Federal Sales
Katrina Bandwagon
By Richard White
Oct 5, 2005, 12:19

Everyone is jumping on the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort bandwagon -- Congress, the Administration, state and local agencies, federal contractors --even fedmarket.com. Here's what we have to say:

To accelerate recovery efforts, the federal government has created a volatile mix: an enormous number of no-bid contract awards, large dollar amounts, and the lack of contract awards to small businesses. All in all, compelling content for the Washington Post.

Given the urgency of the situation, we at fedmarket.com don't have any problem with the use of no-bid contracts. Why? Because the same people would have won competitive contracts, but the awards -- and money --wouldn't have been released until Christmas and the disaster victims clearly need relief now, if not yesterday.

But are the companies winning these no-bid emergency relief contracts charging more than they should?

Probably. Remember, federal agencies award contracts to those who are trusted and who have demonstrated the ability to perform. Bid or no-bid, known, trusted contractors win the contracts. That's certainly not going to change in the face of a major catastrophe.

Senator Joe Lieberman summed up the problem in an interview with GovExec.com.

"It sure looks, with hindsight, that FEMA would have been in a much better position if it had a lot of contracts in place that had been bid ... to provide exactly the kind of services that FEMA rushed in to provide on a no-bid basis, and which we fear taxpayers may have ended up paying more money for than they should have."

Having contracts in place, now there's an idea.

The same companies will win them but pricing can be controlled more effectively. Are we talking about establishing a GSA Disaster Recovery schedule, or putting in place a set of FEMA multiple award contacts? It really doesn't matter.

The key is that, if you're not getting contract awards today for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, you should be thinking about positioning your company so that when the next disaster strikes, you're ready to jump on the bandwagon. Keeping this in mind, small- to medium-sized businesses should look forward in their federal sales efforts related to disaster recovery. Some key things to consider:

     * Who won the no-bid contracts?
     * Who is doing Katrina recovery under bid contracts?
     * Is there an opportunity to sell your capabilities as subcontractors to the no-bid and bid contractors?

Track future FEMA and other agency disaster recovery contracts and determine if you are a viable bidder. If not, assess who will be viable and team with them. Remember that government buyers love to do business with people they know and trust, so the no-bid and bid contractors working today's disaster will likely be the same ones working tomorrow's.

         ***********  Special Offering **************

A Webinar on CD-ROM - Katrina Rebuilding - Why Not You?

Are you missing the opportunity to assist the government in the response and recovery efforts of a recent disaster? Whether your business is located in the Gulf of Mexico, Northern Michigan, or Southern California, FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Military will always have to depend on reliable contractors to assist them quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.

The CD-ROM is a taping of our October 7, 2005 live broadcast along with our Power Point presentation that gives you the all the information you need to sell to the federal government without leaving the comfort of your own office, and includes additional reference material you can use once the class is over.            

Purchase a copy of our Webinar broadcast, to use anytime. Sit down and watch the presentation as a group or pass it around the office for individual viewing. Audio CD/Handout packages are available now.  Price is $350 all materials are included. Call 888.661.4094 ext. 14 to order.

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