Appealing to Federal Buyers on GSA Advantage!

Many of the GSA Contract holders on GSAAdvantage! are not reaching their full potential, and their sales suffer as a result. Think about what you go through when you make an online purchase, this is very similar to the process a government buyer goes through on GSAdvantage! They use the search feature to narrow down to the product they are after, and then compare prices.

When your product is on the short list before a federal buyer, you want to make absolute certain that they have access to more than enough information. Here are the major ways your product is well represented on GSAdvantage!

• Linking to company website, with product-specific pages
• Include picture(s) on product, now you can show multiple images on GSAdvantage!
• Consice description on GSAdvantage! including important specifications
• Competetively proces on GSAdvantage!
• The shipping terms on your GSA Contract are appealing
• Include warranty information on GSAdvantage! product desccription

This is quite a list, but the more effort you put into representing your products on GSAdvantage!, the more your federal sales will increase.

Is a GSA Consultant worth the Price?

Most of my clients use my services because they don’t have the time to dedicate an employee for 6+ months to learn the process. Many call me after receiving a Letter of Rejection. This is a specialized process, with only a small handful of capable GSA consultants out there.

There are companies that successfully acquire a GSA Contract in-house, but many regret the resource expense and would recommend spending $4,500 to assure it gets done rather than devote an employee for months. The biggest benefit to my services is that you don’t have to learn this complicated process with only government workers available to navigate you through it. It can be very confusing and frustrating to a newcomer.

I don’t know the nature of your business, but unless there is expected down-time coming up, it will be very difficult to budget your time to learn this involved process. About 75% of the document preparation is similar from one GSA Contract to another, so GSA Consultants know well how to handle the basics of a GSA Contract acquisition. This redundancy also allows for automation and project planning strategies that a newcomer just won’t be capable of utilizing.

Everyone must start somewhere, and I was an in-house GSA Contract manager at one time. I am my best testimonial for GSA Consulting services, because I know how much I const that company, and that bringing in an outside GSA expert would have saved a tremendous amount of time and money. Some owners or managers just don’t think that way, though.

GSA Schedule Contracts for Dummies

Let me start by explaining a little bit about GSA Schedule Contracts. There are 31 different GSA Schedules, and they each have their own number. Under each schedule is a list of sub-categories to describe the different possible products and services under each GSA Schedule, these subcategories are called Special Item Numbers (SINs). For Example, A software company may fall under Schedule 70, and SIN 132 51 (IT Services).

When a company applies for a GSA Schedule, they can also apply for as many of the SINs describe their products or services. If a company has their GSA Contract in place, then they can add products or services to an existing SIN, or even ass another SIN to their GSA Schedule. This is called the Modification Process. It is very important to keep a GSA Contract up-to-date or profits will start to drop.

A very important question is if your company qualifies for a GSA Contract. In order to qualify for a GSA Schedule, a company must have a history in the industry that corresponds to a GSA Schedule. The Contractor must have at least 4 customers to rate their performance (it’s part of the process). And if they are a manufacturer, distributor or reseller, then the products they wish offer on their GSA Contract must be an American End Product and meet the Fair Trade Act guidelines.

I am sure many of the people reading this will have a slough of questions, so don’t hesitate to call us and get them answered. (760) 550-9320

Does Getting a GSA Schedule Contract Compromise a Companies Privacy?

Along the process you will have to provide customer information, financial documents, an org. chart, and much more information that is very personal to a business. I am often asked how secure the documents submitted in a GSA package are kept. Many of my customers cringe at the idea of their tightly-held trade secrets released to the public because they want to get into the federal market. Many businesses have even opted to exclude themselves from a huge potential in federal sales because of the misconcieved notion that their information will be broadcast for all of their competitors to see.

Well, here is the truth. The only information about your company that is publicly released is information relating to your GSA Schedule Contract. Your financials, invoices, customer list, etc. will not be accessible to the public. What will be accessible are your product prices offered to the government, the general terms of your GSA Contract, warranty information, etc. Anything that a federal buyer would look at to make their purchasing decision will be public information. It is noteworthy, at this point, to say that this information is buried so deep in the GSA website that only a very small group of civilians even know where to look.

