Winning Government Contracts: The Five People You Need to Know (Part 1)

27Feb09

[Today, we begin a series of articles by guest author Judy Bradt. If you are considering making a commitment to government contracting, or even if you are already involved, I think you will find a lot of value in Judy’s insights. Enjoy! — LWF]

Guest Author: Judy Bradt, Principal and CEO of Summit Insight LLC

Thinking of jumping into the lucrative government contracting pool? Before you get your feet wet, you need to decide which departments and agencies might be your buyers (you can start by cruising www.usa.gov). Once you know which organizations you want to target, you need to prepare to meet the people who can help you. That’s where this series of blog posts can help.

For any government contractor, there are five key people who can help or hinder your efforts. These officials can dictate which doors you can enter, how agencies can buy from you, who introduces you, why they try your services and when they can hire you. Sound like good people to get to know? Let’s find out who they are.

The Five People You Need To Know 

1. The Small Business Specialist (at the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization — OSDBU)
2. The Contracting Officer
3. The Program Manager
4. The Influencer
5. 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?

Companies that sell to government must master more than process to succeed. Their sales depend on how well they know the people who make and influence the contract process. They never forget that they’re not selling to a process. They’re selling to people: people whose jobs depend on choosing vendors who best meet the requirements.

Who are these people? What doors do they guard? What do they care about, and what are the keys that will open their doors to you? Next time, we’ll get to know the Small Business Specialists and their role in facilitating the procurement process.

 

Judy Bradt, Principal & CEO of Summit Insight LLC of Alexandria VA, is an author, speaker and consultant who has been covered by Entrepreneur Magazine, Fortune Small Business, the Financial Post, ABC Radio, PINK Magazine, SBTV, CTV, Rogers Business Television. You can learn more at www.summitinsight.com.

Filed under: Government Contracting, Marketing, Professional Services   |  1 Comment
Tags: Government Contracting, government procurement