Products, services, and technology-based solutions are sold through relationships in both the commercial and federal sectors. In the federal arena, relationships are even more important because most federal customers are extremely risk averse -- much more so than in the commercial sector. Except in rare circumstances, companies will not make a federal sale unless a strong relationship has first been established with the customer. This is why it can take 6 months or more to make a sale in the federal market.

Members of the public see only opportunities that have reached the public bid stage. The uninitiated spend thousands of dollars writing large, complex proposals in response to a Request for Proposal, believing a responsive proposal or ingenious approach to getting a job done will lead to a winning bid. The federal government fosters this perception by creating the illusion that it is actually holding a competition when a public bid is posted. If there is competition, it will be between two or more companies that have established a relationship with the customer well in advance of the bid publication.

This can't be stressed too much. In order to win a public bid opportunity, a company must have pre-sold the opportunity and established a relationship with the federal buyer prior to responding to a Request for Proposal. Of course, exceptions do occur. Rarely, opportunities arise and not a single company has met with the end user. It also sometimes snows in July. Another extremely unlikely but not completely out of the realm of possibility scenario: A company that doesn't have a relationship with the end user writes a creative proposal and prevails over companies with long-established relationships.

Buyer-seller relationships are absolutely essential in the federal market and they are nearly impossible to establish without an experienced, full-time sales person in Washington, DC. Establishing relationships is far more important than having the solution itself.

How early should you identify a sales opportunity in the federal market? Ideally, an opportunity should be identified before anyone, including the customer, knows that an opportunity exists.

Federal Sales 101: Winning Government Business

Participating in the federal sales game can be an extremely frustrating and overwhelming endeavor. Chasing down leads often turns into an exercise in trying to negotiate your way through a maze with many, many dead ends. Our seminar "Federal Sales 101: Winning Government Business" will put managers and sales people on the right path to establishing immediate relationships and closing government business. The seminar is led by Federal Sales Academy Director and "On the Sales Firing Line" columnist, Eileen Kent. Read more...

Sign-up today for the next "Federal Sales 101: Winning Government Business" class!

To learn more about this seminar, call 866-519-4482, Ext. 110 for assistance.

A GSA Proposal Solution Designed Specifically for Small Businesses

GSA Schedules eLab - Develop your GSA proposal in 3 days at our eLab. Fedmarket provides you with a Request for Information (RFI) prior to your arrival at our eLab. You are instructed to bring the requested corporate data with you to the course. Attendees should, with the assistance of our GSA staff, complete their GSA offer prior to the end of the eLab's third day. Many attendees complete the process and leave with a completed proposal within two working days. If you are unfamiliar with the proposal process, the GSA eLab is the solution for you. The GSA eLab is offered monthly at the Federal Sales Academy in Bethesda, Maryland. Read more...

Sign-up for our GSA Proposal Preparation eLab today!

To learn more about our GSA products and services, call 866-519-4482, Ext. 110 for assistance.

Call Fedmarket's sales staff at (888) 661-4094, Ext. 8 with questions concerning these or any other products or services Fedmarket offers. E-mail inquires may be sent to the following: sales@thefederalmarketplace.com.