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GSA Schedules

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  • Negotiating GSA Prices
    The General Services Administration (GSA) appears to be placing more emphasis on obtaining the lowest possible price when negotiating GSA schedule contracts...
  • Emergency Contracting - Disaster Contracting
    Recently, I heard about a company who went to the news media to complain that they had the ultimate solution to the Gulf of Mexico oil clean up. It was just proven in someone's pool to be a great solution to cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico...
  • Start Now If You Want Stimulus Funds
    How much of the nearly $800 billion stimulus package will end up funding federal contracts? No one is sure yet, but some predict from $50 to $100 billion. Like everyone, you would probably like to increase your revenue with stimulus dollars...
  • Obama and Federal Sales
    Your crystal ball is as good as mine. Mine says the following will happen to federal contracting under the new Obama administration. War spending will go down, slightly impacting DOD contractors negatively...
  • Federal Marketing Activities that Work for Small to Medium Sized Businesses
    The previous installment warned that some federal marketing activities can be too expensive for small to medium sized businesses. You probably can't afford to sponsor a golf tournament in Washington, DC...
  • Options for Closing Federal Sales
    In the previous installment we discussed making federal sales up to the point of transacting the deals (signing a contract). Transacting or closing the deals can be done in several ways...
  • Don't Get Caught without a Closer
    Here's an example of how the federal sales game is really played. Let's suppose a federal agency has the money to fund a large information technology project, creating a potential, although as yet unidentified, sales opportunity...
  • Importance of Direct Sales
    Many companies looking to win federal contracts spend large portions of their annual budgets on marketing, business development, and capture planning...
  • When the Sale Takes Place
    Almost all newcomers to the federal market make the mistake of thinking that a sales opportunity arises when a request for a proposal or bid is published. In reality by the time a bid is published, the sale has probably already been made...
  • Become an Insider in the Federal Market
    Consider becoming an insider and share in the fruits of the world's largest market. Remember, the insiders were outsiders at one point in time and the game is not that tough to play once you understand it...
  • The Role of Best Value in Federal Purchasing
    What does the term "Best Value" mean to a sales person selling in the federal market? In short, it means that federal buyers do not have to select the vendor with the lowest price...
  • Guidelines for Companies New to Government Contracting
    Sales people take note. You are free to meet with and sell federal end users. Federal purchasing rules not only allow it but encourage it...
  • Can Others Help You Win Contracts?
    Winning federal contracts is an expensive and arduous process. It helps if you can find someone to pave the way. The best candidate would be someone, such as a business partner or personal friend, who has a federal customer...
  • Is the Federal Playing Field Level?
    During our federal sales seminars a predominant question from attendees is: "Is the federal playing field level?" The answer to this question is yes, in theory, but no in practice...
  • Public Bids as a Closing Procedure
    Why would the federal government select a public bid as the closing procedure of choice given the horrendous lead time and cost involved? Federal contracting officers do their very best to avoid them...
  • How to Close a Federal Sale
    Making sales in the commercial sector can be difficult but closing a sale usually isn't...
  • People Buy Not Agencies
    Contrary to popular belief, people buy in the federal market, not agencies. The only way to make a federal sale is to contact a buyer through a direct sales call...
  • Should We or Shouldn't We
    Should you join the parade to grab some of endless flow of federal contracting opportunities? The federal government has always been an extremely lucrative market; world events are just making it more visible...
  • The World's Biggest Customer
    The federal government is the world's biggest customer; currently spending nearly $ 400 billion a year. Companies outside the market often have the misconception that the federal market exists only within the boundaries of the Capitol's Beltway...
  • Let the Light Shine In
    A huge problem that newcomers face when trying to enter the federal market place is that it is enormously difficult to find end users (the person with money who needs what a company is selling)...
  • Small Businesses and the Federal Market
    Knowing your customers is the key to sales success. This is true whether you're selling to public or private organizations...
  • Shoot the Messenger
    Fedmarket's Federal Sales Academy was prominently featured in the April 15, 2006 issue of Government Executive Magazine in an article entitled, "Contracting 101" by Kimberly Palmer...
  • Insights on Closing a Federal Sales
    The commercial and federal markets are basically identical in that you have to make one-on-one sales calls to end users in order to sell your product or service...
