The 5 People You Need to Meet, *Finale*

Final in a know-who series on people who can help you win government contracts.

The Program Manager (PM)

They have a lot of power, and can be hard to reach. The PM defines and controls spending priorities among activities. PMs care about how best to deliver the Agency mission, including how to define requirements to select the best vendors.

If you’ve established your credibility as a reputable problem-solver with the Small Business Specialist and the Contracting Officer, the Program Manager may be eager to hear about the details of your solution and your approach.

This meeting is your opportunity to learn, not pitch. You want to find out as much as you can about what his or her priorities are, and how you can contribute to solving the most important problems on the top of his or her list.

The Influencer

The Influencer could be a colleague, friend, writer, reporter, or blogger that the decision makers and players trust. They may be Program Managers or well-known innovators in the end-user community. They might be top professionals in the major prime contractors.

Why would they care about you? They need content! What can you bring them? They want to share hot stories – good and bad – about vendors, problems and solutions. Be sure they have yours!

Where do you meet them? In person, at events and conferences. And online – set up some Google Alerts; check out the groups on forums like LinkedIn and industry association web portals.

The End User

…is the front line employee or person in the battle space. She or he cares about getting the job done with the resources available. How will you make his job easier? How well do you understand his problems or constraints? Once you show you’re helpful, End Users can ask senior managers for support to try your solution.

See part 2 and part 3 of this series!

Or download Making the Most Of Your OSDBU Visit from my online tools.

The 5 People You Need to Meet, Part 3

Third in a know-who series on people who can help you win government contracts.

The Contracting Officer (CO)

The Contracting Officer (CO) manages the competition and contracting process, including publication of the solicitation, and has legal authority to sign your contract with the United States federal government. The CO’s job is on the line to ensure a legal, fair & proper process selects the right vendors for the job.

Again, if your questions show you know how this Agency usually buys, and the programs they manage that might need the kinds of things you offer, they’re much more likely to open the door to someone you really need to meet, especially the Program Manager.

Meeting the Contracting Officer (CO)

Come prepared to discuss (and bring a capabilities statement including):

• Your core capability: Once again, what’s your Unique Value Proposition -- your sweet spot, the thing you do that sets you apart in the marketplace? That helps focus your meeting.
  

• Your credentials and relevant past performance: Edit to focus on past work similar to what the agency needs. Bring that same capabilities statement that you prepared for the Small Business Specialist. Include the contract number, value of the whole project, and, if you were a subcontractor, your contribution. List the prime contractor point of contact. During the meeting, highlight your past experience in providing relevant services.
  

• Boost confidence: Include details of your project management skills, lines of credit, bonding, performance guarantees and working capital. This information raises the CO’s confidence that you can perform the work if you win the competition.
  

• Include basic information: List your GSA Schedules and other contract vehicles, certifications and recertification dates.
  

• Ask about specific projects: By now, you should be focused on specific forecast opportunities that this contracting officer handles. Ask about upcoming opportunities that might be candidates to become set aside, and fit your capabilities, experience, performance and financing.
  

• Ask for what you want: That can include help getting an appointment with the relevant Program Manager.
  

• Stay in touch: After this first meeting, build the relationship and follow-up!
  

See Part 4 of this series!

The 5 People You Need to Meet, Part 2

Second in a know-who series on people who can help you win government contracts.

The Small Business Specialist

Every federal government department has an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) staffed by Small Business Specialists to ensure that small companies get fair access to that agency’s government contract opportunities. (Find them at www.osdbu.gov).

They can help you find details on Agency buying plans, and introduce you to the contract officers, directors, and program managers within Agency who may need what you offer. But -- they are more likely to offer introductions if you show how well you’ve already researched the Agency and its needs.

Meeting the Small Business Specialist

• Make an appointment! In-person meetings are better than phone calls at first. Make an appointment, don’t just drop by! After the initial meetings, phone or email is often very effective. Ask your Small Business Specialist what she prefers.

• Understand the procurement process. Certification does NOT guarantee you ANY business. Show how well you understand the buyer’s world; refresh your registration in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) by including using the strongest key words possible.
  

• Know the Buyer. Research the mission and programs of the buying agency you’re visiting. Absolutely review the online forecast projects before the meeting!
  

• Present Your Past Performance. Mention and list past projects most relevant to the work you want to win with this agency. Include other government agencies, whether as subcontractor or prime; the project name, Contracting Officer’s name, and contract Number.
  

