In order to become successful in government contracting, you need to spend time building relationships with government contracting officers, just as you would build relationships with any of your business’ other customers. If you are just getting started in government contracting, determining which government agencies may need your products or services, and making initial contacts to develop these relationships can be very intimidating! The Wyoming PTAC can provide your business with guidance through this process.
The first step is to do your homework. Know your product or service, and then spend some time researching potential opportunities. FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov) is the government-wide point of entry for contract opportunities of $25,000 or more. It’s a great place to begin your research, and the Wyoming PTAC team can help you understand how to search this site effectively. You can use this site to do some market research and learn more about the requirements the government has. If you do this for a while, you will start to get a sense of which agencies buy the types of products or services that your business sells on a regular basis. This will help you narrow down your target market within the federal government to the two or three agencies that are perhaps most likely to buy your products or services. Then, you can focus your energy on establishing and building relationships with the small business specialists and contracting officers at these agencies. Focusing on just a few agencies to begin with will help your efforts to develop these relationships have more impact.
How do you take the first step to meet contracting officers? One strategy is that you can try calling the small business specialist (their contact information is often available on agency web sites), indicate that you are the owner of a small business, ask if they have time to talk for 5 minutes or would prefer to schedule an appointment. If they are willing to give you a few minutes of their time, go ahead and describe the type of product or service your business provides, in 20 seconds or less (your “elevator pitch”). Then ask them to provide you with some information about what they anticipate their needs to be during the next year, and whether your business might be a god fit for any of these opportunities. Although this may seem like the time to sell your business and do all the talking, it is better to do more listening, and focus on the contracting officer’s mission and what you are going to do to meet their objectives. Thank the person for their time. You can also follow up by sending a brief note thanking them for taking the time to talk with you. Include your business card, and also perhaps a brief, one-page capabilities statement for your business. Don’t include anything more unless the person has requested it.
Another great opportunity to meet contracting officers in person is at the annual match-making conference sponsored by Senator Enzi and the Wyoming PTAC. Each year, representatives from more than 40 state and federal agencies are invited, and spend two days meeting one-on-one with Wyoming firms interested in doing business with them. It’s a great way to spend some time talking with contracting officers at a time they have specifically reserved for reaching out to small businesses, and your conversation can begin the same way a telephone call to a small business specialist might. The 2010 Annual GRO-Biz Conference will be held on February 16th-18th at the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie WY. If you’ve been trying to develop a relationship with a particular small business specialist, and would like us to make sure they are invited to attend our conference, please just let us know!
If you are already working on a contract, make sure you are communicating with the contracting officer or designated member of the contracting team on a regular basis. Not only will this help you to strengthen your relationship with the acquisition team, it will provide you with regular opportunities to check in regarding your progress on the contract to make sure they are fully satisfied with your performance. If they attend our conference, make sure to attend, and take a few minutes to visit with them in person. This can be a really great way to reinforce and strengthen the relationship.
For more information on the GRO-Biz Conference, or free and confidential one-on-one assistance in identifying government agencies and contacts that may be a good fit for your business, please contact the Wyoming PTAC at 1-866-253-3300 or nstahla1@uwyo.edu .
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