The Task

With more than 2 million civil employees, there are more than 60 federal agencies. In the federal marketplace, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to know who to call.

Have them Come to You – Listing in GSA Advantage

Some small businesses with distinctive service offerings secure GSA Schedule Contracts with the knowledge that federal contracting officers will visit those locations to do market research. Despite the fact that finding these government contractors is only by chance, this can be a useful method. This is probably insufficient to guarantee your success when it comes to people who have a more aggressive approach to business development.

Developing a Focus

Example: A California-based IT company with a focus on cloud programming is looking for early contracts nearby. What factors should they take into account while choosing their target market?

The company should only work with agencies who have offices in the State of California if travel is a factor. While the business was getting its’ bearings, this is done to keep costs to a minimum. But businesses who wish to be more aggressive can choose a larger geographic area. We would also suggest that the company concentrate on three agencies, and then subsequently strive to direct their marketing efforts towards those specific agencies.

There have been 426 contracts with this NAICS code, 541511, signed by federal contracting officers in California over the last two years. Twelve organizations were using cloud computing, including the Department of Homeland Security, the DoD (Army, Air Force), NASA, the US Courts, DEA, and the Defense Health Agency. The company should focus on the agencies where it believes it has the most chance of succeeding.

Narrowing In

If the company concentrated on Homeland Security, US Courts, and the DEA, it could carve out a nice federal law enforcement niche. This would reduce the number of contracting officers they would need to follow up with continuously to between 25 and 40. Eventually, establishing these connections would result in a trial run with the agency, and successful performance would lead to future work.

The Solution

To start the process of establishing relationships with the appropriate individuals within the federal government, small businesses would be wise to take into account affordable federal list building services. If you need assistance with this exacerbating endeavor, I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as Fedvital. And if you would like help exploring your firm’s eligibility and potential utilizing a GSA Schedule, I would recommend the experts at Advance GSA. Good news for you, both Fedvital and Advance GSA do not charge for an initial consultation.