• Ask about specific projects. Ask about upcoming opportunities that might be candidates to become set aside, and fit your capabilities, experience, performance and financing. Identify projects by name and program office, not solicitation number.
  

• Ask for what you want. That can include help getting an appointment with the relevant Program Manager.
  

• Follow up and stay in touch. Once you’ve made this initial contact in person, build the relationship! Keep in touch with regular updates on your corporate info, experience, contract wins, registrations and certifications.

Click here for part 1 of this series. Or move forward to part 3.

The 5 People You Need to Meet, Part 1

Helping Hands That Open Federal Contracting Doors

Once you've figured out which departments and agencies might be your buyers (oh, not sure about that? Start by cruising www.usa.gov), you need to get ready to meet the people who can help you.

The Five People You Need To Know

• The Small Business Specialist (at the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization -- OSDBU)
• The Contracting Officer
• The Program Manager
• The Influencer
• The End User

The better you prepare -- know what they care about, and what they can do for you -- the more they're likely to help you. Will planned procurements happen? Will they be set-aside for small business? What are new requirements likely to be? When are pre-proposal conferences? Who are these people? What doors do they guard? What do they care about, and what is the key that will open their doors to you?

Download an article on do’s and dont’s when you meet them!

Read on for more detail in Part 2 of this series.

Small Business Specialists Share Insider Tips

Get The Inside Scoop

Here's what I heard these top small business specialists say on how they can best help you.

• JP: Jodie Paustian, Small Business Specialist, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Procurement Policy
• KR: Katherine Rachubinski, Navy Inventory Control Point (NAVICP), Philadelphia
• TB: Terry Budge, Industrial Specialist, Small Business Administration, Philadelphia
• MM: Michael Miller, Chief Logistics officer, Department Of Veterans Affairs
• ME: Marcia Easton, Small Business Chief, Army CECOM, Ft Monmouth
• DD: Dave Dickson, District Director, SBA, Philadelphia
  Thanks to AFCEA Small Business and the October 2009 conference team led by Tammy Goehrig.
  

• KR: Know what part of the agency you want to do business with. Even if it's another part of the agency than the one you're in, the small business specialist can usually refer you to the right person.
  
  
• KB: Be thorough, and stick with it. A Company had been brought into SBA for a certificate of competency. Issues came up between the agency and the company, which had to revise their proposal. Then, SBA reviewed the proposed joint venture and its flaws. Over three months, the contract was eventually awarded for $140M over ten years.
  
  
• DD: Explore the opportunities! Of over 300,000 businesses, only 1.2% of small businesses are registered in CCR. Even excepting home based businesses, still only 2.5 % are registered. Not enough small businesses know how to do business with the U.S. government
  
  
• DD: Help government meets its small business award goals. Government just barely made its 23% goal last year. Talk to the agencies you're targeting, get on CCR, complete your certifications on ORCA and represent all the preferences for which you're eligible. If you have several boxes checked, "...you're gold. If you're a HUBZone, Woman Veteran Business owner, the agency can count you in all those."
  
  
• MM: Focus. Nobody specializes in everything. Public Law 109-461 set up VETBIZ.GOV to provide preferences for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses. But even with that preference, you can't register as "specializing" in too many things, or your company looks like it has no actual strength.
  
  
• JP: Make a strong first impression! Here's an example: the IRS had a requirement for a Client Relationship Management System, a $600,000 project which we designated for 8(a) companies. Everyone got invited to make presentations. Four made technical presentations. The first one had done its homework, asked additional questions, and knew we didn't want an IT approach. Another company said they'd develop a web site, so they hadn't researched us at all! And another one showed up a half hour late. Work with the small business specialists, and find out where to focus.
  
  
• KR: Meet us in person, at the small business office. Present a concise capability briefing. "A company cannot do everything!" We talk during the meeting about areas your expertise might relate to in our command. We follow up after the meeting with suggested points of contact, and a blurb about programs you might fit. Then the onus is on you to contact those people, and say you've been in to see us. That usually means they'll call you back...but we want to know if they don't, too.
  
  
• Work your way in: based on those introductions, you should be able to set up another meeting with technical specialist who will be really interested in your expertise. At that point, you want them to understand what your company can do and the special preferences you're eligible for.
  
  
• Be ready to team: If we have a lot of IDIQ's, we may ask you to work through a major prime that holds this contract vehicle.
  
