[27992] in Zephyr_Bugs
Vol. 52: Assisting Government with Recovery and Rebuilding
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Fedmarket)
Sat Sep 24 03:59:24 2005
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 01:47:09 -0600
From: "Fedmarket" <noreply@fedmarket.com>
To: bug-zephyr@mit.edu
Reply-To: "Fedmarket" <noreply@fedmarket.com>
Content-type: text/plain
Message-Id: <20050924074709.7B0A33CFF1B@wrtlnx07.wrtech.com>
*** ON THE SALES FIRING LINE: Vol. 52 ***
Welcome to "On the Sales Firing Line," written by Federal Sales Academy Director, Eileen Kent. The purpose of this article series is to educate and inspire you to create immediate government opportunities, through true sales stories and savvy marketing tactics.
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Eileen has been on the road since November 2003 teaching over 1,500 companies across America Federal Sales 101 - Winning Government Business, Writing and Managing Winning Proposals and GSA Schedules. She looks forward to helping you build your government business.
Here are Eileen's Three Personal Goals:
1. Educate the New
2. Motivate the Frustrated
3. Validate the Experienced
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Companies With Prior Relationships Assist US Government With Hurricane Katrina Rescue, Relief, Recovery and Rebuilding
Many contractors new to doing business with the government are wondering who is handling the massive effort to assist in the Katrina relief efforts. As we have preached in prior articles, most, if not all, of the businesses assisting the government in this endeavor have a pre-existing relationship with the government. If you do your research by going to procurement web sites such as Fedmarket's FedBizNow, you will find very few true business opportunities exist for companies hoping to participate in the Katrina relief effort. Most opportunities have gone to those who pre-sold the government.
When it comes to working with the federal government during a disaster, you must understand that government employees and agencies are going to use the purchasing vehicles that are easy and fast. For example, according to GSA, as of September 8th, 2005, the federal government has provided, among many other items, the following:
5 satellite vehicles
150 satellite phones and related equipment
35 Million ready-to-eat meals
400,000 gallons of jet fuel, diesel fuel and gasoline
863 rental cars
30 all-terrain vehicles for search-and-rescue operations
50 recreational vehicle rentals for emergency responders
263 ambulances
10,000 cots
15 mobile kitchens
26 modular office trailers
Administrator Steven Perry stated, "GSA will continue to provide services and resource support to the interagency community so that frontline agencies may focus their activities on assisting citizens and the recovery effort."
While the federal government "provided" those items, where did it buy them? The products were bought from GSA Schedule holders. Federal buyers use GSA Schedule vendors because their product and service pricing is approvedin advance and making the purchase is simple. A federal buyer in search of products only has to solicit three quotes from Schedule vendors and she can then make the purchase. In some cases, federal buyers can make a sole source purchase from a Schedule holder depending on the size of the company and/or the emergency need for the item.
Also, according to a recent article in GovExec.com, a provision in H.R. 3673, the bill pertaining to Katrina hurricane relief, boosts the limit for emergency micropurchases from $15,000 to $250,000. Most of these micropurchases are made using government-issued credit cards and aren't subject to the competition requirements typically accompanying larger buys. Experts predict that OMB and GSA will soon release purchasing guidelines concerning this recent change. For example, it is likely that senior contracting officers will have to sign off on any purchases of more than $50,000.
If you hope to get business from the government as a result of Katrina, I highly recommend you work very carefully in approaching these agencies. In most cases, they can't even think about returning your phone call because they are responding to the massive recovery effort and they are calling the people on their speed dial and database to work with the people they know and trust. If you were in the same situation, entrusted withthe task of saving people and recovering their property, all the while undergoing strict public and media scrutiny, wouldn't you only work with those you know and trust? Therefore, be very gentle and patient with your contacts. If you call them, leave a detailed message on their voice mail offering your services in a pinch and providing your phone number at the beginning of the message so they can call you quickly. In the meantime, observe and learn from this situation and approach the agencies within the next three months with solutions for the
present
and the future. Now that the government has faced a "worst case scenario," they will be open to new ideas and options
.
As Richard White says, "Doing business with the government is relationship, relationship, relationship." It takes an average of twelve months to get business from a federal end user because they need to know you are the best at what you do and you understand "the game" of doing business with the government.
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Special Fedmarket Webinar:
October 7, 2005 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Katrina Rebuilding - Why Not You?
Are you missing the opportunity to assist the government in the response and recovery efforts of a recent disaster? Whether your business is located in the Gulf of Mexico, Northern Michigan, or Southern California, FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Military will always have to depend on reliable contractors to assist them quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.
During the 90-minute webinar, Speaker Eileen Kent will address topics discussed in Fedmarket.com's "Selling to the Military" and "Selling to Homeland Security" seminars. There will be discussions concerning key contracting areas. Eileen will provide links to contact information or opportunities on the Web so you can pick up the phone and begin building your relationship immediately. There will also be a 20-minute question and answer session. If Eileen cannot answer your question during the webinar, she will respond to you personally via email.
Invite your entire sales team and your business team partners to your office and sign up to attend: "Katrina Rebuilding - Why Not You?"
Price: $350.00 per site (Note: the cost is not affected by the number of people attending from your company.)
Details and Registration:
http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/seminar/katrina.php
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If you want to be learn more about the federal government contracting game, check out other "On the Sales Firing Line," "GSA Schedules" and "Proposal Writing" articles in the Fedmarket.com archives at http://www.fedmarket.com.
Here's to six more cold calls today! Remember, six more cold calls a day equates to 250 appointments a year which could result in 2 orders worth a million dollars each! The government contracts out a million dollars a minute but it will take 6 more cold calls every day to uncover your government opportunities.
Sincerely,
Eileen Kent
Federal Sales Academy Director
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