If you are still worried about your privacy getting stepped on during the GSA Schedule Contract submission process, then I suggest calling us to gain a good understanding of how the process works. (760) 550-9320

GSA Pricelist Negotiations

The GSA Contract submission process is extensive, that cannot be denied. But what is the most difficult part? As a professional GSA Contract Acquisition company, we face many challenges, and the largest is finding the sweet spot in price list preparations. These prices are ultimately going to be negotiated once the GSA Contract is submitted, so it is important to get it right the first time.

Here are some of the strategies we apply when preparing a price list for our customers.

Market Analysis
When you apply for a GSA Contract, your prices will be compared to similar products and services to decide their value. We simulate this process to make sure the GSA prices offered are going to be competitive, but still profitable in the federal market. We achieve this by taking price point samples; taking random samples out of your pricelist at different dollar values to compare to similar products already existing on GSA Advantage.
Is the Discount important or the final price?
The most important issue when a federal buyer is comparing prices is their faith in their decision. The government attempts to only buy on a fair-value-based system, in which price, warranty, company background, etc. are taken into account and the final decision is made. Companies with a GSA Contract have a giant advantage because their fair-value is easily accessible to government buyers, while open-market purchases are seen as a more risky fair-value assessment. In conclusion, discounts do not effect the success of a federal contractor as much as price and fair-value.

I Have My GSA Contract, Now What?

I have acquired GSA Contracts for many companies, and I have found that there are two very different categories; those with established federal connections and those without. This blogpost is meant for the latter. A GSA Contract is a powerful tool to surpass the barrier to entry in government contracting, but there is still a good deal of work to be done to start winning federal projects. There are generally three approaches, and  you may use all strategies together or only one.

Finding Government Opportunities

Searching for Projects. With a GSA Contract, you will be found by government purchasers on GSAAdvantage!, and you will be notified of potential purchases through GSA Ebuy. These two exclusive areas are very powerful, and many companies find that they pay for their GSA Contract in the first year just by fulfilling orders, or landing projects, that they really didn’t put any effort into. By being listed in GSAAdvantage! a federal purchaser knows that you meet the guidelines to do business with the government, and they will not have to worry about shady business practices.

Searching on FedBizOpps is still a very helpful option, because the larger projects are usually found there. Since you have a GSA Contract, you will be much more appetizing to a purchasing agent, and they are much more likely to go with your company. FedBizOpps has a great notification system, that will send you a daily email list of all Solicitations within the criteria you set. This can save time, and effort.

Marketing to Prospects. There are hundreds of thousands of government employees. So how do you find the key decision-makers to jump start your federal presence, and put your GSA Contract to good use? There are third-party companies that can provide you with email/address lists, or you can search them out yourself. Every project you offer a quote on, you are meeting a gate-keeper. So keep a list of all the contacts you meet throughout your quoting cycles because you never know when they will need your services again.

Subcontracting Opportunities. Having a GSA Contract opens up many doors to you in the federal subcontracting world, because a GSA prime contractor must use subcontractors with a GSA Contract. Therefore, primes are always searching for partnerships, primarily ones with set-aside firms (8a, disables veteran, woman owned, etc.). You can find the basic contact information for the top prime contractors in your industry by searching through the GSA and SBA websites.

Learning How to Write a Proposal

Capabilities Statement. You don’t need to go out and spend hundreds (or thousands) on brochures, all you need is a simple one-page document outlining the basic information of your company. This should include your contact information, proficiencies, specialties, GSA Number, SIN’s, references, company information, mission statement, and any other information that a purchaser would want or need. Whether a Request for Quote (RFQ) asks for it or not, include your Capabilities Statement with the quote.

Follow Instructions. Government purchasers go to great lengths to include every little detail in an RFQ, so they can be lengthy. If you are going to master the federal proposal game, and avoid banging your head against your desk, you will have to develop a discerning eye. It takes time to complete a quote, and most of the time is spent digging through information, so it is important to develop internal regulations to determine what makes an RFQ worth pursuing, and internal systems to manage the mess of information involved in a quote.

