Federal Government Contracting:. The Trials and Tribulations of Pursuing and Getting Awarded Federal Contracts

What We Will Discuss Today  The World of Federal Contracting  Noted Challenges  Teaming Strategies  Lessons Learned  Resources  Q&A 2

Session Objectives and Key Takeaways  Understand the nature of the federal market  Determine how to gain entry into the federal contracting marketplace  Learn how the federal marketplace differs from the commercial marketplace  Consider what not to do  Learn who you can turn to for advice 3

Audience Check Are you in the federal marketplace currently? Are you considering federal contracting? Why? What issues are you encountering? 4

Putting the World of Federal Contracting into Perspective  U.S. government market represents nearly 50% of GDP and is comprised of nearly 90,000 separate governmental entities. (Courtesy of Onvia Government Contract Tracking Firm)  U.S. government market buys every legitimate business product and service imaginable and spends more than $600 billion annually. (Courtesy of Selling to the Government by Mark Amtower)  When state, local and education markets are added in, we are approaching $2 trillion in spending. (Courtesy of Selling to the Government by Mark Amtower) 5

Putting the World of Federal Contracting into Perspective (cont’d) Federal Government Strategic Agency Targeting Marketing and Networking Focused Procurement and Tracking Effective Partnering 6

The Noted Challenges of Federal Contracting  Maneuvering through the contracting maze.  Gaining an understanding of this market and how it differs from the outside world.  Dealing with rules that differ from agency to agency.  Dealing with endless acronyms and people who play by their own rules.  Knowing key agency players/businesses with past performances.  Forming effective relationships that actually stick. 7

How to Approach this Market 8

Lessons Learned  Evaluate strategically if this is the right market for you  Determine how this market fits with your short and long- term company objectives  Know your niche and how it fits with what the government will buy  Evaluate socio-economic options that align with your strategy (certifications, etc.) and pursue  Seek key primes and team appropriately so it is a win-win 9

Federal Contracting Teaming Strategies 10

A Final Reality Check ProsCons  Government Contracting can be Lucrative  Don’t Expect to Make One Contact and Get a Contract  Building Agency Relationships Can Eventually Pay Off  Sales Cycle is Long and is not the Same as in the Commercial Market  Working with Specific Agencies Within Your Niche is Key  Agency Representatives Are Slow to Respond  Leverage Support Resources (PTAC, SBA, SBDC, etc.)  Everyone Wants You to Get Into Their Database  Subcontracting with Primes is a Great Starting Point  You May Not See a Contract for Quite Some Time  Create Capability Statements that Align with Government requirements and potential opportunities  Agencies Want Tailored Marketing Collateral Materials 11

Words to the Wise  Manage your expectations” - Guy Timberlake, ASBC  “Be realistic about the time it takes to grow the government contracting side” – Can you wait months!? – Courtney Fairchild, Global Services, Inc.  “Sweat the small stuff” – RFPs are a dense piece of work – Michael Balsam, Onvia  Have a well thought out strategy and well-defined value proposition” – Bob Lohfeld, Lohfeld Consulting 12

Valuable and Recommended Resources  The Small Business Administration  Your local PTAC, SBDC and Women’s Business Center  The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSBDU)  Vendor Fairs (for your targeted agencies)  Federal News Radio  The American Small Business Coalition (ASBC) 13

Contact Information  Elena Yearly EMY Consulting LLC E: P: (703)