  • Entering the Federal Market
    You are a small to medium sized business located outside the Washington, DC area and you have decided that you want to enter the federal market. What should you do? 1...
  • Proposal Writing Is Not Going to Go Away
    Most owners of small and medium-sized federal contracting companies wish that writing proposals was not a requirement of doing business with the federal government...
  • Don't Get Stuck as a Subcontractor
    Small businesses need to get their first federal contract to become part of the club of insiders - those companies with contracts - that the federal government favors when it buys products and services...
  • GSA Visits Contractor Sites
    GSA will visit you to make sure you're tracking your GSA sales properly. GSA's auditors will also pay close attention to whether you have offered better pricing to the "basis of award group" defined under your GSA Schedule contract...
  • GSA Schedule Rejections
    The task of preparing proposals for submittal to the General Services Administration (GSA) has always been a difficult one for those unfamiliar with government contracting...
  • GSA Schedules and Small Businesses
    As reported in earlier installments, the federal government's use of multi-vendor contracts to buy products and services is steadily increasing...
  • GSA Schedule Competition in Real Life
    For political reasons the federal government takes the position that competition for federal contracts is 'full and open"...
  • New Women Owned-Small Business Posts $2.5 Million!
    United MedEvac Solutions, Inc., (UMS), was formed in April 2005 as a Women-Owned Small Business by Danielle "DeDe" Wilson (President) and Larry W. Case (Vice President) as a result of an immediate need for Ft. Hood's on base air medical coverage...
  • GSA VETS GWAC To Open Opportunities For Service-Disabled Veteran Businesses
    Note from the Author, Eileen Kent: In past "On the Sales Firing Line" articles, Fedmarket.com revealed that veteran groups have been asking for more contracting dollars since DOD has awarded $514 million a year, or only 0...
  • Four Cold Calling Tactics
    Many readers of "On the Firing Line" have asked about my thoughts on whether it is possible, in the post-September 11th world, to make personal cold calls on federal buyers...
  • The Key To Successful Federal Sales
    The most difficult person to find in the federal government is your potential end user. If you do not have a directory of an agency, it is always difficult to get started...
  • The Only Way To Uncover Government Business is to Focus, Focus, Focus!
    How did you feel when you first considered selling to the government? I always thought I was looking into the face of the "Great and Powerful Oz." It seemed overwhelming and a little frightening...
  • Michigan Sales Executive Networks His Way to Success in Washington, DC
    October, 2004 -- Stuart Newman, Sales Executive, of 3 Leaf Group from Oak Park, MI says he made it his mission to meet key federal government decision makers at a recent government human resources conference in Virginia...
  • OMB reports over use of "Name Brands" in Specifications
    Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports over use of "Name Brands" in Specifications from the Sales Firing Line, Eileen Kent Says, "Surprise, Surprise!"Challenge to Government Contracting Officers: "Don't Use Name Brands in RFPs" A memo was sen...
  • When You're On the Sales Firing Line With The Government, Problem Solving Requires Open Communication With Your Client
    Many clients and other contacts tell me that they become extremely impatient with the federal government's "hurry up and wait" attitude. For example, a client might receive a call today for a quote due by tomorrow afternoon...
  • Top Ten Mistakes, Relationship Killers and Wastes of Time
    Should your company try one of the approaches outlined below while trying to do business with the government, you will end up at a dead end and will have a seriously demoralized federal sales team. My Top Ten List of Mistakes is as follows: 1...
  • Patience, Persistence, Perseverance Are the Keys to Winning Government Business
    When I took a class from Richard White on "Doing Business with Homeland Security," in early 2002, I was absolutely shocked to hear, "It will take well over 12 months to get business from the government...
  • Small Business Goals Missed
    In an article published in Federal Computer Week, October, 2005, Michael Hardy reports that a report card was released showing federal agencies missed their goals for small-business contracts...
  • Goal for 2006 - Focus, Focus, Focus
    How did you feel when you first considered selling to the government? I always thought I was looking into the face of the "Great and Powerful Oz." The process seemed overwhelming and a little frightening...
