IDIQ/GWAC Panel at 930Gov Sept 6

Once again I will be hosting an IDIQ/GWAC panel at 930Gov on September 6 at the Washington DC Convention Center. This has been a lively panel in past years and promises to be informative once again this year. I always enjoy hosting this session.

This year my IDIQ panel will have

   - Bridget Gauer, NITAAC
   - Joanne Woytek, SEWP
   - Cheryl Thornton, GSA
   - Omar Saeb, Alliant

Now in its fifth year, 930Gov is a unique end-of=FY event. It has five tracks covering

   - Cyber and IT Security
   - Records Management
   - IT Modernization
   - Government Customer Experience
   - Knowledge, Data and Information Management

This event always has top-notch sessions and speakers.

I hope to see you there- and at this session!


Mark Amtower

.

Myopic Management at GSA whacks OASIS

The government often says it wants to operate more like business. Business knows that when the market chooses a particular way of doing business (in this case buying professional services), you push that venue and you reward those in charge for a job well done.

It seems GSA wants the market to buy more professional services from the Schedule and less from OASIS, regardless of the success of OASIS, amply demonstrated by the migration of government buyers.

The result: a surprise "voluntary" total turnover of the OASIS management team, occurring late Friday, July 22. Remember Nixon’s Saturday night massacre, done late on a Saturday to avoid news cycles?

Todd Richard's team is the repository of  OASIS's institutional knowledge. Removing and replacing the team that created the success at OASIS is a poor business decision, driven by myopic management.

Are there other factors at play here? Yes- but the bottom line is removing an entire management team- especially in the 4th quarter -  is not, as GSAs Tiffany Hixson wrote, "(As with all programs, personnel changes and departures are) a natural part of professional development and program evolution."

No, this is a most unnatural move at a very awkward time.

Not that I have an opinion.

Read Nick Wakeman's article on this:  https://fcw.com/articles/2017/07/25/oasis-shakeup.aspx

Social Selling as an end-of-FY (and year-round) tactic

Social selling: the process of getting and staying on the radar of potential partners and prospects in a positive way via social networks; positioning your company in a manner that makes it stand apart from and above the competition; solidify and expand relationships with existing customers.

Social selling is not a hard-sell tool; it is a soft-sell, stay on the radar tool. And it works.

It should be a year round process, but it could be especially useful at the end of an FY when your customers and prospects just got their budget approval. 

Nothing like getting your full budget in the last third of the FY!

LinkedIn is ideal for end-of-FY as there are at least 1.6 million Feds on LinkedIn (from my 2016 research), with a significant percentage in management positions. You can find key people by searching for their agencies (listed just like company profiles) and scrolling through the employees.

All federal agencies, including the IC, are represented on LinkedIn.

Having reviewed all federal agencies on LinkedIn, and having scrolled through thousands of profiles, my empirical research shows that at least 15% of federal employees on LinkedIn have IT-related job titles. About 35% have program, project or general management functions, and between 5-10% have executive level job titles.

For any government contractor, this is a gene pool worth looking into.

Looking for more business at CMS? Try scrolling through the 3,125 employees on LinkedIn until you see a job title that gets your attention. 

How about DISA? There are 4,320 employees on LinkedIn.

Looking for current or former SEWP employees or contractors? I can find 1,399 LinkedIn members who have SEWP in their description. I found a proposal expert with SEWP experience for a client bidding on SEWP V. 

Looking for contacts in the systems integration community? GDIT has 14,616 LinkedIn members. CACI taps in at 12,775, and Raytheon at 39,967.

The GovCon community, Feds and contractors, are on LinkedIn.

However, the vast majority of contractors have a "drive by" mentality when it comes to LinkedIn, using it only when they have a specific inquiry (who is the person that wants to connect, or who is the PM for SEWP at Red River).

We all use LinkedIn that way, but the more intelligent companies are using it to map out strategic connection strategies, meet key players, set up meetings, for account/agency-based marketing (ABM), for content sharing and much more.

LinkedIn should be a part of your end-of-FY marketing, and part of your year-round sales, marketing and business development efforts.

< I offer customized training on Social Selling for GovCon nationwide via webinar. Drop me a line for details - markamtower@gmail.com

VAR WARS continues - Art Richer moves to DLT

Holy guacamole Batman- Art Richer, president of the immixGroup for 18 years (1998-2016) has moved over to competitor DLT Solutions.

