In Federal Contracting: Early Bird Gets the Worm

Looking for answers from the top about opportunities in the federal government? The Federal Sales Sherpa says, "The Early Bird Gets the Worm....especially if you want to reach your key decision makers, who are the end users needing your products and services to their customers, the stakeholders.

Federal employees are early risers. Many decision makers get into the office when it's quiet because they can get a lot more work done. Besides, many are military or retired military, so getting up at the crack of dawn - or before - is part of their DNA.

So, they like to work with - and talk to - other early birds because they believe that the early birds are the hard working, focused leaders - like themselves.

Besides calling and emailing your federal end user customers early in the day - between 7:00 and 9:00 am, you also want to be early in the decision process - well before an idea to work with you is even born.

What do I mean by early? In IT sales - if it were program management, new solutions or a complete overhaul like moving an agency to the cloud - early could mean two years -- or more. In furniture sales - it might mean six months before an agency starts to look at new real estate - or to reconfigure an entire floor. In hardware sales, it might mean two weeks.

Whatever your business - early means early in the game - and if you're early in the game, you'll reach the top decision maker and you'll get your answers.

So, how do you get into federal opportunities early?

Get in there now if you plan to work with them in 2015 and 2016. You can jump on the merry-go-round of federal sales at any point, but if you're trying to respond to proposals at the end of the fourth quarter (September) and you never heard of the opportunity before it hit the bid sites, there is no worm for you. It's too late.

But if you approach the government during their calmer times, October-April, they may just sit down with you and answer your questions - about what's coming up. Note that they may not have money to spend during this time, so they may be planning, but you want to be a part of those innovative conversations which FAR 15.201 encourages. In fact the clause starts with the words, "EARLY exchanges with industry, an essential part of the procurement process....."

Here are some great questions to get great answers early in the procurement process.

"I don't know if you're the right person, maybe you can point me in the right direction - I'm looking for the person who handles _______________ or needs _______________."

"I would like to discuss with you new innovations or a new source of supplies from (your company name) who is helping agencies save time and money within the rules by implementing (your solution/product) very quickly and easily. I would like to schedule a time where I can either present you with a whitepaper or our capabilities at your office or over a teleconference or webinar. How can we bring this information to you and your team?"

When you get their attention, key questions you need answered so you understand how they buy and from whom do they buy:

"Who are you currently buying this product/service from? How's it going? If you could change one thing about their processes in working with you, what would it be?"

"How are you buying it - GSA, IDIQ, BPA, BOA, 8a, SDVOSB, HubZone, Small Business WOSB?"

"Are they really good because we may consider partnering with them if they're that good. We only partner with the best."

"When do you predict you'll need more of these services/products down the line? Where will you post it? May I show you where you can find me on GSA, IDIQ, SBA, My Website? Here is my capabilities statement -- let me show you my past performance and best values. When can I visit with you and the team again? Here is my cell phone number - call anytime."

And because you need to continue to find new worms, ask:

"If you were me, who else would you call on at this agency, base, region or at other agencies....are there more people like you in this expertise area?"

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Eileen Kent is the Federal Sales Sherpa, and she helps companies one-on-one with finding some of these answers even before you call your potential federal clients so you can get to the agencies who buy what you sell -- without having to ask around. If you want the answers now - so you can catapult your federal sales actions ahead a year, contact Kent at 312-636-5381. Her "give" to new contractors is 18 hours of expertise on The Federal Sales Sherpa Show but when you're ready to hit the ground running, contact Kent about her three-step program built for early birds.

Photo Credit: "The Early Bird Gets the Worm" by Tahar Abroudjameur