I just received a question from a client who sells products to the government. Clearly this person, and their corporate management, were worried about the current economic and political climate - as are we all.
The question is: With budget cuts looming on a federal level, what might be a few things to say to management that would sound “good” to justify why the Government sector will continue to grow?
I think my answer was realistic, but optimistic, at least for the savvy.
I don't think the sector will grow, but I think the "shrink" in the government market will be less than anticipated and also less than other market sectors. Further, I think that the more savvy players will grow their market share by eroding the market share of marginal and less sophisticated companies. Many companies do this as a matter of course, but those ranks will swell in the current climate.
If you have any small business status, now would be the time to truly try to maximize the value of that status with your current government accounts, and perhaps with accounts that have lapsed within the last 18-24 months. I would also go to a few agencies that have needs for your products or services and make certain they know who you/your company is, and what you bring to the table. If you have no connections at those agencies, go through the OSDBU office. The OSDBUs are not just there for e the "newbies" - they will actually enjoy visits from seasoned professionals.
I think some companies that have been marginal in the market will leave or fold, and create some market share that will have to go somewhere.
Your thoughts on this are welcome.
Showing posts with label BtoG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BtoG. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2011
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Why LinkedIn, Why Now
Are you leveraging social media, or are you still on the sidelines?
If you listen to my radio show or have heard me speak in the last three years, you will know that a significant part of my message has been the growing use of social media and web 2.0 tools for B2G marketers. Among the tools I have been advocating are webinars, podcasts, video, and various social networking tools, especially LinkedIn.
Last year Market Connections (http://www.marketconnectionsinc.com/) released the 2009-2010 Federal Media and Marketing Study which touched on the use of 14 social media tools. According to the now year old study, the top five social media tools were Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, My Space and Twitter.
Fast forward to the just released Market Connections 2010 Social Media Study. This study (available for purchase at the above mentioned web site) indicates a rapidly growing acceptance and use of social media tools by both industry and government. Government is lagging behind, but they have more restrictions for everything. However the study indicates use of social media by 29% of Feds and 55% of contractors.
The main uses of social networking by contractors are marketing and sales (60%), event information (59%), press releases (51%), job postings (44%), white papers/case studies (38%), presentations/speeches (35%), videos/pictures (28%), and product demos (23%). There are more findings, but these are the major ones.
The finding in this study that shows the biggest change from the 2009 study is that LinkedIn has emerged as the most popular social networking site with 36% of the responders using it. Facebook was at 26%. It my interview with John Kagia of Market Connections (http://www.federalnewsradio.com/) he indicated that the use of these networks continues to grow.
So why is this important to you?
LinkedIn has over 70,000,000 users worldwide, with the majority are in the U.S. - and it continues to grow. My research indicates the Washington Technology Top 100 are all here, in significant numbers. Rarely do I find a significant government contractor that is not on LinkedIn.
If you put "government" in the search box and search on "groups" you will find (as of 6/20/10) 4,197 groups having something to do with government. In the top 100 of the government groups there are 20-25 that focus on some aspect of government contracting, including one of my groups, Government Market Master (with almost 1,400 members).
So again, why is this important to you?
According to the Market Connection study, only 19% of the companies using social media have a strategy or social media policy in place. With no strategy or policy, there will be little or no way to measure the effectiveness of what you are doing, what messages are going out, and what image of your company is being presented.
If you devise a proactive social media strategy (with an intelligent policy behind it), you will be able to use some measurement tools, set some goals, and start measuring the effectiveness of various platforms.
Nowhere in the Market Connections study did it mention one of the major uses for LinkedIn for small businesses: differentiation. All businesses need to differentiate themselves, but for small government contractors, it is closer to a 'life and death' situation- differentiate or die a slow death.
For any small business not currently using social media, or using it only in a limited way, you are missing the major low-cost marketing tool that can truly help you stand out in the crowd.
Here's what you can do right now:
Over the next six months I will be hosting a coaching group for companies seeking to grow their businesses by the intelligent, proactive use of social media, focusing largely on LinkedIn.
During the six months of the program, we will host 2-3 teleseminars each month (all will be recorded and be available for replay) and there will be monthly one-on-one coaching with each company. Each company will also get an initial tele-planning session with me to create an action plan that suits your needs.
