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

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.

###

GSA Conference SNAFU

I first heard about the GSA conference problems on In Depth with Francis Rose on Federal News Radio yesterday afternoon (4/2/12) after they picked up the Washington Post report (links for both below).

There will be much made of the GSA conference that led to the resignation of Martha Johnson and two others regarding this, and doubtless there will be Congressional hearings that will cost much more than the $823,000 that the conference cost. We cannot deny congressmen a chance to appear fically responsible during an election year....

But cost is not the entire issue: good management is the issue.

There are some serious issues with this conference, but one fact needs to be pointed out clearly. Those responsible for this were appointees, not career Feds. Apprently these appointees were warned several times to "tone down" the event by career Feds, whose advice was ignored.

It has long been my contention that there are too many appointees, political payoff jobs. Too often (as seems to be the case here), they come in with little or no grasp of how things are done, and worse, they take no time to learn and ignore those under them when they try to point things out.

Collateral damage here may involve events (conferences, seminars, briefings, and more) hosted by the government or attended by government employees and executives. While I hope this does not occur, I have seen similar situations with broad collateral damage. I would wager that conference and event planning professionals inside GSA were dropping hints and stronger messages along the way of this fiasco. I will also wager that those who were driving this event were oblivious to any and all advice regarding how government events need to happen.

There are several excellent firms that produce goverment events agencies, and in hindsight, one of these should have been used. Companies like the Federal Business Council, Fedinsider and others could produce an excellent event within budget and within all ethical parameters.

It is too bad that Martha Johnson suffered from the fallout here, as all my sources indicate she was a top-notch appointee.

Unfortunately, she is now collateral damage.


Washington Post story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gsa-chief-resigns-amid-reports-of-excessive-spending/2012/04/02/gIQABLNNrS_story.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost

Federal News Radio story
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/445/2812012/GSA-head-Johnson-resigns-two-others-fired-after-excessive-spending-at-event

Federal News Radio analysis
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/145/2812673/In-scandal-buck-stops-with-federal-executives

4/19/12 ADDITION - Mr Neely was a career and he was largely responsible for these problems, so my initial assessment was off the mark.

Five “Must Do’s” for B2G Marketers in 2011

In bad economic times, marketing budgets suffer. So what do B2G marketers need to focus on to stay ahead of the curve, to be able to defend your marketing budget and program, and make solid contributions yo your organization?

Visibility for your company, product or service does not happen by itself. Here are five areas you must focus on to ensure your marketing program remains a big corporate contributor.

1) Aligning marketing programs with sales and business development (BD) goals. While this may seem like a 'no brainer', it is surprising how many marketing programs are not aligned aligned with sales or BD goals, While the use of all the new, cool web 2.0 tools is fun and exciting, if they are not supporting specific sales or BD efforts, they may not be contributing to the bottom line. Marketing must attend all sales meetings to better understand the needs and requirements of both inbound and field sales. input from sales on things like event participation is a major key to success.

2) Speaking of web 2.o tools, they can be both cool and useful, if deployed properly. For example, much has been written about the use of webinars as a sales support tool, and webinars can be a great lead generator, if they are done properly. Often in the excitement of deploying a new technology, the technology is not always used to its best advantage. Selecting the right web 2.0 tools is step one, using them to effectively support specific corporate goals is job two. In order to maximize the value of each tool, you have to understand all the nuances of the tool. One example is blogs. Anyone can deploy a blog literally in a matter of minutes. But writing a good blog is not simple and driving traffic to your blog does not happen by itself. Thee other web 2.0 tools require the same care in selection and deployment, including podcasts, videos, social networks and more.

3) Content is extremely valuable, and it can be deployed using the web 2.0 tool just discussed, as well as by more traditional methods, including your web site, white papers, collateral material, speaking at live events and more. Content is a great support tool for both sales and BD, and it lays the groundwork for developing a thought leadership platform within the market.

4) Networking, both face-to-face and virtual, is the best way to develop the relationships critical to success in the government market. but there are hundreds of venues where you can network, so deciding where to network and then learning how to network are crucial. What are the venues best suited to your sales and BD personnel, and how can you support them once the venues are identified.

5) PR remains a key component of the overall marketing program, but the venues here are shifting and morphing as well, seemingly on a daily basis. But the fact remains that being interviewed or cited in the right publication, blog or radio show (traditional radio or web) bestows on you a mantle of authority: if you are the one interviewed or quoted, you are obviously the expert. Good PR gives you a credibility that advertising cannot buy. So again, selecting the right venues and getting noticed by them is a big key to the success of your marketing program.

Need more?

Attend Government Marketing Best Practices 2011 at the Mason Inn on the campus of George Mason University. There are two sessions: March 9 and March 22, both from 7:30 AM- 4:30 PM.

Government Marketing Best Practices is now part of the Government Market Master certificate program at the School of Management at George Mason University.

Register today and use this code for a $50 discount: AYGMM

March 9:
https://crm.orionondemand.com/crm/forms/Kzx75pN6700kx6700qM2


March 22
https://crm.orionondemand.com/crm/forms/zC670waN67020x6702aM2

End of FY approaches- what's in YOUR pipeline

Man- time flies....here is it half-past 2010 and end of Federal FY looms once again!!!

SO....what's in your pipeline? Are you further developing agency relationships already in place?

Are you prosepcting?

Pursuing task orders to help clients get rid of the pesky left over $$$funds$$?

We are facing a flat, perhaps smaller 2011 budget, so companies are circling the wagons around the accounts they currently have.

What are you doing for end of FY?

Most popular story at Washington technology this week

Thank you for reading my stuff!

This is the 2nd time this month that my 700 word story at www.WashingtonTechnology.com has moved quickly into the "most viewed/most emailed" slot, this time within 16 hours after posting.

My article on B2G lead Generation (posted late in the afternoon on Jan 27) - http://washingtontechnology.com/Articles/2010/01/27/GWACs-Demand-Leads.aspx, is creating traffic for WT and some feedback for me.

On January 8, my article on using Washington Technology to identify likely connection targets at LinkedIn rose to the #1 spot and stayed there for 4 days! So thank you for that as well.
http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2010/01/08/social-media-top-100.aspx?sc_lang=en . That artiocle generate lots of comments for me and another 50 connections at LinkedIn as a direct result.

So, my question for any readers here is what B2G topics on sales, marketing and BD will keep you going to my articles there and my blog here?

Thanks again for reading my stuff!