In February of 2015, international IT distributor Arrow bought immixGroup . In my LinkedIn post I said this would change the face of GovCon IT products sales over time.  Apparently the current investment bank owner of DLT agrees, at least to a point.

There have been numerous changes at the top levels of DLT over the past few weeks, but I have to say I was surprised to hear that Art Richer, one of the three architects of immixGroup (along with co-founders Jeff Copeland and Steve Charles) was moving into the top spot at DLT.

There are three major value-added distributors (VAD) in GovCon: Carahsoft (by far the largest), immixGroup (now owned by Arrow), and DLT. While DLT technically was first into this category, they have not experienced significant growth since Craig Abod (founder and CEO of Carahsoft) left in 2004.

Each of these VADs represents a suite of OEMs in the GovCon arena. Each has a good array of contracts (IDIQs, GWACs, BPAs and GSA) and each sells direct to Feds (and SLED) as well as working with other resellers in the channel.

So here's my take on why DLT has hired Art.

1) The owners are tired of being third in a three-horse race. Art is arguably the most talented person available and if anyone can spur growth, he's the one.

2) LPTA has made the channel tough for everyone, Each of the VADs has to work closer and more productively with OEMs and VARs to make this model profitable. I think Art will expand DLTs influence with the VARs.

3) There are other international distributors out there (Ingram Micro, TechData, Synnex and others) who are paying close attention to this as it develops.

Is Art at DLT to grow the business, sell the business, or both?

It makes me wonder why Arrow let Art go....

And it makes me wonder if Bob Laclede might end up at DLT as well. He knows the GovCon  VAR community better than anyone I know.

(I do not currently advise any of the companies in this post. These are my thoughts as a market observor.)

Small contractor with an IDIQ not making much $? We need to talk...

Are you a small contractor that has a GSA Schedule, or prime spot on a GWAC or other IDIQ and you are not getting traction?

We should talk.

Winning business from an IDIQ is part art and part science, but requires planning, execution and making the right decisions.

Sometimes you need to make quick decisions and may not have sufficient data or the experience to make the best decision.

**When a major GovCon trade conference was announced two years ago, I advised my clients not to participate due to the event's lack of focus. Only one client did not listen and they spent over $35,000, plus time and personnel, in an event that was a three-day total flop. Prep time, staff time, cash spent and three days on-site at the event down the drain.

**One of my clients was considering joining a major trade association simply for exposure, and the fee to join was in the mid 4-figures. She brought this up during our regular call and I asked her if she had heard of a small group of contractors that targeted the agency where 80% of her work was performed, primarily as a sub-contractor.  She hadn't but after joining, she developed relationships with other small contractors and a few larger primes, and won more business.

The wrong decision can waste time and money.

The right adviser can help you make more money from contracts you already have.

My advice to client companies has saved time and money, led to extraordinary opportunities, identified key differentiators leading to significant market share, created media coverage, and generally helped companies establish a more viable and profitable presence in the government market. I have helped my clients dramatically increase the dollar value of their contracts, often spending much less on marketing.

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

Due to requests and advice from a few friends, clients and former clients, I am offering a year-long 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.

The Amtower GovCon Advisory Program includes:

- An initial planning session to map out your growth strategy

- A detailed review of your web site

- Monthly training on social selling techniques leveraging LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

- Strategic introductions to subject matter experts, OEMs, channel partners, other contractors, federal managers, media and others

- Low-cost content marketing techniques

- Advice on selecting other outside services (events, associations, bidding services and more)

- Regular news alerts on your niche

- Regularly scheduled teleconferences for advice, updates, tracking progress, address problem areas, discuss opportunities and more

- Immediate access to advice from one of the most savvy government marketing professionals -when you need it.

Having an experienced government marketing adviser on call can save you money and help you make more money.

If this resonates with you and you want complete details, drop me a line NOW as we only have a limited number of openings for this program. 

markamtower@gmail.com   301 854 9493

Mark Amtower   Amtower & Company   www.FederalDirect.net

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markamtower/    @amtower

Government Market Master Continuing Professional Education for Marketing & BD

The government contracting market has experienced dramatic changes, arguably more over the past few years than the preceding few decades. LPTA, FSSI, and more GWACs are just the tip of the iceberg.

Competition for business via Schedules, GWACs, IDIQs and RFPs is more intense than ever before.

