE, ARG02046054603 |
$19,073.19 |
SP0450-03-D-4083 |
No Matching Solicitation |
|
Call Toll Free: 888.661.4094 for more information on FedBuying Intelligence (FBI).
 |
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