Wednesday, October 31, 2018

5 Reasons YOU Need to Attend LinkedIn for GovCon


With over 2 million feds on LinkedIn and all major contractors (small and large alike), LinkedIn has become ubiquitous in the government market.  It has become the place for vetting companies and individuals (and where you are vetted), marketing and social selling, reaching out to influencers and potential partners to build business networks, to recruit key staff and much more.




Research from Market Connections and from Government Executive Media Group's Market Preview show the growth and reach of LinkedIn in our market.

But LinkedIn continues to morph, changing in ways that frustrate most users and makes it more difficult to do things we could do a few short years ago. We all need to learn how to respond to these changes and maximize the value of LinkedIn for our own purposes.

LinkedIn still offers one platform, one place where you can still do many business activities that will help you position and grow your business - and many of these things you can do for free, without the paid membership.


If you are not using LinkedIn well, you are losing business.


Here are five reasons to attend the upcoming (Dec 4, 5 & 6) workshops.

#1: Your target audience is here. ALL federal agencies and major operating divisions are are LinkedIn. Even the IC is represented, although in much smaller numbers. Nearly 2.1 million feds are on LinkedIn.

#2: 30-40% of the feds on LinkedIn have program or project management responsibilities or are in other management positions. When approached properly, many of these feds are open to connecting. These are the people who need to know who you are and what you do.

#3: Thought Leadership. You can use LinkedIn to develop a subject matter expert position for your SMEs and/or your company to stand out from your competitors.




#4:  24/7/365 free advertising when your employee profiles and your company profile are done well.

#5: Lead generation occurs when you use LinkedIn like a pro- and this workshop will take you there.



$195/seat- Only 15 seats per session- and you must register in advance.


8171 Maple Lawn Boulevard
Suite 200
Maple Lawn, MD 20759


4800 Montgomery Lane
9th Floor
Bethesda, MD 20814

8000 Towers Crescent Drive
Suite 1500
Tysons Corner, Virginia 22182

Note: Each workshop is being held in the conference rooms of Offit Kurman.

Reserve your seat today!


Who should attend? Everyone in GovCon, but especially sales and BD managers and professionals, marketing teams, CEOs of small contractors and anyone interested in making LinkedIn pay dividends!

Beverages, snacks and the 200 page pdf of the slides are supplied.





Wednesday, October 17, 2018

SEWP tops $5 billion in FY18; Rob Coen moves to OASIS

I attended the 25th anniversary for the SEWP program last week at their offices in Greenbelt.

 
The weather not great, but it did not stop most from attending. I drove 2 hours from Tysons, where I was speaking at the APMP NCA annual conference. Rush hour plus rain, I knew it was going to take a while. I just wanted to arrive before the party was over.

SEWP was the first GWAC awarded back in 1993 and is the longest running GWAC. SEWP V is the fifth iteration of the program, and is considered by many to be the best managed contract in the federal market.

I made it to the party with an hour to spare, including the cake cutting.
 
I was able to spend a little time with SEWP program manager Joanne Woytek and deputy program manager Darlene Coen.

During my conversation with Joanne it came out that SEWP V produced $5.3 billion in booked business in FY 2018. They had close to 32,000 new orders processed with committed funds of $4.21B and approximately 8,000 mods to existing orders processed with newly committed funds of $1.14B. So total new spend through SEWP in FY18 is $5.35 Billion, a 20% increase over FY17.

Many have predicted the growing use of GWACs and selected IDIQs was palpable, and SEWPs performance is a great example of that.


Congratulations to the SEWP staff for a great year!


*** PS: I say above that SEWP is widely considered to be the best run contract in the government. I am among those who think so. Note however that Rob Coen, former PM of the NITAAC GWACs (CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 Small Biz, and CIO-CS, was just named to run the OASIS program. At NITAAC Rob took the program from pocket change (roughly $300 million) to almost $5 billion during his tenure. I expect no less from him at OASIS.



Sunday, October 14, 2018

FY 2020 (and Beyond) Small Contractor Marketing & BD Program


See updated program  >>  here:  <<



Amtower Small Biz GovCon Advisory Program 


Remember Where's Waldo? Contracting officers often feel like they are looking at a Waldo graphic while sorts through RFPs. Nothing seems to stand out or above the crowd... 