Most RFQ’s include a checklist and a Statement of Work (SOW). The SOW will be the most important part of the RFQ to help you decide if you should pursue it. If you do go forward, follow the checklist and provide every little scrap of information asked for. You want to come off as thorough and  capable to the federal buyer. All-in-all, it takes time to master the art of the proposal, but going to workshops and reading whitepapers can greatly help you in the beginning.

Should You Use a GSA Contract Specialist, Or Do It Yourself?

The ugly truth is that 90% of “in-house” attempts end up rejected by the GSA after their first submission. If you are considering tackling your GSA Contract project “in-house”, you will want to prepare yourself for the potential expenses and possible outcomes. Performing a crude Return On Investment (ROI) analysis is key, so let’s discuss the average “in-house” process, expenses, and the expected time-frames.

Many small to medium business owners choose to delegate the GSA Contract project to a top-level manager, or they simply attempt to tackle the project themselves. It is fair to estimate that the employee qualified to handle such a task will earn a minimum of $40 K per year, conservatively. As a newcomer to the process, a minimum of 6 months can be expected to be spent completing the initial package for submission to the GSA.

Using that employee’s salary as a gauge, just this time spent will cost a small to medium sized business a minimum of $20,000. Keeping in mind that nine out of ten “in-house” attempts end up rejected by the GSA after their first submission, it is clear that this is an unnecessary waste of the employees time and the company’s money.

Due to the arduous nature of GSA Contract acquisition, the first-timer employee working on the GSA Contract project has no choice but to neglect their actual job responsibilities and, in doing so, sacrifices the true objectives of their position within the company.

In the rare circumstance that the employee is successful, and the initial submission package is not rejected, the employee is often surprised when they receive a modification package 3 months later. This modification package typically takes an in-house employee and additional 2 months to complete and re-submit, which, from the calculations discussed above, will cost the business another $5,000. Due to this modification resubmission and review, the success rate drops and an increasingly rare chance of ultimate success going “in-house” is developed.

If the resubmission is accepted, an employee can then expect to spend, at minimum, an additional 2 months to finalize the documentation and educate his or herself on the system administration. In summation, the final estimated time for an employee to acquire a GSA contract often exceeds one year, and will cost a small to medium sized company at least $30,000 in wages and an additional $10,000 in taxes and benefits, resulting in a grand total of $40,000, conservatively.

In short, if you are considering going “in-house” with your GSA Contract Acquisition, you need to examine whether your company can bear the manpower and expense of an employees full years salary to undertake the task. Many business-owners fail to investigate the process properly and take the project upon themselves. Most often, the decision to go “in-house” eliminates the company’s opportunity to get a GSA Contract. Once the contract is rejected, a company has already spent all the time and resources they have available for the project. Going “in-house” can be tragic for a small to medium sized business, keeping a company from their single biggest spending customer, the federal government.

Here are additional considerations to review when deciding whether to go “In-House” or use a GSA Contract Specialist:

• Time – Consider the revenue your company is missing out on by not using a GSA Contract expert and acquiring your contract as soon as possible. The sooner you acquire a GSA Contract, the sooner you are able to tap into the federal revenue stream.
• The Delicate Nature of Pricelists – you or your “in-house employee” will not know how to properly analyze the multifaceted pricepoint strategy involved in acquiring your GSA Contract. Hitting the pricepoints that make you money, but keep you competitive in the federal market is a vital part of the process. Without the necessary experience and strategy applied in your price list preparation, you may lose thousands of dollars over the first few years of federal contracting.
• Liability – Attempting to submit your GSA Contract to the Federal Government while not understanding all of the legal aspects involved can be quite irresponsible and dangerous. Without consulting an experienced Contract Specialist, you effectively leave your company susceptible to some scary consequences. With the amount of legislation in place, and it’s constantly changing nature, you limit your risk and liability by hiring a GSA Contract specialist.
• Contract Upkeep and Employee Turnover- Once your contract is acquired, it must be maintained. GSA Contract upkeep is best handled by an expert, as it is usually extremely frustrating and troublesome for a greenhorn. If your “in-house” contract is delegated to an employee, you must consider the employee’s normal job duties and the fact that the employee will most likely leave your company eventually.