  • More Hot News Puts Private Sector "On the Sales Firing Line"
    It seems that I see more and more headlines that virtually beg you to make the cold call. The government is literally pounding the table asking for your help...
  • Help The Government Solve Problems
    Although the federal government is made up of hundreds of agencies, the few that we seem to hear about in the news are the Department of Homeland Security, the military and the Intelligence Community...
  • FEMA States It is "Ready for Hurricane Season 2006." Are You Ready to Help Them?
    If you haven't visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) web site lately, it has been updated (see http://www.fema.gov/)...
  • The Realities of the Federal Market
    Let’s say you’re a medium-sized information technology company from a Midwestern city and your commercial sales are flat...
  • Commitment and Focus in Federal Contracting
    In the last installment you learned about some of the realities of federal sales. In this installment you will learn about the need for commitment and focus to overcome the inherent barriers to entry. First, you must commitment to the market...
  • GSA Schedule Return on Investment
    The cost to obtain a GSA Schedule can range from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on the type and number of products/services involved. The cost is generally commensurate with the size of the company...
  • Using the GSA Schedule Program to Develop Your Multiple
    A frequent reader of our installment series has no doubt surmised that we highly recommend getting on the GSA schedule as a potentially lucrative sales vehicle...
  • The Reality of Direct Sales to Government
    In our monthly federal sales seminars, some attendees openly rebel against the suggestion that they should be making direct sales calls. Those disbelievers say to the speaker, "there must be a better way...
  • Think Twice Before Chasing Dollars from New Federal Programs
    Newly emerging federal programs, which seem to be materializing with increasing frequency, include: The War on Terrorism (primarily located within the US Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense) The Reconstruction of Iraq N...
  • Mastering the Foreign Language Known as the GSA Schedules
    Small businesses new to federal contracting almost always find General Services Administration (GSA) schedules mysterious and confusing...
  • Government Contract Vehicles
    A "contract vehicle" is a broad term meaning different things to different people. We define the term in its broadest sense -it is a method under which a company may pursue and close a sale...
  • Yet Another Contracting Vehicle
    In a previous installment, we discussed the wide range of contracting vehicles used to close federal sales. We define the term in its broadest sense; a contract vehicle is a method under which a company may pursue and close a sale...
  • Government Security Clearances
    Companies hoping to do business with the federal government encounter the following exasperating problem - your company can’t get critical security clearances for its personnel until it has a contract requiring clearances and your business can’t get...
  • Anticipating the Federal Buying Cycles
    Good salespeople study the federal buying cycles and can, based on past experience, predict those periods during the year when their sales will be strong...
  • Best Value Analysis A Salespersons Dream
    In seeking price quotes from vendors, federal buyers are now encouraged to think beyond price and conduct a "best value analysis...
  • Locating Those Who Make Purchasing Decisions
    To the surprise of many, purchasing decisions are made the same in both the federal and commercial markets. In the commercial sector, end users generally decide on the product or service that best meets their needs...
  • Focus and Commitment Necessary in Doing Business with Government
    Throughout the series we've talked here and there about "focus" and "commitment", a couple of words that are easy to toss around: "You've got to be focused." "You must be committed...
  • Publicly-Advertised Negotiated Procurements
    The publicly-advertised negotiated procurement market segment is a new world for companies that have not bid on negotiated procurements using requests for proposal (RFP) procedures. Responding to RFPs is unique for several reasons...
  • Responding to Public Procurements
    In previous installments we discussed how to sell in the publicly-advertised IFB, RFQ, and RFP markets. In this installment we discuss how to respond (prepare a bid) to bid requests...
  • Oral Presentations for Government Proposals
    When government agency personnel notify you that they would like your company to make an oral presentation, it’s a very good thing...
  • Debriefings and Protests in Governement Proposals
    In this installment we discuss the rules regarding debriefings and protests using the federal acquisition regulations as a model...
  • Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Government Contracts
    Overview of the Process The General Service Administration's Federal Supply Service (FSS) operates the federal supply schedule program. The program leverages the purchasing power of the U.S...
  • Teaming for Large Government Contracts
    Government contracts are getting bigger. Requirements that were once performed under, say, six to ten contracts might now be performed under only one...
