By Lesa Adeboye
CEO, Alliance Group Inc.
Government contracting is a “learn as you go” endeavor – experience is key. With multiple government agency opportunities available, a multi-layered customer base to court, and volumes of contractual compliance and regulations to understand, achieving success in government contracting can seem difficult. Approaching close to two decades in the government contracting space, as a contracting officer, then small business owner, I have identified three best practices for successful government contracting.
Identify your niche. We have all heard the saying, “you can’t be everything to everybody”. This is true in the business of contracting. Imagine attending a trade show and you stop at a booth and ask the lady manning the booth what service/product her company provides. She tells you that she offers IT services, janitorial services, and corporate furnishing… What would be your immediate thought? It is important to define your core offering. It makes it easier for you to brand your organization in the marketplace and for potential clients to reference you in a specific space. When you started your business it was based on your specific expertise or passion. Develop that specific offering and stay focused on marketing it. If after time you add additional services or your services evolve into something else, plan how to effectively roll out that new or evolved offering. For example, I started my business, Alliance Group, Inc., providing contract administration support services, because this is was my expertise from my time in corporate America and it was what I had a passion for. After a few years in business, I discovered that there was a larger demand for proposal management support services. I had experience in preparing and reviewing proposals so I began to incorporate these services as part of my offerings and eventually made this my primary offering.
Target an agency/customer that buys what you sell. The number of US federal government agencies runs in the hundreds, many with their own buying organization. The federal government buys billions of dollars in products and services a year. Review the spending habits of the varied agencies to identify the organizations you want to target. Just as important, understand the agencies' mission. No one wants to do business with someone who has no idea what they do. If you are a small business a first step in gathering information is to contact the small business office, often known as the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) for the agency. Ask the small business utilization Officer what buys the agency makes from small business and make sure to follow-up by forwarding a company capability statement. Contacting the Contracts Office for the agency is also important. This organization has the sole authority to make purchases for the government. The Contracting Officer (CO) and/or Contracting Specialist can share the type of purchases the agency makes, and let you know when opportunities will be let for competition.
Build relationships. Once you have identified target agencies, begin building relationship with the small business office, contracting officers, and program/project managers. Easier said than done, I hear you saying! Building relationships is the cornerstone for success in winning opportunities. You will find that there are many firms with similar offering as your firm so it is important to differentiate yourself. You want the government customer to know who you are. Building relationships with customers is no different than building relationships under any other circumstance. You need to be where the customers are. Where do they have coffee or eat lunch? What places do they frequent after work? What organizations are they members of? Attend vendor opportunity events, agency forums and sessions – many are free and open to the public.
Do not limit contact to just government representatives; expand your network by getting to know other government contractors both large and small. Teaming to pursue opportunities is a great way to break into an agency. Once you build trust with other firms by working closely together, your team member may be open to introducing you to their customers. Finally, be friendly. Talk, and most importantly listen to people wherever you are. Your will be surprised who you meet by happenstance. Always be prepared with a business card, and ask for theirs. And most importantly, follow-up with a “nice to meet you” email within 24 hours of meeting.
Try this basic formula for three months and monitor the results. I am confident that you will increase your contacts and begin to see activity that will manifest into actual opportunities.
Contracting Best Practices
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