Multiple-Front Marketing In Small Business Federal Government Contracting

INTRODUCTION:

Your enterprise must market on several targeted government contracting fronts to be successful. Simply registering as a federal government contractor or acquiring a small business set aside designation does not mean that contracting officers will find you or that larger corporations will seek you out as a teaming partner. A GSA schedule or a multi-year IDIQ umbrella contract, purchase agreement or similar vehicle may look promising, but they are really no more than hunting licenses. The game must still be bagged (targeted sales of specific products or service projects to customers).

The prudent small business will target agencies and teaming partners that best fit its products and services, positioning itself to acquire advance information on requirements and displaying capabilities by conveying early solutions to customer decision makers. This article will suggest techniques, approaches and tools to conduct a multi-front, targeted, requirements-driven, marketing campaign for small business federal government contracting.

SELECT YOUR SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE DESIGNATIONS CAREFULLY

Your small business designation by North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Codes should be thorough and as comprehensive as possible when you register at the "System for Award Management (SAM) web site. Make sure your registration has the maximum number of codes for which you qualify, since the whole federal procurement system rides on those codes. Insure the narrative description of your services is complete as well. Please see the following link for further information on registration:

Federal Government Contracting Registration

The sub-categories of small business set-aside certifications should be chosen carefully and based on your company ownership and specific market research into which categories the agency or prime contractor favors, what their small business contracting plan includes in the way of targets and what their track record has been in awarding contracts. Good information on awards can be gleaned from the federal web site on federal government spending at:

USA Spending

You can also check the SBA small business goaling report at:

SBA Goaling Reports


For further details on each of the 7 small business set aside designations please see the following link:

Small Business Set-aside Programs

TARGET REQUIREMENTS EARLY

Government agencies, like companies, have long range plans and budget cycles. Keep abreast with the latest developments in trade magazines and journals regarding government contracting trends within agencies to develop and market solutions for anticipated requirements.

Monitor agency web sites and forecasts. Be constantly aware of the annual federal budgeting cycle, its development progress in the executive branch and its approval status in Congress. Agencies push to commit excess funding late in the fiscal year and at the same time forecast their next year needs for submittal to higher authorities. In the 1 October to September 30 fiscal year cycle, July, August and September are prime marketing periods.

Watch SAM for sources sought notifications, requests for industry comments on draft RFP's and similar early indications of programs taking shape which will later be advertised in full solicitation. Go after them early enough to market and get them set aside for your small business designation and influence the development of the project with constructive input creating a presence in the eyes of the customer and prospective teaming partners.

MAKE PRUDENT BID/NO BID DECISIONS

Develop a good fit in your bid/no bid decisions. The only thing worse than losing a contract bid is winning it and performing poorly, creating negative past performance notations on your record. Know what your company can do and cannot do. Acquire skilled personnel through contingent hire agreements or incumbent work forces as you grow and carefully choose what you bid. For information on bid/no bid decisions and proposal preparation please see the following link:

Government Contracting Bid/No Bid and Proposal Preparation

EXPLORE SERVICE CONTRACTING AND TEAMING

Other than FAR Part 12 Commercial Contracting for off-the-shelf items, entry into federal government contracting for small business usually occurs through service contracting direct to an agency or teaming as a subcontractor with another firm for a major program. Even for commercial products, particularly new ones on the market, the best way to introduce your solution to a customer is to become involved in a service contact supporting the client's operations.

With regard to larger government contracting corporations to whom you could subcontract, cover the waterfront. Find out what they are bidding and aggressively market a piece of the action as a small business. Find the locations for the largest government contractors nearest you and register at their supplier business sites. Everything they buy for their facilities, their personnel and their operations counts toward the small business goals required contractually of them by their enormous government contracts.

Research their web sites and locate their small business liaison officers. Make appointments and visit them. While visiting, seek the names and titles of managers internal to their companies who manage prime contracts involving expertise your business can supply. Go after those managers.
Form teaming agreements early with good industry partners and begin to develop a winning message to the customer while he is defining his program. The following article provides further details on teaming:

Teaming in Small Business Contracting

OBTAIN A GSA SCHEDULE

The below link is an article on how to apply for and utilize a GSA schedule:

Achieving and Utilizing A GSA Schedule

There are 3 major challenges to going through the GSA schedule application process:

1. Finding an open solicitation that fits your product line

2. Establishing a good working relationship with the GSA Contracting Officer on the schedule solicitation and getting his/her assistance in working the system expediently.

