1 Marketing To Achieve A Small Business Set Aside Contract Alliance South Conference Atlanta, GA

Dinora Gonzalez DG Federal Procurement Advisors, LLC...your connection to federal contracts DG Federal Procurement Advisors, LLC

Art Brown LeScott Enterprises, Inc DG Federal Procurement Advisors, LLC

4 Small Business Set Aside Contracting Program

5 Small Business Set Aside Programs* Small Business Set Asides are acquisitions reserved exclusively for participation by small business concerns. Procurements of $3,000 - $150,000 are automatically reserved for SBC unless the CO determines that there is no reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from at least two responsible SBC that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality and delivery. (Rule of Two ) *FAR Part 19.5

6 Small Business Set Aside Programs* If only one acceptable offer is received the contracting officer is REQUIRED to make an award to that firm. If no acceptable offers: CO can WITHDRAW the set aside and solicit on an unrestricted basis. There are no small business set asides for contracts $3000 or less. *FAR Part 19.5

7  There is no order of precedence among the 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB/EDWOSB Set Aside programs.  However, if a requirement has been accepted by SBA under the 8(a) Program, it must remain in the 8(a) Program unless SBA agrees to its release in accordance with 13 CFR 124, 125, and 126. FAR Part SBA’s “Parity” Programs

Small Business Program Parity 8a HUBZone WOSB/EDWOSB SDVOSB Small Business Unrestricted Competition over $150,000 8

9 Summary of Small Business Set Asides Small Business CategoryDefinition Procurement Method Eligibility & Dollar Thresholds FAR Reference Small Business Independently owned and operated, for profit, not dominant in its field according to NAICS Code Automatically set aside for procurements $3K - $150K Set aside based on “Rule of Two” if >$150K FAR 19.3, FAR (a) 51% owned and controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual, includes automatic SDB Certification Competitive: If > $4mil / $6.5 (Mfr) Sole Source: If < $4mil /$6.5. CO may accept – OR if only one source available that can perform. FAR 19.12, FAR 19.8 Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone Small Business 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, principal office located in HUBZone, 35% of employees must live in HUBZone Full & Open with a price evaluation preference of 10% Competitive: If > $4mil / $6.5 (Mfr) Sole Source: : If < $4mil /$6.5 OR if only one source available that can perform. FAR Service Disabled Veteran- Owned Small Business 51 % owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans Competitive: If > $3.5mil / $6 (Mfr) Sole source: If < $3.5mil / $6mil (Mfr). OR if only one source available that can perform. FAR Woman-Owned Small Business / EDWOSB 51% owned and controlled by one or more women / Economically Disadvantaged women Only eligible NAICS / NO Sole Source Competitive: If > $4mil / $6.5 (Mfr) FAR 19.15

Marketing Strategies for Pre Selling: Begin as early as possible Historical Information; Current contracts; Competitors; Use e-tools Relationship building with decision makers: “Interview” the Federal Client to find their procurement needs. 10

Get to know their situation and how you can assist them.  What purchasing vehicle(s) do you use  Who are they currently using?  What is your role at this agency?  What is the protocol at this agency? 11 Interviewing Your Federal Clients: Make the appointment all about them, not you!!

Make yourself Approachable!!! Properly registering on the central contractor registration (CCR) and Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) Adding and broadening their North American Classification System (NAICS) codes Exploring if they qualify for any other SBA's small business programs Look at contracting vehicles such as the GSA Schedule program. Consider teaming with other firms 12

Navigating the Internet to Identify Opportunities for Your Preference Certification Presented to: Alliance South April 17, 2012 EC Arthur L. Brown

Research Your Market to Find Answers To:  Who are my customers  Where are they located  What does/will make them by my product/service  What is my optimum selling price  What should my advertising/promotional message consist of  How do I get to them

How Search Engines Work  There are oodles of servers, billions of pages and a gazillion words and pictures on the Internet  The Web: Growing Exponentially  Best guess is somewhere over several trillion pages and growing by a billion pages daily

Search Tool Category Examples Search Engines Search Engines Google – Yahoo – MSN – Ask - Cuil - Bing - Directories Directories Reference USA - Thomas Register – Central Contractor Registry – r.govhttp:// r.gov Listing of International Search Engines Listing of International Search Engines

Market Research Methods  Primary Research  Provide online surveys, questionnaires, online focus groups  Study your traffic logs  Example:

Start by Defining Your Business Classification  North American Industrial Classification (NAICS) Code  Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code  Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number -  National Institute of Government Purchasing (NIGP) -

Market Research Methods (cont’)  Secondary Research Sources  Company Data  Industry Sources/Associations  Governmental Agencies  Universities/Libraries  Search Engines  Trade Journals  Investment Industry Analysis  Internet Analysis

Marketing Strategy Development GA marketing strategy is a target market and a related marketing mix GA target market is a similar group (market segment) of customers to whom you wish to appeal GA marketing mix consists of a group of controllable variables (product, place, promotion, price) which are put together to satisfy a target market

Historical Acquisitions Current Acquisitions Projected Acquisitions

Procurement Research Sources  Historical Purchases  E-Procurement Database –  Current Purchases  Fedbizopps -  Subnet - Subnet -  NECO -  Army Single Face to Industry -  Projections  Agency Procurement Forecasts -

Administrative Management Consulting Firms Located in Fulton County – NAICS

Sources to Identify Target Markets/Commercial  Build/Existing Contact Database  Access/Purchase Database  Reference USA   Thomas Register   Yellow Pages 

Management Consulting Firms Located in Fulton County

Banks Located in Fulton County identified as NAICS Code

"The past is history, the future a mystery, and the present is a gift. Spend it wisely."

SBA 8(a) contractor offering HR and Administrative Support Solutions DeVan C. Brown, President

SBA 8(a) Program I’m approved! Now what? Why isn’t my phone ringing? Does the 8(a) program work?

Questions? 57