The federal marketplace is very large with over $400B per year in spending. This market is far too large for any business to attempt selling everywhere. Therefore, I recommend focusing on one to two federal agencies, and obtaining contracting vehicles that give your firm an advantage over other small businesses.
GSA Schedule Creates Market Share Advantage
Over 330K small businesses are registered to do business with the federal government. Roughly only 12K of these small businesses have obtained a GSA Schedule. Let’s compare the average sales results for these two federal small business categories. See the table below:
Small Business Type |
Federal Sales |
Number of Firms |
Average Sales |
Market Share vs. Large Business |
GSA Schedule Holders |
$14B |
12K |
$1.17MM |
40.4% |
Small Business – non GSA Schedule Holders |
$90B |
331K |
$272K |
20.3% |
The small business GSA Schedule Holders have over 4X more sales ($1.17MM vs $272K) than non-schedule holders. Additionally, utilizing a GSA Schedule makes small businesses 2x as competitive against large businesses. GSA Schedule 40.4% vs Non-GSA Schedule 20.3%.
What Industries Does a GSA Schedule Provide the Greatest Advantage?
Below is the listing of what percentage of the market small business GSA Schedule Holders obtain compared with their large business counterparts.
Industry |
Small Business Percentage |
Leasing of Automobiles and Light Trucks |
100.0% |
Temporary Administrative and Professional Staffing Services |
99.9% |
Shipping, Packaging and Packaging Supplies |
93.7% |
Photographic Equipment |
91.3% |
Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) - Office Supplies (OS3) |
82.3% |
Sports, Promotional, Outdoor, Recreation, Trophies, and Signs (Sports) |
78.4% |
Furnishing and Floor Coverings |
76.1% |
Automotive Superstore |
74.1% |
Comprehensive Furniture Management Services (CFMS) |
72.0% |
Food Service, Hospitality, Cleaning, Equipment and Supplies, Chemicals and Services |
70.5% |
Building and Building Materials/Industrial Services and Supplies |
67.5% |
Office Products/Supplies and Services and New Product/Technology |
62.6% |
Facilities Maintenance and Management |
53.3% |
Furniture |
50.2% |
Total Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire, Rescue, Clothing, Marine Craft, and Emergency/Disaster Response |
46.6% |
Hardware Superstore |
45.9% |
Scientific Equipment and Services |
40.9% |
The Professional Services Schedule (PSS)* |
39.7% |
General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software and Services* |
39.3% |
Human Capital Management and Administrative Support Services |
37.9% |
Transportation, Delivery, and Relocation Solutions |
32.9% |
Professional Audio/Video Telemetry/Tracking, Recording/Reproducing and Signal Data Solutions |
31.4% |
Publication Media |
26.6% |
The Office, Imaging and Document Solution |
17.2% |
Travel Services Solutions |
12.5% |
Average |
40.4% |
*Denotes large spending categories.
A GSA Schedule provides a gateway for small businesses to better compete in the federal marketplace by “shrinking it” so they can more effectively compete.
If your firm would like to determine the potential federal market size of your product or service, I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as Advance GSA. Furthermore, they can quickly assess the impact a GSA Schedule could provide your small business. They can be reached at (303)810-4580, and do not charge for an initial consultation.
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