3. Presenting viable, auditable cost history on what you have previously sold your products for to pass the cost/pricing audit portion of the process.

Most companies continue to bid work to the government through FAR Part 12, Commercial Contracting procedures or other contract vehicles discussed this web site while their GSA schedule application is pending. Please examine this site for articles on teaming, marketing, IDIQ contracts, negotiations, subcontracting and many others.

Remember there are thousands of companies out there going through the system, so you will have to be patient. Very few applicants get through it in any less than 6 months. A GSA Schedule is a very valuable item to achieve, but it takes time to do so and there are other forms of government contracting you can use while your application is in process.

DEVELOP A DYNAMIC CAPABILITY STATEMENT

A capability statement (CAPE) is an absolute necessity. It contains the specific information a contracting officer needs to place an order. This information includes such items as your D&B Number, your government registration numbers, your North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes and the like. These items are selected or provided by you or determined by the system when you register your company for government contracting.

Your electronic capability statement (CAPE) for government contracts should be short and hard-hitting. It should be 1or 2 pages and should highlight the salient points of your products and offerings, your personnel and your qualifications. Please see the following link for an example of a capability statement:

Your Capability Statement

WRITE RESPONSIVE PROPOSALS

Writing a winning proposal is an art form. It takes practice and the more proposals you prepare and submit the more artful you will be. You will find yourself utilizing the same materials over again on successive proposals. Management approaches, personnel profiles, win strategies and other major components of a good submission will fill your library and extend your CAPE to specific solutions for specific customers.

The following link contains guidance on writing effective proposals:

Proposal Preparation

SUMMARY

Your reputation as a reputable performer in the small business federal government contracting community is important. Be selective and high performing. Agencies, past performance data bases and other companies will be observing you, recording your performance and passing the word along to others directly and indirectly.

Then insure your web site, your capability statement and your marketing plans are maintained current alive and dynamically reflective of your successes as you pursue new business and carefully develop your library of past performance records by project with accessible profiles to use in your government proposals.

Please see the following link on meeting the past performance requirements challenge in federal government contracting:

The Past Performance Challenge


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Small to Feds is maintained by Ken Larson a Veteran of 2 tours - US Army Vietnam.

As a Volunteer Counselor, he assists many small businesses with their planning and operations processes.

Subsequent to his military service Ken spent over 30 years in federal government contract management and 10 years in small business consulting. He gets many inquiries from small companies wishing to enter or enhance their position in federal government contracting or grow their commercial enterprise. This site is intended to assist in answering those questions and others small businesses have in developing and operating a successful firm.

Those wishing a free counseling session may contact Ken at:

Ken Larson MicroMentor

ACHIEVING AND UTILIZING A GSA SCHEDULE

Update:  

The General Services Administration hit its [1 October 2019] deadline to consolidate 24 acquisition schedules into one set of terms and conditions for products and services.  GSA released the newly consolidated schedule solicitation on FedBizOpps. For further details please see:  GSA finishes schedule consolidation on deadline


I. INTRODUCTION

Your small business is established in the federal government contracting sector. You have become a member of the government contracting community by registering with System for Award Management (SAM). You have proposed, negotiated and have been awarded your first government contract(s) and have a successful past performance history with the government in selling your products and/or services.

On several occasions open solicitations or procurement activities have referenced a " GSA Schedule", as a qualification criteria or as a venue by which to buy items or services you can supply. This article will discuss the GSA schedule program, how to apply for and negotiate a schedule for your company and how to utilize it as a sales and marketing tool.

II. THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA)

From the GSA Web site:

Founded in 1949, GSA serves as a centralized procurement and property management agency for the federal government. GSA manages more than one-fourth of the government’s total procurement dollars and influences the management of billions in federal assets, including  government-owned or leased buildings and vehicles. GSA helps preserve our past and define our future, as a steward of historic properties, and as manager of USA.gov, the official portal to federal government information and services. GSA’s mission to provide superior workplaces, expert technology solutions, acquisition services, purchasing and E-Gov travel solutions and management policies, at best value, allows federal agencies to focus on their core missions.

GSA’s Disaster and Emergency Operations Vendor Profile form puts small businesses on the government’s radar so they do not miss out on federal contract opportunities in a time of disaster. Small businesses have use the online form to identify themselves.

Putting it simply the GSA is a federal government buying agency. It performs many buying-related activities which you can read about at the GSA Web Site:

GSA Home

GSA is empowered to accept procurement requirements from all other federal agencies, locate and source qualified bidders and negotiate pricing for supplies and services on behalf of the government. Although all federal agencies perform procurement themselves that is peculiar to their individual domains, a vast number of products and services, particularly those common among agencies, are procured by the GSA. Over the last 10 years the GSA has sought to establish economies of scale through volume buying.

III. THE GSA CONTRACTING PROCESS

To equitably compete and pre-position terms, conditions and pricing for supplies and services, the GSA divides what it procures among various commodities and services lists with generic schedule designators. The agency also assigns procurement contracting officers to each schedule who conduct regular open advertising against the schedules through solicitation. The schedule numbers and contracting officers are listed at the following web site:

GSA Selling Through Schedules

Each open solicitation for a generic schedule is published at the System for Award Management (SAM) SAM, the portal for all federal government solicitations. The open solicitations contain details, specifications, terms, conditions and pricing instructions for the specific items on the schedule. Contractors prepare proposals in response to the open solicitations and submit them to the schedule contracting officer. The proposals are audited and negotiated like any other federal procurement. The term of the negotiated schedule is usually multi-year and can be as long as 5 years in duration so being able to develop and hold your pricing for the period of performance is a key factor.

Upon completion of negotiation, a specific supplier is granted a company-unique schedule identifying number under the applicable generic GSA schedule. The pricing, terms, conditions and validity duration are set for the specific company and the schedule number is unique to the firm. The company schedule is then authorized by the GSA for publication on the web for use in subsequent proposals to government agencies. The company GSA schedule is listed at the GSA Advantage Web Site and becomes part of the data base which government buyers can search.

Granting a GSA schedule to a company does not constitute a sale of goods and services. It simply establishes the pricing and the contract vehicle for readily buying from that company by a federal agency. A GSA Schedule saves time and effort for the buyer and it can be presented by the seller at his web site as an expedient way to get under contract with a federal agency. The agency places the order through the GSA. The GSA adds a small fee to the price of an item or service which the contractor collects from buying agency and pays to the GSA. The fee funds continued GSA operations and services. Under competitive conditions, sellers are authorized to offer discounts from their GSA schedules in the proposals to prospective agencies. State governments are also allowed to buy off GSA schedules.

Federal agencies can put in place blanket purchase agreements (BPA's) through the GSA with specific companies for long term buying. GSA also conducts Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC's) for IT and other technologies. Recent examples of a GSA GWACS for large and small business are the Alliant and Alliant SB Programs.

IV. BASIC STEPS TO APPLYING FOR AND NEGOTIATING A GSA SCHEDULE:

A. Register Your Company at the System for Award Management (SAM) SAM.

If you are not familiar with this process please utilize for guidance the menu item at this site on registering your small business for federal government contracting: Government Contract Registration

B. Locate your Generic GSA Schedule:

Examine the major generic schedules listed and determine the best match for the products and services your company offers. Note the name and contact information for the contracting officer designated for the schedule. Carefully review the solicitation completely and determine that you can comply with the specifications, terms and conditions and requirements in the document.

C. Contact the Schedule Contracting Officer with Your Statement of Intent and a Concise Capabilities Statement

This is where the marketing phase of the process begins. It is best to contact the contracting officer with a statement of capabilities (CAPE). Capabilities Statement Your CAPE should be brief, concise and electronic. It should highlight the information in IV.A. above and the management, technical and past performance elements of your products and services. Establish by letter (preferably electronic by email) your intent to submit a proposal for a GSA schedule to the contracting officer. Also confirm your anticipated proposal delivery date by telephone if possible and confirm by email. Highlight your CAPE as a qualification criterion for a company schedule award under the generic schedule you are proposing against.

