GovCon Geek Squadcast

GovCon Geek Squadcast in information and insights for the doers and the decision makers driving growth in government contracting.

What's this all about? Our industry has become too dependent on data manufactured by others who are not our Customer or Buyer. It's made us complacent and we've lost or not even developed some of the skills we need for situations like, the power going out! I'm having a little fun in this short segment, but I'm still speaking the truth!

Peace,

Go-To-Guy

Market Research done by federal agencies as Requests for Information (RFI) is not a good use of time and money, for Government of Industry.

Consider this. How much of the information generated by companies in responding to federal agency market research, will be repeated once the actual solicitation is issued? That's part of the inefficiency that adds to the time and cost of pursuing federal work, unnecessarily. If you're a Doer or Decision-Maker, you don't want to miss this episode of the Squadcast.

Welcome to the GovCon Geek Squadcast where we share information and insights for the Doers and Decision-Makers driving growth in Government Contracting.

Do you know what a MAC is in federal contracting? It's a Multiple-Award Contract (or Agreement) where companies compete for an award that has no work and no money, so they can compete in a more select pool of companies, to win work and money. You may have heard about the recent awards of the GSA STARS III GWAC where the tally of awardees is now over 1,000 companies. How many of these companies will win meaningful business? Many of us in the business have experienced being part of the 20% that win 80% of the business, and sadly, we've also been part of the 80% who will win 20% of the business.

This and forthcoming episodes looks at besting the 80/20 Rule! Enjoy!

No matter if you use a spreadsheet or web-based app, a sales pipeline should be intuitive and constructed to optimize time spent working on opportunities, versus managing the process of working on opportunities.

The GovCon Geek Squadcast is information and insights for Doers and Decision-Makers Driving Growth in Government Contracting.

Winning a major contract vehicle in Government Contracting can be like making it to the Super Bowl. Think about it. You work hard and prepare for that moment, and are exhilarated when it happens. But now, you have to do it all over again because the score is 0-0. This is for the recent winners of the GSA STARS III GWAC!

One of the key challenges companies and their people are faced with in Government Contracting, is new stuff. New words, new processes, new rules and new resources. Without some background to understand what is used where and why it matters, it can be a long and arduous journey. That's why I'm letting you in on a not-so-secret secret in this Squadcast. Enjoy!

One sure way to reduce your level of effort and increase productivity in Business Development is understanding the language being spoken by your peers and customers. Understanding the Awards and IDVs used by agencies will provide you clarity on what you can and cannot pursue, and how often your customers buy what you sell a certain way. This one is well worth your while.

How many Contracting Offices within the same agency or department, buy what you sell? Quite a few companies have their "one" and fail to know there are others. Where does your Contracting Office rank in spending compared to other offices in the same agency? What other Contracting Offices service your customer? Wait, you didn't know they were two-timing (or three-timing or more) on you? Listen up.

Here's the skinny. Business Development is not a wandering, aimless activity that companies invest in for no return. It's a process-driven discipline responsible for business growth. As a process, this means there are definite point of starting and stopping. Do you know how much information you need between start and stop? Let me rephrase this. Do you know how many dots you need to connect from finding and opportunity to winning it? If so, What's Your Number?

I'm going to mince words with you to help you make a choice. The choice is not about one versus the other, but at what time and how much time you allocate to nurturing a relationship and growing your business. Here's the mincing. What makes someone your Customer in Government Contracting? What makes them your Buyer? My real question is, does it matter to you?

Have you ever heard (or said) the phrase, "Getting ahead of an opportunity?" What does it take to achieve that? My thoughts are, you need to know where an opportunity starts in order to get ahead of it. Right? Let's air this out for a few minutes and you tell me your thoughts, too!