Add to that the radical and continuing changes in marketing to the government with the shrinking of some traditional venues (trade publications and big events) and the emergence of web 2.0 tools like webinars, blogs, videos, podcasts and LinkedIn.

How are you going to survive and thrive in this new environment?

The Government Market Master program is designed to do one thing very well: provide an ongoing educational forum for government contractors who want to succeed by providing key employees with the resources and industry best marketing practices they need. These include tools and tactics to cost-efficiently market and position the company, methods to expand their respective networks, connect to key decision makers in both client agencies and business partner companies, build subject matter expert platforms, and to fill the pipeline for their respective companies with the most qualified leads available.

Government Market Master Certification Program

Amtower & Company offered the first GovCon marketing seminar in January 1991. Late the evening prior to the event an ice storm hit the DC area. Of the 91 people registered, over 80 showed up. Our seminars started showing up on resumes as early as 1994. 

Mark Amtower is recognized across the government contracting community as a leading provider of B2G marketing advice and education.

We are formalizing our educational offering into the first certification program for B2G marketing professionals under the Government Market Master Continuing Professional Education program.  The Government Market Master program will offer workshops on the current best practices for what is working in B2G marketing. 

We offer seminars and workshops every month on topics pertinent to business development and marketing professionals, topics directly impacting the government contracting community. Our faculty and advisors are among the best the market has to offer. GMMF certificates will be awarded for each session attended and a Government Market Master Certification is awarded to those completing the seven workshops.

The certification will require attendance and participation in six 4-hour workshops:

August 12 Differentiation and Developing a Subject Matter Expert Platform Workshop 

http://ow.ly/PIDCy 

September 9 PR/Media Relations & Communicating Your Message via Social Media  http://ow.ly/PIE7Z


 October 14 Government Marketing Best Practices Workshop (GMBP)

November 11 B2G Market Research 101

December 9 B2G Content Marketing Workshop

Jan 2016  LinkedIn for GovCon

Each session will be offered at least three times each year, starting in July, 2015. The certification requirements must be met within 18 months of your first session. To maintain the certification, attendance is required at GMBP once each year thereafter. 

Those who have attended LinkedIn for GovCon or GMBP in 2015 will have these sessions grand-fathered into their requirements.

We believe that ongoing professional education will enhance the ability of our attendees to define and maintain a competitive edge by getting a broader picture of what is working across the B2G market and applying what they learn to their specific companies. Educated employees are more productive, better motivated and are more likely to stay with their current employer.

Our goal is to become the preferred continuing professional education source for professionals engaged in marketing to the government.

Workshop schedules will be posted at http://www.FederalDirect.net and at the Government Market Master group on LinkedIn..

All workshops are held at the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, 9250 Bendix Rd, Columbia MD 21045.

Workshops are also available as in-house training on a limited basis. We are currently researching options for online training.

Contact me with any questions:    

Mark Amtower     301-854-9493    mark@federaldirect.net

The New Rules of Selling Products to the Government -Wed, March 25, 2015

Selling anything to the federal government has become more complex and more difficult in the era of reverse auctions, LPTA and FSSI.

The New Rules of Selling Products to the Government  will cut through the clutter and give you both the information you need and tactics you can use.

There is limited seating so reserve your seat TODAY by emailing Mark Amtower @ mark@FederalDirect.net.

Wed, March 25, 2015, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM - Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship in Columbia MD.

Featuring two industry icons, Larry Allen of Allen Federal - for 19 years president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, and Mark Amtower, founder of Amtower & Company and the Government Market Master Forum, this session will address 

- the new rules of product procurement, including the rollout of FSSI and how to be part of a winning team

- when (if ever) to use reverse auctions

- low-price, technically acceptable (LPTA) and how to influence the TA part of the equation

- preparing for when FSSI comes to your Schedule

- Simplified Acquisitions

- when, why and how to partner with a reseller

- what your web site really needs to attract federal buyers and get them to buy

- the best lead(list) sources

- SmartPay charge card update

- event and conference selection criteria

- association and special interest group involvement

- how to leverage social media for lead generation (including blogs, videos and podcasts)

- leveraging LinkedIn for account development

and much more.

Together Larry and Mark will provide information you can use - no platitudes, just information you can use to grow your business.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
VP Sales, VP Marketing, VP Communications, VP BD, Sales managers

Speaker Information

Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal, former president of the Coalition for Government Procurement and widely recognized as a leading expert on government procurement, GSA issues and the government market. Larry is a member of the SEWP advisory panel (NASA SEWP V).

