1) Federal Marketing Services
2) GSA Contract Updates
3) Website Improvements
4) Market Analysis of your Competitors
5) Analyze your Bidding Procedures
1) Federal Marketing Services
There is an endless source of federal marketers it seems. But they all offer very different services, and their approach must align with your business model and they must know your industry. I have found that a great federal marketer combines flexibility and affordability. Here are the three categories I have found:
- Full Service: They will act as an outsourced federal sales person. Prices range from $6,000 a month and up, and may transition into a percentage of fed sales.
- Partial Service: These will perform indispensable services (Capabilities Statement, Market Research, marketing review, etc.), and feed qualified leads to your sales team to bid on. Prices range from $2,000 a month and up, and may transition into a percentage of fed sales.
- Just Leads: These will only email you a list of unqualified leads for your sales person to sort through. Usually, prices are a low, monthly fee.
Learn more about our Federal Marketing Services >>
2) GSA Contract Updates
If your GSA Contract has weeds growing around it, chances are this will dramatically effect your GSA Sales. The two most common forms of GSA Contract maintenance tasks are (1) your prices have not been updated or (2) your products/services have not been refreshed to align with your commercial offerings. Often times the “GSA Person” in the company has moved on, and no one ever replaced them.
This is where an affordable option like GSA Focus really helps companies get back into the game. There may also be compliance issues that must be addressed, and this is another area that we can assist. GSA Maintenance Information and Pricing >>
3) Website Improvements
Does your website look like it was designed in the 1990’s? Is all of your information listed and up-to-date? In this day-and-age it is imperative that your company have a bulletproof website, or the federal buyer may click away from your site. Yes, Contracting Officers and other buyers will “Google” a company to make sure they are legitimate, it’s their career on the line with every purchase, after all. If you are a Government Contractor, it is important that your website serve this purpose. If done right, your website will not only legitimize your company, but sale your products/services.
4) Market Analysis of your Competitors
What is your GSA Market Share? Is your GSA Market growing or shrinking? There are many questions that you will need answered on a regular basis to keep updated on your field. One advantage of being a GSA Contract holder is that all the sales information goes public, and you can see who is “winning” in your GSA market. So, you can take that knowledge and adapt your sales and costing techniques to boost sales.
If your competitors are offering a different pricing model, maybe you should tweak yours. If they have dropped prices, you may want to consider that. If they have developed strong brand recognition within the government buying circles, this is something you may want to focus on. There are any number of advantages your competitors could have over you, but without research, you will not know.
5) Analyze your Bidding Procedures
Have you ever calculated your winning percentage? If it is below 75%, then something is likely wrong. You may not be screening RFQ’s well enough, in which case you are wasting time and resources drafting bids that have no chance of winning. Are you screening well, but still losing most of the time? If this is the case, then you are likely not following the directions fully. One item could be off, and your bid goes into the trash can, without anyone notifying you. Without an airtight bidding procedure, you are not going to close many deals. This is not something that will take much time, but it is very important to have a method and protocols.