Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

1
CommentGo Back

Download

THE US GOVERNMENT - A VIABLE CUSTOMER FOR FOREIGN COMPANIESPresented By: JENNIFER SCHAUS, Washington, DC March 2009

The United States Federal Government is the largest purchaser of goods and servicesin the WORLD, spending over $400 Billion annually (pre-2009 stimulus package).The Federal Government buys products and services. The products range fromtoothpaste to office supplies and artillery. They also need the services of nurses,priests, hairdressers and IT professionals. For standard “business-to-business” companies, selling to the government is a way to diversify the customer portfolio andmitigate risk with fluctuations in the economy. Additionally, once you are anestablished vendor and have performed satisfactory within contract terms andconditions, fulfilling the governments ‘the statement of work” - increases yourlikelihood for steady repeat business. Although your profit margins may not be thehighest in this sector, the somewhat predictable budgets and buying patterns (onceyou are “in”) can be a motivating factor for many businesses to establishgovernment contracts. Another motivating factor is knowing that you areguaranteed payment from the government. Sometimes, however there may be ahurdle upon the time frames in collecting. This can usually be circumvented byensuring that you delivered precisely on the terms and conditions and that yourinvoice exactly matches the Purchase Order issued by the Government.The “WHO” of the US Government

The US government is comprised of multiple agencies and thousands of buyers of wide ranging products and services. Most US government agencies areheadquartered in the Washington DC area, but also have offices across the countryand the world where purchases are also made. For example, the US military hasbases in many foreign countries. While you can sell to virtually anyone by utilizingtechnology, it is beneficial to have a physical presence in the Washington DCmetropolitan area as this is where the majority of the decision makers are located.This can be accomplished by employing a full-time sales team, retained consultant,lobbyist, a partner company or some combination thereof.There are large government offices all over the country and if you have a service orproduct for a niche market such as a military bases or one of the nationallaboratories or other specialized institution, then you can easily situate your salesteam closer to the end-user.WHEN THE GOVERNMENT BUYS:The US government fiscal year runs on an October 1 to September 31 cycle, with thepeaks typically occurring at the end of the fourth quarter due to a “use it or lose it” system. If there are unallocated dollars as the year closes, there is a high probabilitythat the buyers, known as Contracting Officers will purchase your items/servicesduring these final months of July, August and September. There are other factorsbesides the ‘end of year dollars’ that plays a role in government’s decision to award acontract to your organization. Relationship building, as in regular business-to-business transactions and some mid to high dollar consumer-to-businesstransactions, is also significant and crucial part of the sales process.Selling to the government does not happen overnight. There is a large timeinvestment on the sales cycle, as the government is a risk-adverse client. This time

span can range from 6 to 24 months – sometimes shorter or sometimes longer. Youmay make 10 or more phone calls before you reach the appropriate governmentcontact. (There are organizations that sell government related marketing lists andother supplemental information.) Once you reach the right contact person, you mayhave many meetings with your potential client before you make it to the truedecision maker who decides if and when your product/service is needed and will befunded.From those meetings, presentations and demonstrations you can assess if there is aneed for your product/service in that agency or department or if you are creatingthat need. Some salesmen and women may disagree and feel that the sales rep isresponsible for creating the need, but sometimes when interfacing with thegovernment you may be in a reactive mode and responding to request – formal ornot. Both scenarios will provide some intelligence on your chances for award andestimated time frames.If you are responding to a request, it is important to know (or ask) where thegovernment is in the decision making process. If there is a formal call forinformation or a Sources Sought (SS) or Request for Information (RFI) forproducts/services that you provide, then the government is conducting a search todetermine what products/services are available that meet their specific need. Theymay also be interested in determining if a specific type of business can fulfill theterms and conditions, such as a small business, one located in a HistoricallyUnderutilized Business area (HUBzone), minority owned, disadvantaged, veteranowned, and/or women owned business. (More information on what qualifies as asmall business or HUB zone, etc can be found on the US Small BusinessAdministration website at wwww.SBA.gov) Therefore, these SS or RFI’s are great

of 00

jschaus

How the Federal Gov't uses a GSA Schedule http://www.sbtv.com/Women/Organizatio...

reply02 / 12 / 2010

Foreign Companies - Selling to the US Govt; B2G

This paper discusses how foreign companies can work to obtain US Government contracts. Jennifer Schaus, Washington, DC

Download or Print

4,690 Reads

Info and Rating

Category:	Government Docs
Rating:
Upload Date:	05/15/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	contracts FOREIGN federal GSA BAA Proposals bidding RFP TAA Stimulus bids US government (more tags) contracts FOREIGN federal GSA BAA Proposals bidding RFP TAA Stimulus bids US government b2g arra jennifer schaus gsa schedule government contracting prime contractor buy america act trade agreement act (fewer)