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Federal Sales Training
- Federal Sales 101: Winning Government Business
Fedmarket's most popular course, eight-years in the running. Whether you are new to the marketplace or a seasoned veteran this class will jump start your sales endeavors. - Teach Your Onsite Contract Employees to Sell and Win!
A seminar for Primes who want to keep their customers. . - Writing and Managing Winning Proposals
Write less, win more. If you can't afford to waste another minute or dime writing another losing proposal this class is for you. - Advanced Cost Proposal Workshop
Gain hands-on experience with the link between cost accounting structure and proposal pricing . - Bid Protests
How To Keep The Deals You Win And Get The Ones You Lose. - Webinar: WOSB Get Ready to Win Set-aside Contracts
Be the First to Win Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Set-aside Contracts. - Webinar: Understanding IDIQ, BPA, BOA, GWAC and GSA Contracts
Define the types of contracting vehicles available to contracting officers that will help them award you a contract quickly, and within the rules. . - Winning Federal IDIQ Contracts
Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) multi-award contracts are the wave of the future .
Proposals
- Price Proposal Services
Work with Fedmarket experts to prepare your cost volumes. - Proposal Writing Services
Fedmarket writes your proposal for you. - Writing & Managing Winning Proposals
Write fewer proposals; win more . - Advanced Cost Proposal Workshop
Cost proposal techniques that improve your ability to price to win. .
Sales Tools
- Direct Marketing Services
Develop a strategic marketing plan lead by federal business development professionals. . - HUBZone Wizard
Complete the application to obtain HUBZone status quickly and painlessly. .
Articles
- The Hard Part: Establishing the Customer Relationship
Like commercial sales the key to success in federal sales is establishing a customer relationship. Finding and convincing new customers that you are the answer to their prayer can be an arduous process because the government can be resistant to new faces... - 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... - 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... - 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... - 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... - Distinguishing Yourself
You have a great product or service. Your price is where it needs to be. Perhaps you responded to an RFP once or you spent tons of time and money writing a proposal... - The Consequences of Writing Losing Proposals
Previous installments have discussed the need to pre-sell a client prior to the announcement of a public bid and the need to write proposals in the voice of the customer... - The Eagle Has Landed
Multiple Award Schedule Contracts (MAS) are master contracts that allow the companies which receive an award of such a contract to compete for task orders over the term of the contract... - GSA Schedule Competition in Real Life
For political reasons the federal government takes the position that competition for federal contracts is 'full and open"... - What Drives Companies to Pursue GSA Schedules Part II
It's not just size of market that drives a company to pursue a GSA Schedule... - 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... - Firing Line Success Story
Small 8(a) Security Personnel Agency Learns the Contracting Game and Wins $1... - End User Spotlight: Facility Managers
According to the International Facility Management Association, facility management "is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology... - When Selling To The Government, You Have to "Dig" For Gold
"One of the largest mistakes I've seen in the business is that companies just scratch the surface of many agencies and never find a dime's worth of business, " said Richard White, Owner of Wood River Technologies and Fedmarket... - 2005 New Year's Resolution - Make Six More Sales Calls A Day
On average, it takes six "impressions" - cold calls, messages, letters and emails -- to get an appointment out of one lead. So I would like to set a daily challenge for each of us in 2005 - make six more sales calls between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m... - Department of Homeland Security - Relationships with GSA Schedules Win Business
When I took my first Fedmarket.com class in mid-2002 called "Selling to the Department of Homeland Security," there were over 70 people in the room drooling for business... - Running into Old Friends in City Procurement While Teaching in Michigan
A funny thing happened to me in Warren, Michigan, during the break of my Winning Government Business class for Detroit at the end of September of 2004... - Do You Want To Win Government Business?
Midnight Friday, Midway Airport - I arrived home to Chicago exhausted after teaching a class and took the trek downstairs to the baggage claim... - Do You Want To Win Government Business? Do Not Respond to "Public Request for Proposals"
When I started selling to the government, I thought it made sense to see where all of the opportunities were being posted. I found a great spot online: Fedbizopps.gov. I could simply search by word, agency, procurement type, dollar amount, location... - Turn a Losing "Blind Bid" into a Winning Opportunity
An agency of the US Government may send you a random Request for Proposal, which looks like it is a perfect fit for your organization... - Is Selling to the Feds Worth the Hassle?