Do you want deeper connections and more leads with your government clients and prospects?

Do you need to develop relationships with prime contractors?

Do you need more visibility and credibility in your market niche?

Do you understand how to interact with the media?

Do you want more task orders from your contracts?

Does your limited networking time pay dividends?

Do you want better traction for your company in FY 2020?

If you answered yes to one or more of these, read on.

Every year is a challenging year, especially for small contractors, with further changes in agency programs and policies, senior personnel, additional changes in procurement policy, and more.

All these will impact small businesses more than larger businesses, so you must be prepared.

More fully leveraging your current contracts, especially direct or indirect access to MACs, IDIQs, the GSA Schedule and GWACs can help you weather this storm. Most predict agency use of IDIQs and GWACs to continue to grow in FY 2020 and beyond. Your access as a prime or partner on these contracts can be critical. Look for significant growth on SEWP, CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 SB, CIO-CS, Alliant, OASIS, VETS, 8(a) STARS II, and other MACs and GWACs, as well as the GSA Schedule. 

If your company is not performing up to your expectations, or if you feel that your strategy is not paying adequate dividends, we should talk.


Reserve time on my calendar NOW:   https://calendly.com/markamtower 
or email markamtower@gmail.com 

My guidance has helped hundreds of companies grow and earn billions. My advice can save you time and money, lead to new opportunities, expand your presence in agencies where you already do business, identify key differentiators leading to increased market share, create media coverage, and generally help companies establish a more viable and visible presence in the government market. For nearly thirty-five years I have helped my clients to dramatically increase the dollar value of their contracts, often spending less on marketing.

If your marketing and business development efforts are not paying significant dividends, we should talk now.

I offer a year-long Small Biz GovCon Advisory Program. Rather than charge an hourly fee to companies tapping into my expertise on a semi-regular basis, I have created an advisory program that small companies can afford.

This program is only for businesses recognized as small by SBA standards: SDB, WOSB, VOSB, SDVOSB, 8(a), HubZone, Native American, and just plain Small.

The Amtower GovCon Advisory Program includes

                -   An initial planning session to define realistic goals for our engagement. This session will provide the overall strategy for the year, including development of a targeted visibility plan that makes the most sense for you and your company. We can make alterations along the way as necessary; 

           - A detailed web site review with recommendations;

              -  A LinkedIn company profile review with recommendations and edits;

               -  Monthly customized training sessions (30-40 minute sessions), content to be determined in the planning session. Training modules offered include LinkedIn training; content development; developing a subject matter expert platform; social selling; PR/media training; market research and more. Each session tailored to the client and all sessions are pre-scheduled;

              - Email alerts with news about your niche, competitors and other topics addressed in the planning session. I will monitor Google Alerts and selected trade publications for each participant;

            - Bi-weekly calls to track your progress, address problem areas, discuss leads and opportunities and more;

             - Strategic introductions to primes, OEMs, various market experts, media and government influencers;      

    - Defining and developing your market position, your company "subject matter expert" (SME) status:   
     
         - Developing a content editorial calendar and selecting venues to develop and share your content;

              - Unlimited email and short call Q&A;

             - Advice on selecting outside services (events, associations, bidding services, proposal assistance, etc).

       - Access to me for an entire FY.

Please call 301 854 9493 or email markamtower@gmail.com with any questions or to sign up. 

Or set a time on my calendar for is to talk- https://calendly.com/markamtower 


I can only accept twelve participants.


The investment for this program is $1,995 down, and $995 per month for an annual total of $12,940.

  

Mark Amtower     Amtower & Company     www.FederalDirect.net

Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Government Marketing

Friday, October 5, 2018

It's Q1 FY 2019- Where's Mark Amtower? Where to find me this fall


While I don't get out as much as I should, unlike Waldo, I don't hide in crowds or in seas of colors. In public I am easy to spot- all black attire, all the time. And I will be out this fall.



Look for me at these events over the next two months. Several are speaking engagements, and all offer great networking.