By the end of the program, you will end up with an audio library of 15+ hours of training you can use again and again. And you will be light years ahead of where you are on LinkedIn now.
Each tele-session will focus on one topic:
- social media policies
- developing benchmarks
- differentiation
- building personal profiles that attract customers and partners
- finding and managing your company profile
- finding and joining groups that can help you grow
- how to reach out to potential partners and customers and build your network
- selecting LinkedIn applications that will work for your company
- publicizing your company and events
-using Q&A, recommendations, defining your area of expertise and much more.
After each session you can do Q&A with me via email, and use your monthly session to tie this into your custom program.
And all participants will get my 3-CD set, The Ultimate Jumpstart Program for Social Networking – Maximizing LinkedIn.
If you are interested in seeing the details, email me at mark (at) FederalDirect.net or call me at 301 924 0058.
Why me, why Mark Amtower?
I have been on LinkedIn since February 11, 2004. My "membership" number is around 225,000 - out of 70,000,000. Currently I have nearly 2,700 connections (primarily in the government market), belong to 50 groups (primarily B2G in focus), and have gained national recognition for my use in social media (one of the top 7 LinkedIn profiles in the 2009 Rock the World with Your Online presence contest) and being profiled for using LinkedIn as a thought leadership tool at MarketingProfs. I have also done about 25 media (radio and print) interviews on using LinkedIn. The FedTech Bisnow newsletter called me "the Lord of LinkedIn" (11/10/09, http://www.bisnow.com/washington_dc_tech_news_story.php?p=6007 ).
Everywhere I go in the arena of doing business with the government, people know me because of my use of LinkedIn. Take a look at my profile and see why.
Then call me and sign up so you can get the same results.
If you listen to my radio show or have heard me speak in the last three years, you will know that a significant part of my message has been the growing use of social media and web 2.0 tools for B2G marketers. Among the tools I have been advocating are webinars, podcasts, video, and various social networking tools, especially LinkedIn.
Last year Market Connections (http://www.marketconnectionsinc.com/) released the 2009-2010 Federal Media and Marketing Study which touched on the use of 14 social media tools. According to the now year old study, the top five social media tools were Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, My Space and Twitter.
Fast forward to the just released Market Connections 2010 Social Media Study. This study (available for purchase at the above mentioned web site) indicates a rapidly growing acceptance and use of social media tools by both industry and government. Government is lagging behind, but they have more restrictions for everything. However the study indicates use of social media by 29% of Feds and 55% of contractors.
The main uses of social networking by contractors are marketing and sales (60%), event information (59%), press releases (51%), job postings (44%), white papers/case studies (38%), presentations/speeches (35%), videos/pictures (28%), and product demos (23%). There are more findings, but these are the major ones.
The finding in this study that shows the biggest change from the 2009 study is that LinkedIn has emerged as the most popular social networking site with 36% of the responders using it. Facebook was at 26%. It my interview with John Kagia of Market Connections (http://www.federalnewsradio.com/) he indicated that the use of these networks continues to grow.
So why is this important to you?
LinkedIn has over 70,000,000 users worldwide, with the majority are in the U.S. - and it continues to grow. My research indicates the Washington Technology Top 100 are all here, in significant numbers. Rarely do I find a significant government contractor that is not on LinkedIn.
If you put "government" in the search box and search on "groups" you will find (as of 6/20/10) 4,197 groups having something to do with government. In the top 100 of the government groups there are 20-25 that focus on some aspect of government contracting, including one of my groups, Government Market Master (with almost 1,400 members).
So again, why is this important to you?
According to the Market Connection study, only 19% of the companies using social media have a strategy or social media policy in place. With no strategy or policy, there will be little or no way to measure the effectiveness of what you are doing, what messages are going out, and what image of your company is being presented.
If you devise a proactive social media strategy (with an intelligent policy behind it), you will be able to use some measurement tools, set some goals, and start measuring the effectiveness of various platforms.
Nowhere in the Market Connections study did it mention one of the major uses for LinkedIn for small businesses: differentiation. All businesses need to differentiate themselves, but for small government contractors, it is closer to a 'life and death' situation- differentiate or die a slow death.