Is it worth doing business with the government? This is a question all of us ask ourselves daily... - 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... - Fourth Quarter Frenzy - Contractors Called Again To "Fill the File"
As we approach the end of the fourth quarter, please be wary of the call which starts with, "I need a quote in the next few hours..." and it continues with a perfect listing of the contracting officer's needs... - 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... - There is A Fine Line Between Assertive Sales and Aggressive Sales -- What Is It?
In my "Federal Sales 101 - Winning Government Business" class, many sales people ask me, "When am I being too pushy?" My take is that the government employee hardly ever comes out and tells you so... - In Government Sales, Don't Believe Everything You're Told or You'll Lose
The government is made up of influential people - - some of whom make million dollar decisions every day. However, the active word here is that they're "people... - Training is the Answer
Are You One or More of the Following: New to selling to the federal government Frustrated by the roadblocks you have encountered in selling to the federal government? Experienced with selling to the government but you need a little boost? Tra... - 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/)... - State and Local Governments Have Their Rules Too!
Although Fedmarket's installments and newsletters tend to focus on the federal government, I would like to take the time to address state and local government business. Many companies have approached me with questions about this marketplace... - Selling IT: Introduction to the Government IT Sector
Governments at all levels are becoming citizen-centric in delivering services, e.g., developing Internet portals that provide single points of entry for citizens and businesses... - Selling IT: Teaming to Win Government IT Sales
Government buyers often look for "complete solutions" off of multiple award schedule contracts, such as the General Service Administration's Federal Supply Schedules (FSS)... - "Getting On" the GSA Schedule
So you're thinking about putting your company's products or services on the GSA Schedule? Maybe you find yourself being pushed and prodded by the "stick": more and more, your government customers are asking you when you'll be getting on the Schedule... - 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... - Put Up Your Guard to Keep Your Sales Costs Down
Sales people are inherently optimistic by nature and often make assumptions that are imprudent. An overeager salesperson can cause costly losses and overworked sales opportunities... - 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... - Sell and Then Write Defensively to Win Government Contracts
Last week's installment discussed the necessity of pre-selling a sales opportunity before it appears as a public bid... - 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... - Writing Winning Proposals
In order to win federal contracts, your company will have to write proposals in response to those Requests for Proposals (RFP's) in which it has an interest. The proposal-writing process is laborious, tiring, and expensive... - Proposal Evaluation: How Final Decisions Are Made
Defense wins in the National Football League and it wins in government proposal writing. You must write proposals with a goal of avoiding elimination while at the same time writing a customer-centric proposal... - 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... - GSA Schedules and Sales Costs
We have previously discussed that a business may have to invest $25,000 to $75,000 (in terms of sales costs) to obtain a GSA Schedule... - 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... - 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... - Pricing Government Bids
Pricing your bid correctly (or not) directly affects two fundamentally important areas of your business: (1) whether you win or lose the bid, and (2) whether you gain profit or suffer loss on the contract... - 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... - 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... - Proposal Writing: The Ugly Step Child of Your Business
I wrote my first proposal in 1967 for Booz, Allen, and Hamilton; that's 40 plus years of proposal writing... - Does the "M" in the new 8(M) Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program Mean Money?
Answer: Yes and then some... - 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... - Ride the Wave of IDIQ Contracts
This newsletter is the first in a series of five newsletters about the federal government's increasing reliance on multiple award contracts. The use of Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts is becoming more prevalent by the day... - Advanced Proposal Writing: Wisely Choosing What to Pursue, Part 2
Companies often fail to understand that while they may have the best product or provide the best services, this means little if their proposals don't win... - Only One Way to WOSB Certification
The SBA's stated goal when announcing the new Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program was to expeditiously implement the policies, procedures and regulations necessary to ensure that federal contract dollars would immediately start t... - The Trend Towards Multiple Award Contracting Escalates
The multiple award contract is becoming a way of life in the federal government. Many large, federal multiple award contracts have been awarded this year; several of them carrying ceilings of more than $1 billion... - 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... - We Won an IDIQ, Now What
Our previous newsletters discussed the trend in the federal government towards the use of Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to speed up the federal buying process... - Do Not Open Yourself Up to Whistle Blowers
A whistle-blower exposure caused the federal government to claw back $200 million dollars from the Oracle Corporation for GSA schedule Price Reduction Clause violations...
