There are over 60 federal agencies that employ in excess of 2MM civil employees. Knowing who to call in the federal marketplace can be a daunting task. Whether you have an 8(a) Certification and/or are on GSA Schedule, or are looking to explore the potential in one or both of them, there are certainly best practices when looking to get connected in the federal marketplace.

Have them come to you – Listing in GSA Advantage
Because of this, some small businesses with unique service offerings obtain GSA Schedule Contracts knowing that is where federal Contracting Officers will go to do market research. This can be a good strategy, but these federal contractors are only being discovered by happenchance. For those with a more proactive business development strategy, this is likely not enough to ensure your success.

Developing a Focus
Example:  An IT firm that specializes in Cloud Programming is seeking initial contracts close to their headquarters in California. What are the considerations or how should I select my target market?

If transit is a consideration then the firm should limit themselves to agencies that have offices in the State of California. This would minimize costs while the firm got its feet wet. But for firms wanting to be more aggressive, a broader geographical region can be chosen. I would also recommend that the firm focus on three agencies and work to target their marketing towards those agencies as well.

In the state of California, the number of Federal Contracting Officers that have inked a deal in the past 2 years in this NAICS code of 541511 is 426. There were 12 active agencies for Cloud Computing:  Department of Homeland Security, DoD (Army, Air Force), NASA, U.S. Courts, DEA, and the Defense Health Agency to name a few. Therefore, the firm should target agencies they feel they have the best opportunity in which to succeed.

Narrowing In
If the firm was to focus on Homeland Security, U.S. Courts and the DEA, it could build a nice federal law enforcement niche. This would limit the number of contracting officers they needed to follow-up with on a continuous basis to around 25-40. Building these relationships would eventually lead to a trial run with one of the agencies, and good performance would lead to more work down the road.

My Solution
Therefore, I am of the opinion that small businesses should consider low-cost federal list building services in order to begin the process of fostering relationships with the right people within the federal government.

I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as ez8a or Fedvital should you need assistance making sure you are properly preparing your business for federal contracting. ez8a is a full-service consulting operation that can take your firm from the certification process through list building, proposal preparation and your annual review. Fedvital focuses on list building and follow up. Either are invaluable, and their initial consultation is free of charge for both.