For any small business not currently using social media, or using it only in a limited way, you are missing the major low-cost marketing tool that can truly help you stand out in the crowd.
Here's what you can do right now:
Over the next six months I will be hosting a coaching group for companies seeking to grow their businesses by the intelligent, proactive use of social media, focusing largely on LinkedIn.
During the six months of the program, we will host 2-3 teleseminars each month (all will be recorded and be available for replay) and there will be monthly one-on-one coaching with each company. Each company will also get an initial tele-planning session with me to create an action plan that suits your needs.
By the end of the program, you will end up with an audio library of 15+ hours of training you can use again and again. And you will be light years ahead of where you are on LinkedIn now.
Each tele-session will focus on one topic:
- social media policies
- developing benchmarks
- differentiation
- building personal profiles that attract customers and partners
- finding and managing your company profile
- finding and joining groups that can help you grow
- how to reach out to potential partners and customers and build your network
- selecting LinkedIn applications that will work for your company
- publicizing your company and events
-using Q&A, recommendations, defining your area of expertise and much more.
After each session you can do Q&A with me via email, and use your monthly session to tie this into your custom program.
And all participants will get my 3-CD set, The Ultimate Jumpstart Program for Social Networking – Maximizing LinkedIn.
If you are interested in seeing the details, email me at mark (at) FederalDirect.net or call me at 301 924 0058.
Why me, why Mark Amtower?
I have been on LinkedIn since February 11, 2004. My "membership" number is around 225,000 - out of 70,000,000. Currently I have nearly 2,700 connections (primarily in the government market), belong to 50 groups (primarily B2G in focus), and have gained national recognition for my use in social media (one of the top 7 LinkedIn profiles in the 2009 Rock the World with Your Online presence contest) and being profiled for using LinkedIn as a thought leadership tool at MarketingProfs. I have also done about 25 media (radio and print) interviews on using LinkedIn. The FedTech Bisnow newsletter called me "the Lord of LinkedIn" (11/10/09, http://www.bisnow.com/washington_dc_tech_news_story.php?p=6007 ).
Everywhere I go in the arena of doing business with the government, people know me because of my use of LinkedIn. Take a look at my profile and see why.
Then call me and sign up so you can get the same results.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Unrealistic Offers from Questionable Sources
When you hear claims like "one phone call to the right office can land you a $200,000 government deal," or that a seminar can provide the "formula" for winning TARP (ARRA) stimulus $ in 60 days, you should be hearing the robot from "Lost in Space" -
"Danger Will Robinson! Danger!"
In my 2nd book, Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, I call the sucker pitch the "shiny rock syndrome" and use a quote from the broadway musical, Guys and Dolls:
“On the day I left home to make my way in the world, my daddy took me to one side. ‘Son,’ my daddy says to me, ‘I am sorry I am not able to bankroll you to a large start, but not having the necessary lettuce to get you rolling, instead, I'm going to stake you to some very valuable advice. One of these days, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, you do not accept this bet because, as sure as you stand there, you're going to wind up with an ear full of cider.’”
The government market is not now, nor has it ever been "easy" to break into. It requires education from legitimate sources - sources with a strong background in the B2G market (PTACs and SBDCs are always good places to start). It requires dedication and significant resource investments by the company wishing to become a government contactor. It requires a deep understanding of the client agency, the budget process, the contracting process, and more.
There are a variety of good sources for this information and more than a few bad sources. Do your homework before you invest your hard-earned money.
"Danger Will Robinson! Danger!"
In my 2nd book, Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, I call the sucker pitch the "shiny rock syndrome" and use a quote from the broadway musical, Guys and Dolls:
“On the day I left home to make my way in the world, my daddy took me to one side. ‘Son,’ my daddy says to me, ‘I am sorry I am not able to bankroll you to a large start, but not having the necessary lettuce to get you rolling, instead, I'm going to stake you to some very valuable advice. One of these days, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, you do not accept this bet because, as sure as you stand there, you're going to wind up with an ear full of cider.’”
