This is the third in a series of articles on how technology companies, startups and mature, can create and implement a Federal business strategy to win Federal contracts. This is not for the classic GovCon that’s been in the game a while but for those commercially successful and coming firms that believe that have a saleable product or service that Uncle Sam will want.
The Federal Business Starter Kit
If you’re going to pursue a Federal business strategy in any serious way, you must have a few basic tools to engage and get noticed. Technology companies spend tens of thousands (minimally) on automated marketing platforms like HubSpot, SEO, PPC campaigns and more. The Government space can be a little different, although those tools will work as well. Here are the necessary things that your internal or partner Federal Business Development team will need to start that conversation and execute an effective BD campaign.
Capabilities Brief
Otherwise known as a 1-sheet, this is a single page, marketing brief that tells about your company and technology capabilities for getting directly into the hands of both Federal agency contacts as well as teaming partners. It has examples of past Government clientele (if you have them), contract vehicles you’re on, demographic information important to the Federal Government like NAICS codes and D&B number, any distinguishing things of importance (think DoD clearances, CMMI III and ISO 9000 certifications), and your overview of what you bring to the table. The latter is why I recommend Capabilities Briefs, with an S. You should have variations on your base brief for every major agency you pursue, aligning the solution to that agency’s specific mission need(s). I talked about an agency-specific UVP before, and this is an extension of that thinking for your Federal business strategy.
Contract Access
One of the questions that your favorite Federal Government prospect will ask you that gets you to squirming if you’re new to the space or a small business is, “So, how do I get to you?” This is Govspeak for how they buy from you. You need to be able to answer that question to implement your Federal business strategy.
In most cases, Federal Contract Officers simply can’t scribble out a check made payable to you; they have to pay you with a Contract Vehicle. To wit, there are dozens of large CVs and even more small, agency-specific or even job- specific vehicles that companies vie for and win a position on. This article isn’t about those and you can read entire books on this subject. Suffice it to say that some of the larger CVs (known as GWACs or Government Wide Acquisition Contracts) can be very expensive and time consuming to win access to, and that’s money and time that many small businesses don’t have and that even well-financed technology startups don’t have the patience for.
A more affordable option for contractors that usually helps is getting your company on one or more GSA (General Services Agency) contracts. This isn’t FedTrax’s business, but there are numerous consulting firms out there who can affordably help here like my friends at Jennifer Schaus Associates, etc. For products like software, there are other companies that, for a fee or percentage of future deals, provide access to CVs across multiple agencies to help the Government buy products. The immixGroup and Carahsoft come to mind. The third option is your teaming partners—large or small Government Contractors that have access to numerous contracts. Understand that for technical services, this generally puts the teaming partner in the position of Prime Contractor and your business as a sub-Contractor. In this case, a certain percentage of the work, perhaps as high as 51%, needs to go to the prime. You’re relinquishing a significant part of the business and revenue in exchange for use of that CV.
Federal Government Website Page
Everyone has a website, and for most technology-driven firms it is likely a pretty good one. If you’re going to target the US Government, you need to have at a minimum a customer page that is focused on the Feds (i.e. abc.com/federal). Some companies will have an entire site created (abcfederal.com). What needs to be on here? See the section on Capabilities Briefs. Include links to any and all content that you have created for the Federal audience in the way of blog posts, whitepapers, studies, etc. The Government takes you more seriously if you show them that, yes, you are a specific market focus for our business.
Federal Database Access
These are the sites that you can use to research Federal opportunities and forecasts, and there are many. You can take advantage of free, Government run sites like Federal Business Opportunities and the Federal Procurement Data System. There are also paid market intelligence tools that add analytics and advanced research capabilities at varying costs and complexities. Some of the popular ones are GovWin, EZGovOpps, and Repperio. These tools use data from the Government sites and others mashed up into a more meaningful picture to save you research time and energy.
Solid Technology Demo
Since this piece is written for innovative technology companies by and large, the last thing you need in your bag of tricks is a solid, configurable demo to show interested buyers and technical people at target agencies. Configurable refers to the ability to tailor it to an agency using its logo and speaking to its mission. This personalizes things for the agency to better visualize what it might look like to use your solution.
If you’re a services company, substitute relevant, similar case studies of prior work in your agency-focused pitch deck.
Federal Business Strategy-Armed for Success
It sounds like a lot but it isn’t, or shouldn’t be. You would not go to war without weapons, and you don’t wade into the Federal marketplace without a plan and the tools for credibility. If you have gotten this far, you know where you fit into the Federal picture, have a specific value proposition(s) and a plan, and now have your Technology Market Tool Box to start attacking Federal business opportunities in earnest.
