You'll Go Out Of Business Waiting for the Federal Government to Call You First
By Eileen Kent
Originally printed in the Feb/Mar issue of Minorities and Women in Business
Many companies are under the mistaken impression that once they receive their GSA Schedule contract number and publish their government price list at www.GSAAdvantage.gov, the phone will ring off the hook. “This is probably the number one misconception held by most new GSA Schedule holders,” says Richard White, President and found of Fedmarket.com. Fedmarket.com is an invaluable website that offers a wide variety of marketing and sales resources for companies entering the federal marketplace.
Among Fedmarket’s offerings are daily and weekly newsletters, articles, seminars, consulting services and products such as federal buyer lists and other “roadmaps.”
“A GSA Schedule is only one of about 3,000 Multiple Award Schedules available to federal buyers. Such buyers must follow the Federal Acquisition Regulation which states buyers must procure three bids from MAS contractors and they can make the purchase, rather than go through the painful public bid route,” White said. “But,” he says “the GSA schedule is the only MAS contract available to all federal agencies.”
While it can take a company as long as 12 months to go through the price negotiation and application process with GSA, many believe that they can’t sell to the government until they’re “approved by GSA” and, one approved, they believe that all they have to do is wait for the phone to ring. “Those companies will fail at the government sales game,” says White.
“Some people have told me they received random calls from the government for quotes and mentioned that their products or services were listed at GAS Advantage, but most businesses end up losing the bid,” he said. “Remember, the government agency needs to get three bids. Therefore, the buyer and end user develop a trust relationship with one GSA schedule holder and call two others to submit their bids in a hurry. Who wins? The business with the relationship.”
According to Mr. White, such phone calls or eBUY emails are called “blind bids.” So how does a company win government business?
“A focused, persistent sales effort. No marketing, no mailings… only cold calls and handshakes will do,” says White. “Selling to the government is a contact sport and if a company is not willing to send at least one resource to get the business, there’s no point in going after the government business.”
“Agencies don’t buy from companies. People buy from people,” he said. “If you have your GSA schedule, it is a closing mechanism for use after you’ve established the trust relationship with the end user, developed the scope of Work and tied in your best values. All the buyer has to do at that point is get three bids to fill the file and PO is written with your name on it.”
I suggest that you create a three-step approach once your GSA prices are published at GSA Advantage:
- Hire and aggressive sales executive and give them the title of GSA National Sales Manager or something similarly strong to help them get in the door.
- Focus your efforts on three agencies and dig deep. Sprinkling the entire federal government with mailings or peppering with calls won’t do it. You need to get feet on the street and in front of the customer. Therefore, only three agencies should be your focus for now.
- Deliver perfectly every time and your business will grow because federal employees share their outstanding vendors with other agencies.
Eileen Kent is the director of the Federal Sales Academy in Bethesda, MD and a federal contractor. As Fedmarket's Traveling Seminar Leader, Eillen shares her expertise and experiences monthly in Bethesda and in various locations across the country. Whether the topic is GSA Schedules, Proposal Writing or entry and advanced classes in federal sales, Eileen will motivate and inspire you to sucess.
Eileen can be reached by telephone: 312-636-5381, or via E-Mail:eileenkent@earthlink.net