  
• Strong online presence counts! Small business officials check your web site. Procuring agencies and primes use the Central Contractor Registry.
  
  
• Make the most of your past experience. Performance history need not be limited to government contracts. The more you keep that up to date, the more valuable it is. The systems no longer limit the NAICS codes you can use... but don't be distracted, be very specific.
  
  
• ME: Respond to RFI's, even if you can't meet every requirement. CECOM is definitely open to that, and may pass that information on to primes doing source selection, too. IRS also uses RFI's actively.
  
  
• TB: Attend OSDBU events for fact-finding. See who the big guys are who are winning work in your domain. Then be able to explain how you fit into what they do. Just because you're one of those small businesses, that's the icing on the cake. Government wants to know how you can effectively do the job. Start out small, get your feet wet, get a track record.
  
  
• TB: Let SBA help you. SBA has 68 district offices that will teach you how to use these free tools, how to use the system, and coach you through it. Contact the SBA district office that supports you.
  
  
• ME: Stay in touch with the small business office. You don't just come in one time. Things change with your company, and with the command. Come back. I met with 175 companies last year. Your visits keep you fresh in our minds when the primes come in.
  
  
• JP: Keep us up to date! Tell us when you've won a new contract, got a GSA Schedule, completed CMMI. and make your messages complete! If you email me to say "I want help doing business with the IRS", then attach a capability statement.
  
  
• KR: Personalize your message -- beyond mailmerge! Don't send mass email. Your email and its content should be very specific to the addressee and her responsibilities.
  
  
• DD: Be patient and prepared. Many companies ask for introductions to technical officials. Many commands will shield these people from contractors because they just don't have the time to deal with them if they haven't done their homework and are only going to waste valuable time!
  

Go Hug Your Banker.

Seriously.

How often should you visit your banker? A quick Google search found almost nothing on "visit" and "banker," though I did get a DIGG hit on a shark attacking a banker in Australia...

Financing is vital to staying alive today -- especially in government contracts. Get your ducks in a row, now. And make your next visit before you need to.

I just went in to wish my banker a happy new year and bring her up to date on my business as I made my first deposit of 2009 (thank you, GEAR Engineering!). Good news -- I had the best year ever in 2008...but I also really needed my line of credit as 2009 gets started, and needed her support to refresh that.

Boy, was I glad I had just stopped in to say hello last fall to introduce myself. She knew who I was and remembered my business, and was happy to help. I also found out she's going to have her first baby this spring -- which means I also want to be sure I find out who's backing her up while she's away.

Just like with government business development (or even advocacy on Capitol Hill) -- the time to make your first call is when things are going well. Then people know who they're dealing with when you come in and ask for help.

Take Five: PR Tips You Can Use Right Now

More 2009 Jumpstart Tools for Government Contracts

Which of these tips are you going to use first? Leave comment, or Let me know!

Why PR Activity is Critical:
Visibility can open the door to relationships you need.
And in tough times, when many people market less, those who market more STAND OUT!

1. Create A PR Plan For Your Government Market Niche!
   Short on resources? Try Guerilla PR by Jill Lublin...
   - Barter your services with a PR firm, if you're short of cash
   - Hire interns for press release writing and tracking
   
   
2. Write Op-Ed's & Letters To The Editor -- Especially If You're A Woman Business Owner
   - Focus on issues you care about
   - Watch the publication's style, and keep it short
   - Use Google Alerts to identify reporters who are writing about your issues
   - Contact them and establish yourself as an expert source
   
   
3. Plan To Use Online News Releases
   - Learn how to write news releases reporters will love
   
   
4. Review Your Web Site, Including Your Online Newsroom
   - Learn how to make it reporter-friendly
   
   
5. Make Google Work For You
   - Explore whether Google Adwords work for you
   - Consider using second- or third- tier ranked keywords
   - Set Google Alerts for your name, your company's name, your competitors
   
   
6. Apply For Awards
   - Gain Credibility & Visibility
   - Boost Employee Morale
   - Create publicity / news release opportunity
   
   
7. Supercharge Your Email Signature Line
   - Add photo & tagline
   - Link to your social media profiles, like LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, ZoomInfo
   - Link to your blog...and change the message every week
   (e.g. "What's 2009's Must-Have Service? Find out this week on MY BLOG....)
   
   

Take Five: ConnectionTips You Can Use Right Now

Supercharge Your Networking.