D. Carefully Prepare and Submit Your GSA Schedule Proposal

Respond to each requirement carefully and in the order presented in the open solicitation. Pay particular attention to the requirements for cost and pricing data presentation. Utilize for guidance the menu items on proposal preparation and negotiation at this site. Understand that your proposal may be audited, particularly for previous pricing history related to your products and services. The contracting officer may negotiate with you the final pricing make-up of your products and services based on audit results and history. Since GSA schedules are in the public domain it is worthwhile to examine the reports available through the GSA web site on previous awards for the same or similar products or services. In addition, most companies who have GSA schedules post them at their web sites so you can get some insights into competitor pricing by looking at the fully loaded rates and their respective escalation from year to year by going to the sites and analyzing the rates located there.

E. Schedule Award

When you are awarded your GSA Schedule it should be prominently displayed at your web site and contained in your marketing literature. You can offer it to prospective federal and state customers and you can discount from it under competitive conditions. Please read the terms and conditions regarding required sales necessary on your schedule for it to remain in effect. Within a specified time frame it is necessary to have a designated dollar value of sales activity or your schedule will automatically become inactive.

Carefully follow the directions in your schedule contract for collecting the GSA fee from your agency customers as a function of pricing quotations and payment. The fee is calculated as a designated percentage over and above that which your schedule prices display. It must be collected by you as a function of your quotation to your customer.

SUMMARY

In addition to featuring your schedule prominently at your web site, your GSA rates should be included in your market literature and your schedule number should be included as a reference in your new business proposals. A GSA schedule permits a quick ordering process for your federal and state clients. In your dealings with prime contractors to which you aspire to subcontract you can reference your schedule as valid pricing which they can readily include in their proposals to government agencies. A GSA schedule facilitates teaming with other synergistic small companies in proposing large scale efforts.

Keep in mind that obtaining a GSA schedule does not guarantee new business will come to you. Very few companies await government agencies to find them by searching the GSA data base. Most small businesses actively market their schedule to targeted agencies as an expedient way to contract with them or as a qualification criterion for new business awards.

  

GSA Awards Contract To Replace Duns Number for Entity Validation In System For Award Management (SAM)

Image:  "Dun and Bradstreet"

"FEDSCOOP"

"Now, instead of the DUNS number, GSA, through Ernst and Young, will use a government-owned unique entity identifier called the SAM Managed Identifier (SAMMI) within SAM and GSA’s Integrated Award Environment. 

This eliminates issues with vendor lock-in associated with the government relying on a private company’s proprietary identifier."

___________________________________________________________________

"The government is moving to a new provider to validate and track its business with contractors and other parties.

The General Services Administration awarded a $41.75 million contract to Ernst and Young LLP for up to five years of entity validation services for the federal award process through GSA’s System for Award Management (SAM).

“Securing this five-year contract means that the federal government will have a safe, secure, and unified method for validating entities, while also simplifying the process for those who seek awards,” GSA Office of Systems Management Assistant Commissioner Judith Zawatsky said in a statement. “This award greatly improves the government’s ability to manage data and is an important step forward to competitively procuring entity validation services on behalf of the entire government award community.”

Ernst and Young will replace incumbent Dun & Bradstreet, which has provided the government entity validation through its Data Universal Numbering System, or DUNS number, for more than two decades. As GSA transitions to EY ‘s services, “the government will receive continued service from Dun & Bradstreet to maintain award reporting and data integrity,” the agency said in a release.

GSA has been exploring new options for entity validation for more than two years.  It issued a request for proposals late last year.

Watchdogs have championed the move away from the DUNS number system because of its proprietary nature.

D&B said in 2017 it hoped to continue its work with the federal government. “Dun & Bradstreet believes that our government partners will continue to find value in what we deliver to support the federal government across a multitude of missions"

GSA picks Ernst and Young to phase out the DUNS number