Written by Nancy Dahlberg on April 22, 2019

If you are a small business that has determined federal contracting may be right for you and you have identified some potential contracts to pursue, you need put your best foot forward to get in the door.

By now we hope you have read our two previous posts about whether federal contracting is right for your business and on researching contracting opportunities.  If it is time to get your foot in the door, many of these tips will also be helpful if you are going after state or local government contracting opportunities also.

Each federal agency has a small business office (OSDBU) to ensure agencies fools small business rules and regulations – they are not buyers but should be your first stop at an agency. Brian Van Hook, associate director of the Florida SBDC at FIU, the small business development center within FIU’s College of Business, recommends already having completed your SAM registration and having three opportunities in hand as well as your financial plan. Ask the OSDBU for an email introduction to the Contracting Officer. Ask the Contracting Officer for a capability briefing and schedule monthly marketing outreaches. Program Managers also have agency knowledge and may be able to offer value to the solution you are offering to the agency.

Be proactive in marketing your products or services, says Luis Batista, a Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center consultant who specializes in government contracting. While your ability to respond to opportunities will depend on what opportunities are available via solicitations, Batista says “proactively” marketing your products or services to Contracting Officers (where appropriate), user departments, Primes and other government contractors will be critical to your success.

One example of this would be to reach out to vendors being awarded large contracts in your area of work for subcontracting opportunities, Batista said. Another example might be to reach out to large Primes within your area of work, which you can identify via USASpending.gov.

“The takeaway here is that while you are not responding to solicitations you should be networking,” says Batista.

And about putting your best foot forward?

• Make a good first impression. Be professional (including using an email address affiliated with your website – no yahoo or Gmail accounts) and triple check for typos.
• Make sure your company website is updated and typo-free.
• Know your company’s sweet spot and lead with you and your company’s expertise and experience. Emphasize your ability to mitigate risk and overcome obstacles.

And as a quick review, Althea Harris, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s assistant district director for Marketing and Outreach Area 1 (Miami), adds this advice as you are developing your contracting strategy and considering opportunties:

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) can provide no-cost assistance to small businesses looking to compete for government contracts, including through its BidMatch program. You can locate the PTAC closest to you at the Association for Procurement Technical Assistance Centers Website: http://www.aptac-us.org/contracting-assistance

Written by Nancy Dahlberg on October 30, 2018

Winning a government contract can be very rewarding, but getting there is an extremely complex process, especially if you’re not prepared beforehand.

Luis Batista, a Procurement Technical Assistance Center consultant who specializes in government contracting, helps businesses assess whether they are ready for government contracting by looking at five key areas of a business. They are:

1. Past Performance. Past performance, defined by the accumulation of work completed by a business with customers in the public and private sectors, is an essential component in determining a firm’s readiness for government contracting because it is a quantifiable metric, like revenue or years in business. Equally important, many government proposal requests utilize past performance as an evaluation criteria. Therefore, the more relevant past performance a firm has, the more ready they are for government contracting. Typically, the government requires two years of steady past performance.
2. Strong Financials. Strong financials are defined by positive cash flow and year-over-year increases in revenue.  Therefore, the stronger the financials a firm has, the more ready they are for government contracting.
3. Access to Capital. The more access to capital a firm has, the more ready they are for government contracting. Is your company able to access a line of credit or capital in order to support the costs to perform on a contract?
4. Strategic Partnerships. These are the professional relationships maintained by a business with other businesses that offer the same or complementary services in order to support their pursuit of government contracts or performance on government contracts. Therefore, the more strategic partnerships a firm has, the more ready they are for government contracting. In Batista’s experience, the most effective method for identifying and creating business relationships is by attending outreach events and networking events.
5. An Orderly Office or Operations. A business with an orderly office is efficiently operated in terms of its administrative, operational and accounting activities, making it better able to perform as a government contractor.

Now that you have a better understanding of what is required to be ready for government contracting, ask yourself: Are you ready?

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) can provide no-cost assistance to small businesses looking to compete for government contracts. You can locate the PTAC closest to you at the Association for Procurement Technical Assistance Centers Website:  http://www.aptac-us.org/contracting-assistance

Social rules and etiquette are changing as quickly as technology changes. Keeping up with social etiquette is vital as you want to make the right first impression.

In the past, you’d exchange business cards with a new contact during the initial introductions sealed with a friendly handshake.  However, times have changed.

Let’s think about the use of business cards for your next PTAC networking event.

1. Do not expect your business card to speak for you. Instead, project yourself as the leader of your company without being pretentious.
2. Don’t rush to hand out your business card – especially to someone you’ve just met. This action can make people feel you’re desperate to sell to them, particularly if you’re networking at a conference.
3. Giving out 100 business cards does not mean you’ve made 100 contacts. In fact, you may have lost many of those potential contacts. Wait until there is a reason to give your card and ask for the other individual’s card at the same time. This will help to establish the beginning of the relationship. Agree to the method of follow up (phone call, email, or meeting) and make sure you honor the commitment.
4. Keep your cards in a cardholder to ensure they look neat and are easy to retrieve.  Such remarks as “Sorry, it’s wrinkled,” “It’s the last one I have,” and “Let me clean that little bit of gum off of it” do not represent you or your company well.

Did you know your PTAC consultant can help you review your marketing content such as Capability Statements, business cards, and your website?  Before you go to a tradeshow, it’s a good idea to schedule a marketing review meeting with your consultant well before the event. This will provide you with enough time to act on their suggestions, make edits, and have all your marketing collateral ready to go in time for your next networking event. And remember, your PTAC classes are not only a source of valuable information but also an opportunity to work on your marketing skills with other PTAC clients in a safe environment.