In summary, acquiring a GSA Contract is similar to building a house. You can probably build a house if you stop everything you are doing to study and learn carpentry. Most people realize that it’s better to let an expert build your house so you can work where your talents and experience are already developed, maximizing your time and earning potential. There are many tricks that carpenters use to build a house stronger and quicker. a carpenter knows the process of building a house. First the foundation, then framing, and finally putting up walls. When a company tries to acquire a GSA Contract themselves, they do not know the logical or natural order of the process. Using a GSA Contract Specialist is not only the most responsible, legally safe means of acquiring your contract, but a specialist can achieve your contract in a shorter time-frame and at a lower cost for your company.

Top 5 Reasons To Get a GSA Contract

1. The Fed spends in great numbers: US Discretionary spending by the federal government is expected to grow 6.5 percent this year. This is more than double the pace of the US economy (GDP). In 2010, government spending on goods and services is expected to rival the combined revenues of the 20 largest Fortune 500 companies. To help investors capitalize on this large growth market, INPUT has established a dedicated team of analysts.
2. The Average GSA Schedule Holder does over $2 million a year in government contracting. The vast majority of GSA Contract holding companies are small businesses who have grown profits dramatically through federal contracting.
3. With a GSA Contract, your company is found in the first place purchasers go to: GSAAdvantage! This is the shopping mall for federal buyers, and they use it for more than half of the federal dollars spent each year.
4. With a GSA Contract, a business can compete with much more strength. In some cases a GSA Schedule Holding company can even win high-dollar bids without any contest. No more waiting at the end of the line for the best projects, and then competing in a big pool to win them.
5. With GSA Schedule Services, you have a money-back-guarantee, and can take advantage of our experience, speed and efficiency to get years ahead of your competitors.

What is the "Buy American Act" and What Does it Say?

The most important objective of the Buy American Act is to assure that American goods are prioritized when the US government purchases products. The important question is: What is the definition of an American Good? This is found in the text of the actual Legislation, and the important aspects are in the definition of a Domestic End Product. Lets look directly into the text of the legislation for this:

“Domestic end product” means—

(1) An unmanufactured end product mined or produced in the United States; or

(2) An end product manufactured in the United States, if the cost of its components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds 50 percent of the cost of all its components (see below). Components of foreign origin of the same class or kind as those that the agency determines are not mined, produced, or manufactured in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality are treated as domestic. Scrap generated, collected, and prepared for processing in the United States is considered domestic.

“Cost of components” means—

(1) For components purchased by the contractor, the acquisition cost, including transportation costs to the place of incorporation into the end product or construction material (whether or not such costs are paid to a domestic firm), and any applicable duty (whether or not a duty-free entry certificate is issued); or

(2) For components manufactured by the contractor, all costs associated with the manufacture of the component, including transportation costs as described in paragraph (1) of this definition, plus allocable overhead costs, but excluding profit. Cost of components does not include any costs associated with the manufacture of the end product.

In short, over 50% of the cost in the manufacturing process must be in incurred in the United States. If you are looking to offer your products to the federal government, then you will want to get a GSA Contract, and offer your products on your schedule. We advise that you look into any modifications or amendments to the law before taking action on the information provided in this blog post.

Federal Contracts are Keeping Many California Businesses Alive

It is common knowledge that government contracts are for companies located around Washington DC, because that is where the majority of government business takes place. However, this is a large misconception, because California receives over 11% of government contracting dollars. It makes sense when you consider that 41 military bases, and hundreds of federal agency offices are located in California.

There are hundreds of GSA Contract holding small businesses in California, who put a large marketing investment and focus on the federal government. And their foresight has given them a large advantage over their competitors in a time where many small businesses are folding from lack of work.

It has been calculated that over 400,000 jobs have been created from government contracting in 2009. If 11.3% of federal spending has been in California, then over 45,000 people have remained employed in California by working for federal contractors.

Now is the time for many California businesses to consider finding their way into the federal market. From couriers to staffing companies to electricians to security integrators, there are opportunities in federal contracting. Moreover, the Obama administrations use of recovery funds to finance federal projects is a key strategy to keep Americans Employed.