October 9, 7:30-9:00am: Bloomberg Government Army Opportunity briefing:  https://www.bgov.com/core/contracting/home

October 10, 4:30pm- 8:00pm- SDVOSB monthly Bootcamp  and Dinner (90 minute bootcamp is free), Key Bridge Marriott: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/national-veteran-small-business-coalition-wednesday-10-october-2018-dc-metro-chapter-dinner-meeting-tickets-50503551482 

October 11, (all day)- APMP Mid-Atlantic Conference, McLean:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-apmp-nca-mid-atlantic-conference-and-expo-mac-tickets-46864551134

October 11, 4:00pm - 8:00pm: SEWP 25th anniversary party, Greenbelt.

October 26, &;30am- 11:00am Washington Technology's 2019 Outlook and Beyond, Tysons: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=371766&reference=EM1

November 1: Government Marketing University GAIN Conference, Reston:
https://thegainconference.com/ 

November 8, 8:30am-11:30am: Market Connections 10th annual Federal Media and Marketing Study, McLen: https://www.marketconnectionsinc.com/fmms2018event/

November 15: 5th annual Government IT Sales Summit, Reston:
https://www.govitsalessummit.com/ehome/321447

December 4: LinkedIn for GovCon, Maple Lawn (Howard County):  https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efq17tmc9e7f67d7&oseq=&c=&ch=

December 5: LinkedIn for GovCon, Bethesda:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efq17txn4b40e1db&oseq=&c=&ch=

December 6: LinkedIn for GovCon, Tysons:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efq18xkbcd3bcf9b&oseq=&c=&ch=

Monday, October 1, 2018

Successful Self-Promotion: GovExec's Market Preview


I attended Government Executive Media Group's Market Preview on September 20 to see what was coming next from the GovCon media property.

I attend in part because the networking is always good. I tend to arrive early because I am driving from Columbia to Wolf Trap and I want to beat the traffic. This works in my favor as well, as I get one-on-one time with Tim Hartman, (CEO), Connie Sayers (President) and a few of the staff that I know.

Then, as people arrive, I see many of their clients and prospects, and several of my GovCon marketing friends.

It is always interesting to see the market from the perspective of a major media property. For Market Preview, they had five areas identified as trends.


Market Trends and New Offerings




(Sorry for the cell phone pics. These are from Market Preview.)


As you can see, the five trends identified are flux, podcasts, social, lead gen and events. Citing Market Connections as well as their own research, they see a significant rise in these areas.

To address these areas, Government Executive Media Group is adding to their portfolio of services programs for podcasts, social, lead generation and events. Well, they already have events and they help their clients with lead gen activity. Which leaves two new areas where they feel they can add value to their client base.

The Ultimate Podcast Network




and Social/content/targeted delivery



I will preface this by saying I am a fan of the GovExec team and what they have done. It is great to see a former print publication morph in the ways it has, and become even more successful.

That being said, podcasts and leveraging social media have been with us for quite some time. About the time (2009) I started coaching people and companies on LinkedIn Matt Langan of L&R Communications was helping companies develop and deploy podcasts.

And as you may know, I have been on Federal News Radio for almost 12 years, and my shows (and all other WFED broadcasts) are and have been available for download - podcasts. They are also available on iTunes and PodcastOne.



(This photo is from my first big public presentation on LinkedIn, to the American Marketing Assn chapter in Virginia Beach. Note the date on the picture, that I only have one chin, and the lack of silver in my hair...)

On the "Social" side of this equation, I am happy to see the endorsement from a major media company that "social" has arrived. However, the arrival is long past- this baby has matured. As I announced earlier this year, there are more than 2 million Feds on LinkedIn. This was my third Fed census on LinkedIn, the first being in September, 2014 when I found 1.4 million Feds on LinkedIn.

Again, while podcasts and leveraging social media, especially LinkedIn, are not new to the market, GovExec's entry into these areas is interesting. They bring a powerful database to the broadcast side of the equation, but as a whole, Government Executive does not leverage LinkedIn particularly well for itself.

This is not meant to be a slam, simply my opinion predicated on over 14 years on LinkedIn and coaching trams and individuals for 10 of those 14 years. Most individuals and companies in our market don't use LinkedIn well.

All that being said, media companies look for pockets of profitability, and Government Executive Media Group has identified some fertile ground.

For me it also begs the question: if I were a GovCon media exec, what would I be offering my clients?

Will I attend Market Preview next year? If invited, most certainly