Government Marketing Best Practices - August 16

Government Marketing Best Practices

August 16, 2012, 8:00 AM- Noon

Capitol College, Laurel, Maryland

We are entering the most turbulent GovCon market since I have been in business. It will be a struggle to maintain marketshare, much less grow it.

We are in a near-chaotic period for government contracting. Agency budgets are smaller. GSA is changing the rules on Schedules, small business regulations are convoluted, confusing and changing, the rules on use of government SmartPay™ charge cards may be changing, and on and on!

Do you know how each of these can impact your ability to do business with the government?

I have been advising companies on doing business with the government since 1985, and I have never seen this much turmoil in the market. The good news is the government still needs all the products and services they’ve always purchased. The bad news is how they are buying is changing and if you are not totally aware of everything that is going on, you may be severely handicapped in how you sell to Uncle Sam. Worst case scenario- you could lose your ability to sell to the feds completely.

The next several months will be crucial for your business!

Understanding what the issues are is the beginning of developing ways to ensure you maintain and grow more of your government business than your competition:

 
-GSA’s launch and expansion of the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI), directly impacts certain GSA Schedules

-the economy and its impact on federal budgets

-the possible closing of some Schedule contracts and/or SINs

-restriction of how many companies can be on any given GSA Schedule

-the changing use of government charge cards and how this will impact open market sales

Each of these can directly impact how you do business with your current clients.

Need more? Recently the Acting GSA Administrator announced GSA’s intention of cleaning up the ‘outdated and oversaturated’ GSA Multiple Award Schedules program. GSA’s goal is to move to a ‘Demand-Based Model’ that points GSA’s resources to the places that need them the most. The upcoming changes are said to include:

- ending contracts that are not meeting minimum sales criteria

- deleting some outdated Special Item Numbers (SINs) and/or GSA Schedules

- closing over-populated GSA Schedules to new offers for annual periods of time.

Your marketing program must pay bigger dividends for your company – now!

If you need to know what is working, you need to attend Government Marketing Best Practices!

Government Marketing Best Practices is a half-day session covering what works in business-to-government marketing, from traditional methods through web 2.0 tools.

-         What still works with traditional advertising when focusing on the government market?

-         How does your marketing support the sales efforts for GSA Schedules, IDIQs and GWACs?

-         What are the best methods for positioning your company as a thought leader in one of the emerging areas: Cloud, cyber, LEED, "green", and more.

-         Which web 2.0 tools (blogging, podcasts, video, webinars, Twitter, social networks) are best for your company and are you leveraging to the max?

 All this and more from leading industry expert Mark Amtower.

 The fee for this session is $495. (Use code GMM for a 20% discount.)

To register or to get more details, call Mark Amtower at 301 924 0058 or email Mark@FederalDirect.net

The Government Market Master program offers ongoing professional education in sales, marketing, business development and social media for government contractors. The GMM Program will provide across-the-board best practices, processes and methodologies – delivered by many of the industry’s top business and thought leaders. The Government Market Master program is offered through the Office of Professional Development at Capitol College in Laurel, Maryland.

All attendees will receive 4 hours credit toward a Government Market Master certificate.

Speaker:


Mark Amtower:  www.linkedin.com/in/markamtower - Amtower is a nationally recognized expert in marketing to the government, author of 3 books and over 150 articles. He has advised many of the most successful companies, large and small, in the government market in his 27 years managing Amtower & Company. He is the Co-Director of the Government Market Master program at Capitol College in Laurel, Maryland.

GovCon Procurement Changes

I have been advising companies on doing business with the government since 1985, and I have never seen this much turmoil in the market, starting with but certainly not limited to the budget issues, fixed-price contracts, low price/technically acceptable (LPTA) and more.

The good news is the government still needs all the products and services they’ve always purchased. The bad news is how they are buying is changing, especially on GSA Schedules. If you are not totally aware of everything that is going on, you may be severely handicapped in how you sell to Uncle Sam. Worst case scenario- you could lose your ability to sell to the feds.

The next several months will be crucial for your business!

If you sell via GSA, do you know GSA recently announced the intention of cleaning up the outdated and oversaturated GSA Multiple Award Schedules program?  GSA’s goal is to move to a “Demand Based Model” that would maximize the use of GSA’s limited internal resources.

According to GSA memos and information from other sources, these are the pending changes which may be coming to the GSA Schedules:

1.         Ending contracts that are not meeting minimum sales criteria (contracts with vendors that are not performing on specific Schedules)

2.         Deleting some outdated Special Item Numbers (SINs) and/or entire Schedules

3.         Closing overpopulated GSA Schedules to new offers for annual periods of time.

While each of these may be valid, they impact the current landscape in a big way.

Add to this the current and upcoming Federal Strategic Sourcing BPAs (Schedule 75 and others), and there truly major shift in progress.

Understanding what the issues are is the beginning of developing ways to ensure you maintain more of your government accounts than your competition.

I am looking for up to 8 companies that sell products to the government to advise and work with between now and the end of the year to ensure each company understands the issues and are fully prepared to succeed despite the changes.

If you’d like to see the complete details for this five month program, let me know & I will send them ASAP.

Absolutely the best-

Mark Amtower

mark@federaldirect.net

Top Tier Relationships: Do You Need a Board of Advisors? (The Waldo Factor, part 12)

Almost every small company I have seen up close or advised as a consultant could use a Board of Advisors, especially those whose owners are rarely, if ever, wrong.

These firms tend to do one of two things: stagnate at a certain financial plateau, or die.

Even my small company (there is just me and my wife) has had a Board of Advisors, though not currently. I plan to correct this very soon.  A Board of Advisors can provide what I refer to as "adult supervision" to an entrepreneurial firm that is truly ready for some growth. 

Over the years I have also been on several Boards of Advisors: boards for events (FOSE and eGov), associations (The American Small Business Coalition), start-ups (Pest Patrol, which sold to CA: HyLighter, a really cool company with a cutting-edge collaboration tool) and others. Each has been rewarding to me in various ways, and I have been able to add value in each situation.

Well chosen and well-run Boards add dimensions to small companies that are simply out of reach to most companies.

Choosing Board members whose experience in your market niche allows you to tap into multiple wells of expertise. These various sources of experience can help you avoid pitfalls, shorten learning curves for you and key staffers, open some financial resources, and introduce you to other market nuances that you may not find on your own, and much more.

Another dimension is the top tier relationships each board member can bring that expands your exposure exponentially. Chosen well, your Board members can make some key introductions for you that might otherwise take years, if they were to happen at all. 

Being introduced by a Board member also raises your credibility when you are being introduced. In a market that is driven by relationships, this can be the ultimate value-add. The Waldo Factor here is being found not by everyone, but by the few who can make a big difference for your company.

Marissa Levin, founder and CEO of Information Experts, has a new book out on the topic: Built to Scale. I have had it for nearly two months and am just getting into it - and I am sorry I waited: it is a good read with some great advice. She deals from experience with the many facets of putting a successful Board together and using it well.

Get the book, digest the book, then get aboard!