Mark Amtower, founding partner, Amtower & Company, founder & director, Government Market Master Forum. Amtower has advised hundreds of companies selling products to the government since starting Amtower & Company in 1985. Collectively his clients have made tens of billions of dollars.

March 25, 2015- 8:00 AM-4:00 PM - Teqcorner in McLean, VA

Seats are $595 until COB March 6; after that they go up to $695. Lunch, snacks and beverages will be provided. All attenders receive the 100+ page workbook.

We only have room for 30 attendees- so register today to guarantee your seat!

Advanced registration is required - Call 301 854 9493  or email

markamtower@gmail.com 

Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, 9250 Bendix Road, Columbia MD 21045

Five Areas Contractors Need to Watch in 2013

Five Areas Contractors Need

to Watch in 2013

We live in interesting times.

There have been bad periods for government contractors several times in the 30 years I have been advising companies in this market, but beyond any doubt, these are the strangest and by far the worst of any I have seen.

To successfully stay ahead of the curve, to be as competitive as possible, certain activities must be monitored on a very regular basis. These activities require an investment, sometimes of time, sometimes of money or other resources, and sometimes a combination of several.

But make no mistake, these activities must be closely monitored if you are to remain or become successful.

1-      Careful attention must be paid to how your prospects and customers are being driven in their purchasing. Strategic sourcing is expanding; low-price, technically acceptable is the rallying cry of bean-counters inside OMB and elsewhere; and fixed-price contracting looms. Each of these have serious downsides for the government, but in their cyclic mind frame, they won’t figure this out for the next four or five years. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of companies will be removed from various GSA Schedules by then, and many of those will go out of business as a result. Study these issues carefully and be prepared to deal with each as it encroaches on your niche.

2-      ‘Fraud, waste and abuse’ is yet another rallying cry from those who have little or no clue as to what “common commercial practice” actually is. That does not remove it as a threat to the contracting community. Make certain you are getting the proper legal advice in all areas of contracting: pricing, partnering, prime/sub relations, audit and other activities which raise red flags inside IG offices. I am not saying that contract fraud does not exist, but I am certainly implying that over-zealous government lawyers often don't have a clue as to how the business world operates.

3-       All things “small business”. Small businesses continue to seek sub-contracting and other arrangements with primes, and primes seek to find competent sub-contractors for specific bids. With the number of bills in Congress impacting small business, in particular set-asides, both small and larger business must take into account all the rules impacting how they can work together. It does not appear that Congress, despite all their lip service, will make this easier for anyone. But keep in mind that missteps here can lead to #2 above.

4-      To get away from the pitfalls for a moment, let’s look at social networking. With the temporary demise of some major events sponsored by the government, new ways must be found to identify and influence prospective buyers and other influencers. LinkedIn is particularly well-suited to this task, and while many contractors are here, along with the governmental counterparts, few companies use LinkedIn to its maximum advantage. Invest in some training to see if you are among those missing this particular boat.

5-      Thought leadership has been a hot topic for a few years now, but like social networking, many really do not get what it means and how to develop a thought leadership platform. While many claim to be thought leaders, but few can substantiate the claim. Thought leadership is differentiation on steroids. It is the development of expertise in a niche subject area, and the sharing of that knowledge base in multiple venues throughout a defined community. And still, it is more. It is ultimately the acknowledgment of that community that you are among the thought leaders. You can learn the elements, but you never claim the status without broad recognition from the community.

There are other areas that may need to be monitored for you particular niche, but these five cut across the entire market.

Pay careful attention to the first three and start acting on the final two.

Best of fortunes in 2013.

 

 

GSA, FSSI & "Savings"

The GSA Blog reports a savings of $10.2 million in the first year since Schedule 75 became the poster child for FSSI. Here is the link:

http://gsablogs.gsa.gov/gsablog/2011/07/19/gsa-helps-agencies-save-10-million-on-office-supplies/

 In the words of Steve Kempf, Commissioner of FAS:

GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service recently celebrated the one year anniversary of a strategic sourcing program for office supplies, which we call OS2. In the first year of the program we saw $10.2 million in savings, which is 9 percent less than what federal agencies would have paid without OS2. 

I am uncertain where the 9% figure comes from, but in FY 2011 606 contractors on Schedule 75 accounted for $722,584,165. Now there are 15 companies on the FSSI BPA, which by my calculations leaves 591 companies and thousands of employees out in the cold.

