How to Start Selling to the Government Locally
Government owned properties are everywhere; your local post office, the courthouse, your local DMV. Maybe you unknowingly exchange pleasantries with an employee who works in such an office; the guy standing in line next to you at your local Starbucks perhaps. Let's say you own a small printing company, and your friend in line works for the post office, develop a relationship with him, printing needs will arise.
Step 1. Tell your new friend how you can fulfill printing needs, back it up with references and samples of past projects - impress him.
Step 2. Locate the buyer for the local office (your new friend will probably clue you in).
Step 3. Contact the buyer, gain his confidence. Meeting and impressing the buyer is key, buyers avoid the unknown. Taking risks with unknown vendors is not how buyers keep their jobs.
Now you have your ducks in a row - if the scenario plays out as planned, here's what happens next.
- Friend at local PO needs 20,000 brochures printed.
- Friend submits request to buyer, says I have a vendor in mind, because they are the only printer who can produce a light-weight copy and we will save on shipping.
- Buyer says I met the owner, we will have to put it out for bid, but I will make the weight of the material an integral part of satisfying the bid criteria.
You may or may not win the job, but I can guarantee you your chances are 100% better than wining a bid where you are biding blindly, meaning your don't know the end-user or the buyer, and the solicitation was not written with you in mind. Even without the win you are on the right track to future wins. The scenario is a little simplistic, but the bottom line is - create relationships with the people who matter, the people who can help you succeed don't reside in Washington, DC, they are in your area. Find them, and start the process now.
Fedmarket can help you locate buyers and end users in your area. We can also tutor you on getting started in federal sales. Call us at 888 661 4094, Ext. 2 today or visit our website for more information.
Need more information? Contact me.
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