Marketing is one of the greatest challenges for the small
business federal government contractor. We have previously discussed the
federal government marketing process at the following articles:
Insights to Succeed
This posting will address sculpting a government contracting
business opportunity to the point where it becomes a sole source or small
business group-designated set aside procurement.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Small business group-designated
procurement is far more frequent than sole source contract awards. Agencies must prepare special justifications
for sole sourcing and those most frequently approved are for Hub Zone and
Small, Disadvantaged [8(a)] firms (see table below).
Small business group designations are beneficial to firms
who hold them by enhancing the probability of an award through agency
restrictions on prime contractor bidding to only those who hold the group
designation. Others may bid as subcontractors to the prime but the prime small business
contractor must be capable of performing at least 51% of the total effort in
terms of work scope, hours and dollars.
In either sole source or group-designated marketing, an
agency making the buy must be convinced that sufficient capability exists in a
single company or in the small business designated group community to set a
contract aside. The agency must be convinced early – before a formal
procurement announcement is published on SAM Contract Opportunities
Marketing to achieve a limited
competition under a small business group designation or eliminate competition
under a sole source contract assumes the marketing enterprise has one or more
of the following federal government set-aside designations:
DESIGNATION TARGET
Small Business (Group Set Aside Potential)
Small Woman-Owned Business (Group Set Aside Potential)
Small Veteran-Owned Business (Group Set Aside Potential)
Small Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (Group Designation Set Aside Potential)
Small Hub Zone Business (Sole
Source and Group Set Aside Potential)
Small Disadvantaged Business 8(a) (Sole Source and Group Set Aside Potential)
Federal
government procurement is further classified under the SBA Small Business
Size Standards in terms of North American Industrial Classification System
(NAICS) Code, number of personnel and/or annual sales. To determine whether a
firm qualifies for a given bid, note the NAICS for a given solicitation and download
the SBA Small Business Size Standards the Box Net
“References” Cube in the right margin of this site.
Part of
the sole source or designated group set aside marketing task is to suggest to
the agency the NAICS Code (hence the size standard) for a prospective
procurement.
Registering
to bid government contacts and establish sole source and group designations may
be achieved using guidance in the below articles:
Hub Zone
and Small Disadvantaged Business 8(a) designations are lengthy certification
processes. The remaining designations in the above table are self-certifying at
the above government contract registration web site, and are verified by site
surveys and bid vetting for each solicitation prior to contract award.
EARLY REQUIREMENT TARGETING IS
THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN SET ASIDE MARKETING
Effective set aside marketing
reaches the agency decision makers with technical, budget and schedule
authority before a synopsis of the requirement is posted on SAM Contract Oportunities.
The objective of this form of targeted marketing is to get
concurrence from the government to set the program aside sole source if the
company has an 8(a), or Hub Zone Certification or reserve it by one of the
above group designation classes to eliminate the prospect of full and open
competition involving large business.
- Become known to targeted
agency personnel by visiting their program offices and meeting the decision
makers. Bring a capability
statement:
- Present your
qualifications openly, objectively and specific to their needs. You must determine what those needs are
through market research, trade magazines, research on what they are buying
on SAM Contract Opportunities, as well as postings on their web site that are
future-program oriented.
- Subscribe to periodicals
like "Washington Technology" and other trade magazines. Observe agency trends and analysis that
impact your market segment. There
have been set aside programs marketed by small companies through
acquainting agency management and technical personnel with capabilities
they were not aware existed in the small business community or fulfillment
of needs they in fact did not know they had.
- Pay particular attention
to SAM Contract Opportunities "Sources Sought" or “Requests for draft RFP
Comment” on programs that have yet
to be formally solicited. Obtain an appointment to present your
capabilities to the decision makers (not the gate keepers). Be courteous to contracting officers but
understand they are not the individuals who make source selections.
Understand that once the requirement is formally published on SAM Contract Opportunities the gate closes on informal visits to the customer and the competition begins in the form of proposals by competitors. It is too late at that point to set the program aside for a sole source or a small business designation if it has not occurred by the publication stage.
- Cultivate teaming
relationships with other firms in your industry and look for early
opportunities in agencies, not only to prime a program but to bring a team
of qualified contractors in lesser roles to fulfill them with you or join
a team being led by a more experienced firm:
- Understand the small
business start up past performance challenge and work to meet it:
- Attend small business
outreach events by agencies and prime contractors. Stay attuned to who is attending and
research their needs and requirements.
- Make a point to be present
at bidders' conferences for existing solicitations that you may not choose
to bid but which may lend insight into the agency needs and prime
contractor relationships in the future.
SUMMARY
As a small business becomes known in the federal government
contracting community, successful marketing of sole source or group-designated
business becomes easier, but it is always a challenge due to the need for
taking early action in windows of opportunity.
Find those windows and communicate capabilities to the decision makers
and industry team members who can help you.
If you are eligible for any of the designations discussed in
this article, make small business set asides or sole source procurement a key
element in your marketing plan.