This is the 2nd of a 2-part series on competitive contractor advantage with a focus on becoming a more compelling Teaming Partner to Integrators large and small in the Federal marketplace. I know, it’s been a long time coming, and I count my blessings on having a thriving business or I would have gotten to this months ago.
It’s no secret that for many smaller technology businesses or those new to the Federal government market, creating prime contract opportunities with the government is neither easy nor cheap. It can take many months if not years to develop the qualifications, certifications, and prime contract vehicle (GWAC or IDIQ) wins to give your company a solid shot at taking the lead on large contract awards. You have great technology chops and have done some really cool things, but getting noticed and, more importantly, getting trusted is difficult in the extreme. The answer, of course, is to get your company on a team as a subcontractor. Better to eat some of the cake than to fail to capture anything at all.
Finding Suitable Federal Teaming Partners
The challenge most small businesses have at the teaming partner dance is that they will dance with anyone that asks. You are different, because you choose your teaming partners discriminately like you are in search of a future husband or wife. This doesn’t mean you have to play hard to get (although that can help), it means that you focus on what you want and seek out those partners that fit the bill.
Focus on Your Strengths
Your business must know what Federal agencies you wish to work with, either expanding work you are already doing or matching their mission needs to those things your technology company does well. If your firm offers a significant capability in data collection, cleansing, interoperability, and dissemination, you may want to zero in on data-centric divisions of the armed forces that deal with Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR).
Research Teaming Partners that Match Target Agencies
This post isn’t going to tell you all the best ways to research Federal targets, that’s an article unto itself. Let’s just say, once you have your short list, find the prime contractors that have been winning in those markets. These are your Teaming Partner target prospects. Here’s what to do:
Go to GovWin or the free Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) and search on your target Federal agencies.
Pull up the large contractors by revenue that have been winning business in the past three years in each. This is your large company teaming partner target list.
Pull the top small businesses (such as 8A designated businesses) similarly, using filters to narrow by those categories. Now look, this is not a tutorial on these systems, and this will be tougher to do using FPDS, but this is what you want.
For the top 5 in each of #2 and #3, research what they have been winning and what they are focused on delivering. Each company website is an easy source for the latter.
Execute Your Teaming Partner Call Plan
Now you have your call list. Calling on these companies is not as simple as simply picking up the phone and asking for a date. You’re only going to get one shot at this, so you better have something these firms want, because they get bombarded a dozen times a week by hat-in-hand small business partners looking for business that offer nothing to distinguish them from each other. First you need to give them what they want.
Getting to the Top of the Teaming Partner Hot List
What do you think is the number one focus of your target list of Teaming Partners when it comes to Federal government business? All together now–WINNING MORE BUSINESS. Your approach should be focused solely on that, so the list below is what they want, in order of interest:
Deals
Give them a hot deal you are working on now in the agency they serve, or one tangentially related to it, a deal where you need a suitable Teaming Partner for their contract vehicle. They’re not shy or embarrassed and will happily take a percentage of your deal if you are bringing them the business.
Relationships
Tell them about significant relationships in their target agency (ies) that you have that they may not, selling them on the value of working with you
Check Boxes
Show them exactly how you fill a need that they have in order to win Federal contracts. In many cases, this amounts to your socio-economic designation (such as small, disadvantaged, veteran owned, etc.) that checks the subcontracting mandate box for large systems integrator teaming partners.
What You Really Bring to Teaming Partners
Highlight your key technological value add that extends their capability to answer the bell on more, larger, or different types of contracts. Notice #4 here is the first mention of what you actually do well. For instance, if the target of your interest has a nice footprint in defensive cyber security work and your firm is great on the offensive cyber front, that’s your lead in
The sad reality is that most small businesses start with number 4, and in reality, only get through half of it. They talk about what they do with no idea how it complements or helps the companies they want to persuade as teaming partners. This is why many small businesses lament failing attempts to woo teaming partners or the relationships they have after getting so named. If you execute with the focus on the other company, you can occasionally find yourself being added to and existing teaming partner roster for large contracts already won.
Generating Max Revenue from Federal Teaming Partners
Once you are on a certain prime contractor’s team for a large, potentially productive Federal contract, you now have a ticket to the dance along with 20 or so other would be dance partners. You can stare at that ticket for hours and not a single red cent will come out of it. It is an opportunity short list, but you haven’t won anything yet. For that you need to help your new teaming partner win task orders.
The key to victory is, be a great teaming partner. Here are the best ways, focusing on giving them what they want and need, to not only win but to be the preferred teaming option on the contract:
Speed of Response
Look, the reality is that if you are on a team, particularly with a large integrator as the teaming partner, you are filling a talent or capability category that is likely a few companies deep. The big integrators simply cannot afford to put all their eggs in one basket when they need a price quote or a solution to a problem for a proposal response. You separate yourself by taking things seriously and being lightning fast with responses to data calls generated by the prime. Let them know same day of inquiry if you can fulfill the request or not. If your teaming partner correctly understands your value, chances are you will be able to do the work. Now let them know the most aggressive date that you can deliver the information back to them and make that deadline or beat it. Often you will be given a target deadline. Hit it. This is simple stuff.
Proposal Content Creation
Prime contractors spend inordinate amounts of time and money responding to proposals. Generally, they are resigned to the fact that they need to keep the ask of their subcontractor pool small and manageable and that the bulk of the writing on the proposal response comes from them. What if you could offer to write out, at least in draft, the entire section that you are being asked about? That may mean the entire technical and management approach proportionate to the work you want to win. That saves your prime teaming partner a boatload of dough and heartache, and most subcontractors run from this known need. Show you’re serious and in it to win it and you will be given more chances to be the partner of choice.
Teaming Partner Negotiations
Don’t be difficult on price negotiations, whether when providing rates in the original Teaming Agreement or on a specific Statement of Work (SOW) on a given task order opportunity. This doesn’t mean you take it in the shorts and price with insufficient margin, it simply means agree upon the fair rates that are acceptable to your company and provide pricing that is straightforward and easy to understand.
Deliver the Goods
Notice how the previous three areas of being a great teaming partner dealt principally with the proposal effort required to win work. Want to keep getting short-listed and get more and more opportunities? Perform exceptionally on your part of the contract. Come in with your work on time, on budget (if not fixed) and providing a solution that solves the problem and then some. Under-promise and over-deliver on your contract performance and your little company will move up the ladder of trust with all your teaming partners. Keep that up and you might not be a small business for long.