The government market is not now, nor has it ever been "easy" to break into. It requires education from legitimate sources - sources with a strong background in the B2G market (PTACs and SBDCs are always good places to start). It requires dedication and significant resource investments by the company wishing to become a government contactor. It requires a deep understanding of the client agency, the budget process, the contracting process, and more.
There are a variety of good sources for this information and more than a few bad sources. Do your homework before you invest your hard-earned money.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Government Market Master
The government market is changing – again!
To stay valuable to your company you need to know more, be able to do more, and stay at or near the edge.
How are you staying current?
Government Market Master is designed to contribute to the ongoing education of all professionals in the government market, experienced and novices alike, line managers and CEOs. In a market as vast and complicated as doing business with the government, the ability to stay ahead of the curve is predicated on accessing the best and the brightest which is what we have done in the selection of the experts who share their knowledge at Government Market Master.
By providing cost-effective online, on-demand education, with new material every month, Government Market Master is the premier site for your B2G continuing education. It is designed to deliver useful information from professionals who are from the front lines (like you) of the government market in multiple disciplines – sales, marketing, bid & proposal, business development, management, operations, and more.
It is also designed to deliver information when you want it and in ways that make it easy and inexpensive for you to invest in yourself and in your company.
Regardless of the size of your enterprise – small, medium or large business – Government Market Master will provide information to help you and your staff get to the next level.
If you want to migrate from the second or third tier to the top tier in the government contracting community, then Government Market Masters is for you.
If you are new to the market and your company is interested in selling to the federal government, landing more government contracts and GSA schedules, developing critical procurement contacts, connecting with decision makers within the government and the contracting community, and learning the essential government best practices that can make you a viable player — even against much larger, more experienced companies, then Government Market Masters is for you.
To stay valuable to your company you need to know more, be able to do more, and stay at or near the edge.
How are you staying current?
Government Market Master is designed to contribute to the ongoing education of all professionals in the government market, experienced and novices alike, line managers and CEOs. In a market as vast and complicated as doing business with the government, the ability to stay ahead of the curve is predicated on accessing the best and the brightest which is what we have done in the selection of the experts who share their knowledge at Government Market Master.
By providing cost-effective online, on-demand education, with new material every month, Government Market Master is the premier site for your B2G continuing education. It is designed to deliver useful information from professionals who are from the front lines (like you) of the government market in multiple disciplines – sales, marketing, bid & proposal, business development, management, operations, and more.
It is also designed to deliver information when you want it and in ways that make it easy and inexpensive for you to invest in yourself and in your company.
Regardless of the size of your enterprise – small, medium or large business – Government Market Master will provide information to help you and your staff get to the next level.
If you want to migrate from the second or third tier to the top tier in the government contracting community, then Government Market Masters is for you.
If you are new to the market and your company is interested in selling to the federal government, landing more government contracts and GSA schedules, developing critical procurement contacts, connecting with decision makers within the government and the contracting community, and learning the essential government best practices that can make you a viable player — even against much larger, more experienced companies, then Government Market Masters is for you.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Blog Name Change
Amtower Off Center is my radio show, and it has a brand of its own. You can listen to my shows in the archive at www.FederalNewsRadio.com and you can listen live in DC on 1500 AM or on the web at the web site at noon every Monday.
The blog is still me, attitude intact, but it is different from the radio show. Amtower on B2G is what I do - business to government marketing, business to government sales, business to government BUSINESS.
My first book, Government Marketing Best Practices, was about selling to the government. My seminars are about selling to the government, my web sites, www.GovernmentMarketMaster.com
www.GovernmentExpress.com
www.FederalDirect.com
are about selling to the government.
And now, a little more clearly, Amtower on B2G is about selling to the government.
Stay tuned!
The blog is still me, attitude intact, but it is different from the radio show. Amtower on B2G is what I do - business to government marketing, business to government sales, business to government BUSINESS.
My first book, Government Marketing Best Practices, was about selling to the government. My seminars are about selling to the government, my web sites, www.GovernmentMarketMaster.com
www.GovernmentExpress.com
www.FederalDirect.com
are about selling to the government.
And now, a little more clearly, Amtower on B2G is about selling to the government.
Stay tuned!
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