  • Overall Government Contract Evaluation Process - Past Performances
    In selecting winning vendors, federal, state, and local governments have typically looked at past contract performance information as part of their overall evaluation processes...
  • Past Performance
    Federal, state and local governments have engaged in performance-based contracting for a long time. We've witnessed a dramatic upswing, however, in the last few of years, especially at the federal level...
  • Women-Owned Business Contracting
    Congress has established a 5-percent government-wide goal for awards to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs). Yet year after year, federal agencies fail to meet this goal. In fact, in 2001, the government awarded just 2...
  • Minority-Owned Business Contracting
    In the prior installment, we talked about women-owned business contracting. This week, we discuss the 8(a) Business Development Program and the Small Disadvantaged Business Certification (SDB) Program...
  • Suspension and Debarment
    Suspension and debarment actions prevent companies and individuals from participating in government contracts, subcontracts, loans, grants and other assistance programs. The effect of federal suspension and debarment is government wide...
  • The Government Acquisition Cycle
    Good salespeople think about buying cycles. They anticipate the dates that they're likely to cash in. And if times are lean now, they plant the seeds for a bountiful crop later...
  • OMB Circular A-76 Changes
    In a previous installment we talked at some length about contractor outsourcing opportunities that arise out of the FAIR Act and OMB Circular A-76...
  • Become an Incumbent Contractor
    Once you make a sale, you can use your company's stellar performance on a federal project to leverage more sales...
  • Letters of Supply and Commercial Sales Practice
    For a variety of reasons, product vendors may choose to become suppliers to another company that holds a GSA Schedule contract...
  • GSA Schedules: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
    GSA Schedule contracting has always been plagued by the impracticality of the "most favored customer pricing" concept and the restrictiveness of the Price Reduction Clause...
  • Does the "M" in the new 8(M) Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program Mean Money?
    Answer: Yes and then some...
  • Federal Market Myths
    Two myths about the federal market persist in the commercial sector. They are as follows: Just go to the federal market and pick the low-hanging fruit; and  The fruit is ripe and you can pick it quickly...
  • Federal Procurement is Getting Messier by the Day
    The federal procurement system is going south fast. Contracting offices are understaffed and experienced contracting officers are defecting to the private sector...
  • The Next Two Years in Federal Contracting
    The Next Two Years in Federal Contracting: Some Uncertainties and Business as Usual The next two years in federal contracting will be uncertain in the information technology and defense system sectors and business as usual in others...
  • More on the Achilles Heel of Federal Contracting
    Proposal writing can be a chaotic experience for federal contractors. Late nights and last-minute crises are frequently a way of life...
  • GSA Schedules: The Grandfather of IDIQ Contracts
    This newsletter is the fourth in a series of five newsletters about the federal government's increasing reliance on multiple award contracts...
  • What is Happening in Federal Contracting?
    The news: The Obama administration is, as part of its initiative regarding federal contracting, pursuing an agenda of (i) increasing competition for federal contracts, (ii) promoting openness of competition, and (iii) eliminating fraud and abuse...
  • Advanced Proposal Writing: Wisely Choosing Which Opportunities
    Making poor choices about which RFPs to respond to is the number one mistake small businesses make in the federal contracting arena...
  • Advanced Proposal Writing: Key Elements When Writing About Your Program Management
    For Small Businesses: Key Elements When Writing About Your Program Management Last week, we noted that the new strategy of federal agencies is to mandate that small businesses band together under a single lead small business and take on larger, more soph...
  • GSA Schedule Changes May Significantly Increase Small Business Contracting
    The federal government has not met its stated goal to send 23% of all federal contracting dollars to small businesses. The shortfall represents around $5 - $6 billion annually...
  • Rebuttal: Are Small Business Advocates Helpful?
    In a previous newsletter, we questioned the usefulness of federal small business advocates.  We received the following response from a reader which illustrates why companies must perform aggressive, direct federal sales in-house...
  • Selling in the Federal Marketplace
    Up until the actual close of a sale, selling in the federal market is essentially the same as selling in the commercial market...
  • The Benefits of an IDIQ Contract
    Recent installments have discussed the federal government’s unending march to award federal contract through Indefinite Duration Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contacts...