I love the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). My Greater DC Chapter is profoundly focused on giving members tools for business growth. At our most recent session, "Thriving In A Difficult Economy," panelist Joyce Bosc, President of Boscobel Communications, took a page out of her own book by being generous and helpful to all of us.

Her tips inspired my next two sets of "Take Five" -- the first, for building the connections essential to new business:

• Network, Network, Network.
  Attend conferences, meetings, trade shows, events, receptions, galas; look for people you don't know, rather than hang with people you do; seek groups of prospects more than peers; be helpful and generous -- that comes back to you ten times over!
  
  
• Use Social Networks / Web 2.0
  Top picks: LinkedIn (more formal); Facebook (more personal/social); Plaxo (favorite with big corporate America); ZoomInfo (find prospects and be found)... This stuff is real. Feel confused, frustrated, and most of all want to know when you've got time for all this? People who pay attention in just one session with Jen Abernethy, America's First Sales Stylist, generate qualified leads within seven days.
  
  
• Seek Speaking Opportunities
  In Workshops, Panels, Community Chambers/Business Groups...
  Position yourself as a thought leader. Research conferences your prospects will attend; if the program is set, offer to be a backup speaker. Increase visibility, send press releases about your gig.
  
  
• Start a Corporate Social Responsibility Program
  Tough times mean more people need help. Pitch in. Increase visibility. Boost employee morale. Create press release opportunity. Show your character and values and attract like-minded allies who can help you and vice versa.
  
  
• Look for Low-Cost Sponsorships
  In recessions, many people slow or stop marketing...which means you stand out more when you do. Consider: Bronze-level sponsorships; ask about opportunities for small business; barter your services for sponsorships; increase your organic search engine ranking as a result of greater links you generate from your sponsorships.
  

Confessions Of A Networking Addict

Next on this Week's Theme: Quality of Human Connection

I just hit the wall ...again.

I had out-networked myself. I was exhausted. I'd signed up for one too many events. Even though it was too late to get a refund, I blew off the $45 registration fee I'd paid for that final Friday lunch.

Why?

I didn't want to be literally a card-carrying zombie, trading pieces of paper with people. I had no ability to be fully present with any other human being. I was in no shape -- mentally, energetically, spiritually, or even physically -- to be meeting anyone. And I was certainly incapable of making a friend of someone new or being a friend to anyone I knew.

I went home instead.

Back in 1974, my mom made me a beautiful campfire blanket. It's a big navy blue wool felt poncho lined with warm plaid plush, half covered with my Girl Guide badges, and half decked out with dozens of camp patches I traded from troops and groups all over North America.

I pulled it out recently and was suddenly shocked to realize how many years I had "networked" -- well over three decades -- but missed the best part. If I had been paying attention, that blanket might represent a universe of vibrant friendships. I took a long time to learn the lesson.

And I still have to practice.

Sure, I ask myself, "Where does business comes from if not from being out there marketing?"
But how can anything positive develop from wandering around like a zombie?

Take Five! The 5 People You Need to Know

Helping Hands That Open Federal Contracting Doors

Once you've figured out which departments and agencies might be your buyers (oh, not sure about that? Start by cruising http://www.usa.gov/), you need to get ready to meet the people who can help you:

• The OSDBU Officer
• The Contracting Officer
• The Program Manager
• The End User
• The Prime
  

The better you prepare -- know what they care about, and what they can do for you -- the more they're likely to help you. Will planned procurements happen? Will they be set-aside for small business? What are new requirements likely to be? When are pre-proposal conferences?

Find out more -- download the newest free presentation, The Five People You Need To Meet, in the series "Take Five : Government Contracts Made Easier".

Take Five: RU LinkedIn? 5 Reasons To Check It Out

Q&A Brings Fresh Perspectives on Government Contracting Questions

I've cruised "Web 2.0" over the summer, and concluded -- at least for now -- that Linkedin is my top choice for online business networks on government contracting.

Until LinkedIn added the new Q&A forums, I wasn't sure why I accepted my friends' invitations to "link" when I already had them in my contacts database. Q&A changed that. Now, I can specify the topics I want to follow -- for example, government contracts, small business, and marketing -- and:

• Informally survey my own contacts -- for market research, ideas, or new connections
  
• Put out a question to the whole LinkedIn network
• Showcase my expertise by answering OTHERS' questions
• Refer business to my friends
• Support my colleagues by giving their best answers a high ranking

Not LinkedIn yet? It's free -- take a look.