Historically the GSA Schedules have been touted as the main entry for small businesses into the government market. That, it seems, may be history.

With the impending closing of 5 Schedules to new vendors in early 2013, including Schedule 70, GSA is making it more difficult for small business to successfully enter the government market.

GSA is attempting to become more efficient, and for this it should be applauded, but efficient at what price?

As the economy struggles to recover, more businesses try to do business with Federal, state and local governments.

Many successful Schedule 75 contractors have suffered severe setbacks as a result of the FSSI BPA award, and most of those are small businesses.
efficient at what price?

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

El Dorado, Short-cuts, and the Music Man

Several recent events have caused me to re-visit those who think they can find what no one else has found before: the ultimate short-cut to doing business with the government.   El Dorado- the lost city of gold sought by the Spanish Conquistadors is now sought by would-be government contractors who envision themselves in heavy armor finding the elusive city.

The myths of the successful short-cuts to government contracting persist because people want to believe them, in part because of phone scams from those selling the concept of a GSA Schedule as a panacea for gov-wealth, and in part because the government itself puts out some questionable information on federal small biz programs. A GSA Schedule can be part of your B2G strategy, but it is not a strategy itself.

Let me briefly address the latter issue first. The government, through recent proposed legislation, is once again making it seem as though there is money for the taking by small businesses. Increasing set-aside goals does not help small business. Putting teeth in the current rules would be better.  Political methane, not useful business ideas, is the major product of Washngton, DC, especially during an election year.

Now, let’s move on to El Dorado, figuratively speaking. Most of us have a tendency to believe, if only for a brief moment, that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Why else would so many people buy lottery tickets, especially when the jackpots go into the stratosphere? Many of us think we offer something truly unique with a value beyond the ability of mere mortals to determine.  Regardless of what I might tell them, the refrain to this chorus is “Yes, but we’re different…”

Regardless of the validity of that thought, the government rarely buys the truly “unique” product as it tends to be untried in the commercial world. If it were tried, it would no longer be “unique” as someone would replicate it if it proved of value.

And the phone scams seem to have replaced the travelling joke of a seminar which touted itself as the sole-source of instant wealth through government contracting. Yet people lined up and then complained when contract dollars did not occur.

The phone scam starts with a 5 second pause (the auto-dialer has to connect a human when a phone is answered), and then someone asks to speak with the “president or business owner” regarding the value of a GSA Schedule.  It seems it would not matter what you sell, the GSA Schedule is the answer.  This would be a good time to hang up. But don’t worry, like a whack-a-mole, they’ll call again.

Then we have the generic consultant syndrome, where someone who advises business owners on other unrelated matters says, when the topic arises, “Oh, government. Yeah, I can do that too.” One size does not fit all.

Al a Professor Harold Hill, it seems to me that anyone, anywhere, can pick up a little musical instrument and get a parade going to…..nowhere.

Government Market Master (tm) program launches in June!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Contact: Kyle Anderson
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
301-369-2800, ext. 3015
kdanderson@capitol-college.edu

Mark Amtower, Co-Director

Government Market Master™ Certificate Program
301-924-0058
mark@federaldirect.net

Capitol College to Offer Government Market Master^TM Program

LAUREL, Md. (April XX, 2012) – Capitol College has recently partnered with Government Market Master^TM (GMM) and will begin offering the program’s non-credit courses on campus, beginning June 2012. The Government Market Master^TM program provides government market professionals with ongoing professional development that addresses comprehensive best practices, processes and methodologies for gaining invaluable insight on how to develop and sustain meaningful business relationships with the Federal Government.

In order to receive a Government Market Master Certificate, individuals must fulfill course requirements in business management, sales, marketing, business development and social media. Individual track certificates are offered for each of the five areas.

“I’m very pleased to partner with GMM to deliver programming specifically designed to benefit the federal contractor community,” said Ken Crockett, director of Capitol’s Critical Infrastructures and Cyber Protection Center. “I believe GMM programming will help increase the volume of defense contractors that participate in the federal marketplace, thereby increasing competition within the contracting community. This will lead to improved innovation and better products and services for the U.S. government to consider, thereby enhancing homeland security.”

The program is customized for executives, managers and professionals who want to successfully transition their business-to-business approach to a business-to-government approach. Those looking to dramatically improve their current business-to-government initiatives will also benefit from GMM.


