When launching a business into a new market, it is often said that making your first profitable sale is the most challenging. Many people I talk with will tell me that they registered on SAM.gov and filled out their firm’s capability statement. I liken this to being allowed to sit at a poker table without any chips, with a registration in SAM.gov, you’re sitting at the table but you’re not really in the game.    

Getting your first federal contract is going to be more challenging than registering on SAM.gov, but when following a correct path, it can become a reality. The most proven strategy is to obtain a GSA Schedule Contract which has several advantages over almost every other way of breaking into federal contracting.  

Why GSA Schedules Work and a SAM.gov Registration Does Not Work Alone:

1. Federal buyers can purchase directly from GSA Schedules without additional price justification. They cannot do this from SAM.gov.
2. Federal buyers use GSA Schedules for market research, which are appropriately categorized. There is no way for them to do this in SAM.gov.
3. GSA Schedules limit competition from hundreds of thousands of firms on SAM.gov to twelve thousand.
4. GSA Schedule holders are pre-vetted, saving federal buyers the time it takes to call references. Any firm can obtain a SAM.gov registration.
5. GSA Schedules can contain better solutions than the contracting officer imagined through GSA Hallways, which shares solutions amongst federal buyers. Once again this is far more advanced than just a SAM.gov registration.  
6. These advantages translate into an approximate fourfold increase in sales for GSA Schedule Holders in the federal contracting space when compared to their counterparts.

Additional GSA Schedule Benefits:

1. GSA Schedule Holders can offer unique products or services. An example could be a new tool or piece of computer hardware that only your firm makes.
2. GSA Schedules are often the first step to obtaining positions on large Government Wide-Acquisitions Contracts (GWAC), or Agency Specific Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contracts (IDIQ).
3. GSA eBuy allows for federal buyers to put one off RFPs out to see if GSA Schedule Holders are interested in bidding.
4. GSA Schedule holders can add new and additional products to their schedule through the GSA Modification process.

GSA Schedules are simply a far more effective way to obtain federal sales than SAM.gov. If you need assistance with assessing your firm’s potential for getting on GSA Schedule, or would like help with the process of obtaining a GSA Schedule, I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as Advance GSA. They do not charge for an initial consultation.