Scale Up your Sharpen Your Federal Sales Plans with Right Business Developmment

In order for small businesses within the federal government to achieve success, they must engage in business development activities.

Business development (BD) is an ongoing process in federal sales that takes place within your primary agency and focuses on the target customer as a whole, rather than specific opportunities.

BD involves enhancing your agency knowledge, which enables you to build relationships with the agency.

Through these relationships and knowledge, you gain the ability to influence the agency's purchasing strategy.

Another important aspect of BD is identifying opportunities within your primary agency that align with your company's offerings.

When you identify a fitting opportunity and decide to pursue the federal sales contract, you initiate the capture process for that specific opportunity.

Finally, when the government posts a Request for Proposal (RFP), you will write a winning proposal. All these activities are aimed at increasing the number of contracts awarded to your company.

Now, let's delve into these federal sales steps in more detail.

Developing Agency Knowledge involves conducting research and gaining a deep understanding of the agency you're targeting. This includes comprehending their mission, long-term strategic goals, and short-term objectives used to measure success.

Agencies often communicate the challenges they face and link them to their strategic goals.

Additionally, it's crucial to understand how the agency procures the products or services you offer. For example, do they typically utilize the General Services Administration (GSA) for purchases?

Building relationships is a fundamental part of business development. This involves establishing and maintaining connections with advocates such as small business specialists who can provide insights about the agency.

You can also engage with acquisition personnel like contract specialists or contract officers to learn about upcoming opportunities.

Furthermore, the program office consists of individuals responsible for the actual work and establishing new requirements that your company could support.

By acquiring knowledge about the agency and establishing relationships, you gain the ability to influence the agency's procurement decisions, which is essentially a sales tactic.

You can influence the acquisition approach by suggesting specific set-asides or recommending suitable contract vehicles.

In terms of technical requirements, you can propose necessary certifications or years of experience.

Moreover, you might be able to offer a low-cost proof of concept to gain access to key decision-makers in a more collaborative manner.

Engaging in these activities allows you to accurately identify opportunities that align with your company's capabilities within your primary agency.

Through business development efforts, you can uncover opportunities that your competitors may not be aware of yet, as you're actively involved in key conversations.

However, opportunities can also be identified through traditional methods, such as searching through the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) and System for Award Management (SAM) for active opportunities.

You can also explore the agency's forecast for potential opportunities. Additionally, FPDS (Federal Procurement Data System), now available in SAM, allows you to identify past opportunities you missed out on and track them for future recompetition.

One thing we know about fiscal year 2019 is that there will be an abundance of funding. The highly partisan nature of the government's political class means there is increased spending on defense and other areas.

The coming month will reveal whether the contractor community will face delays or temporary lapses in appropriations. Despite the progress of spending bills in the House and Senate, it is essential not to make assumptions. Federal sales contractors should focus on their year-end sales operations and look beyond the immediate sales blitz and political challenges. It is crucial to anticipate strategies that will work best for 2019 and beyond.

The term "beyond" refers to the opportunity to influence your customers' 2020 requirements. Agencies are currently planning acquisitions for the fiscal year ahead.

Market planners should pay attention to three key factors that shape the upcoming year:

The Procurement Situation: Legislative and regulatory changes that impact buying and mandates. For example, the 2019 National Defense Authorization bill limits the use of lowest-price, technically acceptable (LPTA) contracts for professional services, contingency and overseas operations, and knowledge-based training. This change may affect your strategy if you sell enterprise software and also compete with third parties in the associated training sector.

Technological Trends: Policies and related technologies promoted by the administration. Assess how new technologies and services offered by your company align with agency priorities. For instance, consider the maturing understanding of cloud computing among agency IT personnel and its relevance to data sharing, modernization, cybersecurity, software license management, and other concerns.

Individual Agency Updates: Review agency documents to understand their specific challenges. For example, the standard practice of analyzing agency Exhibit 53s and Exhibit 300s to grasp their technology plans has been replaced by "Agency IT Investment Portfolio Summary" and "Major IT Business Case" documents. These changes, driven by the Office of Management and Budget, represent a streamlined capital planning process.

Now more than ever, traditional business development methods and engaging with customers directly are crucial. Take advantage of opportunities like reverse industry days, where you can present to program and contracting personnel at a specific agency.

Consider these additional trends in the federal market:

Work Streamlining: The Trump administration's emphasis on streamlining work processes, with initiatives like robotic process automation and artificial intelligence, can provide opportunities for companies that can assist with process improvement and supporting systems.

Cybersecurity as a Priority: The "Deliver Uncompromised" initiative in the Department of Defense places security as a significant award criterion, alongside price or cost, schedule, and performance. Demonstrating competence in supply chain cybersecurity can be a valuable selling point.

Repurposing Legacy Code: Agencies have a growing need to repurpose legacy code for digital services. This demand extends to various federal sales IT products and services, such as factoring, virtualization, containerization, interface design and engineering, data extraction and normalization, and infrastructure updates.

Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis: While grand predictions are made about AI, agencies are likely to apply it in the short term to specific projects. Consider how your company can assist agencies in practical analytics applications.

By staying updated on these trends and actively engaging with customers, you can seize opportunities and offer valuable solutions to federal agencies.