The Government Market Master program was co-developed by Mark Amtower, of Amtower & Company, author of “Government Marketing Best Practices” and “Selling to the Government.” Amtower & Company has been offering professional education for the government contracting community since 1991.


"This is the first certificate program for marketing, sales and business development professionals in the government market offered with a college or university," said Mark Amtower. "It is designed to help companies selling virtually any product or service to the federal government, and we plan to address selling to state and local governments as well. Our instructors will all be experienced professionals from the front lines of government contracting."
Learn more about Capitol College and the Government Market Master (tm) program here: www.capitol-college.edu/gmm

Capitol College is the only independent college in Maryland dedicated to education in engineering, computer science, information technology and business through practices of leadership and innovation. Founded in 1927, Capitol offers associate, bachelor’s and master's degrees, a doctor of science in information assurance, professional development training and certificates. Academic programs are grounded in centers of excellence; these include the Space Operations Institute, the Critical Infrastructures and Cyber Protection Center, the Innovation and Leadership Institute, and the Center for Space Science Education and Public Outreach. The college campus is located in Laurel, Maryland, a suburban setting midway between Baltimore and Washington, DC. www.capitol-college.edu.

###

The Chicken or the Egg: The Art, Science and Benefits of Being Different (The Waldo Factor, part 4)

The "chicken or the egg" conundrum has reared its confusing head yet again.

I have made several of presentations over the past 3 years on maximizing the power of LinkedIn: leveraging this great platform for differentiating your company; attracting partners and prospects; positioning your company as a subject matter expert in a niche so agencies and primes will better understand what you do and where you fit; strategically growing your network; then staying in touch with your ever-expanding network by sharing good information. This is the process that leads to more visibility and differentiates you from most, if not all, of your competitors.

The audiences always seem receptive to what I am saying, paying serious lip service to their desire to employ social media to differentiate, then reach out to the market. "We're gonna do it....real soon...."

Then comes the caveat: "We really need some sales first."

Differentiation, how and why you are different from your competitors, is one of the major keys that will lead to your ability to sell more products or services. Social media, when used properly, helps you display the attributes that legitimately differentiate your company from others. Until you differentiate yourself and become visible to your target audience, the likelihood of more sales is minimal.

"But we really need some sales first...do you have an email list of (fill in the job title here: procurement officers, facilities managers, CIOs, etc)"....

Chapter 8 of Selling to the Government is devoted to differentiating, and Chapter 11 (near the end of the book) deals with the deployment of web 2.0 tools, especially LinkedIn. I devote a fair amount of space in this book to these because they are critical to your success.

There is a reason that 25%+ of GSA Schedule holders make $0:
- little or no differentiation
- little or no targeted marketing
- and little or no use of social media.

Being on the GSA Schedule is not a guarantee of sales and being on GSA Advantage is a requirement, it is not a differentiator and it offers no real advantage (no pun intended) to the contractor.

If you are not trying differentiate, to legitimately stand out in a crowded field by clearly enunciating what makes your company different, you are already on a downward spiral.

So what comes first, the chicken or the egg?


Market Connections study stats on how contractors use social media:

1) Marketing/promotion - 85%
2) Thought leadership promotion - 84%
3) Increased collaboration - 75%
4) Improved customer access to company information - 74%

SOURCE: www.MarketConnectionsInc.com


And btw, Amtower & Company offers coaching for companies and individual coaching on leveraging the power of LinkedIn and we also offer a half-day workshop to get companies started on LinkedIn.

Helping Small Businesses get "Found": The Waldo Factor, part 2

Being "findable" and being credible after being found are the first two steps for leveraging web 2.0 tools to create qualified leads. In the government contracting market, this is more important today than ever before.

There should be little or no argument that the government contracting market will be more competitive as we move into FY 2012.

Regardless of the size of your company, we have a situation where the better known companies will have a huge edge (hint: better known does not always mean bigger). So, if you have a piece of any IDIQ contract- GSA Schedule, SEWP IV, 8(a) STARS, whatever- you need to work harder than ever to gain more attention with the buyers and influencers who can make or break your FY 2012. That includes both government buyers and other contractors.

Take for example the 8(a) STARS II program, a five year, $10 billion IDIQ GWAC.  As an IDIQ (indefinite delivery- indefinite quantity) GWAC (government wide contract), there is no requirement for agencies to buy off the contract nor is there any agency money assigned to the contract. It becomes job #1 for the winners of the contract to market the availability of their services through this contract to
key influencers in the government market.

There are 599 companies that own a piece of the 8(a) STARS II contract. Standing out in this crowd will not be an easy or quick task. Part of standing out in the crowd is positioning yourself as a leader in your niche, establishing your credentials and making certain that the word gets out to the right people. In a Federal News Radio interview on August 5, In Depth with Francis Rose, I predicted that less than 10% of the STARS II contract winners would make money fom the contract because of inadequate marketing and sales efforts.

For small companies, the intelligent use of social media and web 2.0 tools has become critical. Social media and blogs are the fastest growing line items in lead generation budgets because when used properly these tools allow a company to demonstrate an area of expertise, and to share relevent content with key buying influencers. It is one of the few tools that can really "level the playing field". When used properly, web 2.0 tools are low-cost and high impact.
 
Part of the credibility is what you do and how well you do it. Another part is who you know. Social networking allows you to exponentially expand your relationship reach. This morning (9/16/11) I received an email from a client. Yesterday I sent them an article that dealt directly with their core strength, an interview with a major federal influencer talking about this technical area. They asked if I knew the person quoted in the article. I did not- but I have 42 direct connections on LinkedIn that do know this person so I will be able to make the connection for my client. LinkedIn works if you use it properly.


And what about other web 2.0 tools?

According to a 2010 survey by Market Connections, Inc, over 40% of Federal information technology professionals "attended" more than one webinar in the past year. I expect the percentage to rise dramatically in the 2011 survey (to be released in Otcober). The fastest growing company in the government market, Carahsoft, has a library of several hundred webinars for customers and prospects. The webinars successfully act as a passive sales tools for Carahsoft. Just over seven years old, the company is on track to do $1 billion in sales this year.

This is not simply a matter of starting a blog, or creating a couple of webinars. It is a matter of selecting the right tools for your company and using them well, tools that show what you are capable of doing, tools that will attract buyers and influencers to your blog, webinar or social networking profile. Tools that will increase "findability" and build credibility and help you sell your services in this very competitive environment.

Or, if you prefer, you can wait for the phone to ring, the preferred tactic of many unsuccessful GSA Schedule holders.

The successful companies on 8(a) STARS, GSA Schedule and other IDIQs will be working hard to get on the radar of buyers and influencers and selling their products and services in FY 2012 and beyond. The companies that simply wait for business to occur will be waiting a long time.

If you are interested in deploying the right web 2.0 tools, in creating a "thought leader" or subject matter expert position, and getting your company on the government contracting radar, we should talk.

Drop me a line at Mark@FederalDirect.net and let's set up a time to discuss your use of Web 2.0 tools to grow your business.

What to do when the budget shrinks?

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.

Who's on first?

The title for this post is a little misleading, but with a growth rate I have not seen before in this market. I think Carahsoft is poised to move up the ranks of the Washington Technology Top 100.

At the end of year  7, Craig Abod's dynamo, Carahsoft Technology Corp, will post sales of $840 million.

Say WHAT?!?! Yes, $840 million. This growth is all organic, no mergers or acquisitions. And Mr. Abod is not interested in being acquired, so don't call. However, he is interested in hearing from select companies that can help maintain the growth.

The goal for year 8 is $1 billion- and he has not missed a goal yet.

Carahsoft is a "boutique reseller"- a company that represents selected manufacturers in very specific niches. How they select the companies they represent remains a company secret, but suffice it to say that Abod knows when a trend is becoming "hot" in the government market. Hot in government terms does not mean being talked about, it means being funded.

I am almost hesitant to write about Craig or Carahsoft. I did so in my latest book, Selling to the Government, but with a caveat that I repeat here: "I hesitated in using Carahsoft as an example because the model devised by Craig Abod is very difficult to replicate."

How does he do it? Well, I can only guess parts of the puzzle, but here is a thought. He provides information needed by buyers and influencers before, during and after the sale. The preferred method of information delivery seems to be webinars, but it is not the only method. A healthy dose of face-to-face events is in the mix as well.

Check out the web site- www.carahsoft.com

I used Carahsoft as an example in the book and I use them as an example in my seminars. The next Government Markeing Best Practices seminar is March 22. Register here:

http://som.gmu.edu/gmm

Come see other best practices discussed by industry experts!