Our good friend over at Design To Delivery, Diana Dibble Kurcfeld, has been helping commercial organizations successfully navigate the US Government procurement process. Her 7 year old company helps get you through the paperwork and ensure compliance with all the latest rules and regulations. When we are factoring invoices for government contractors, it is good to know our clients fully understand how to be successful in the market. So it makes sense companies interested in getting into government contracting need help with the learning curve.
Here is a post Diana did recently on this very subject;
“With the recent passage of the Stimulus package, a lot of companies previously uninterested in federal government contracting are now looking to get in, particularly since the commercial market is still slow. But are you ready to be a government contractor? It is a time consuming endeavor that needs proper preparation and an understanding of the environment.
We often use the analogy of dating in context of government contracting. Dating is social activity performed with the aim of assessing another’s suitability for a relationship. Successful businesses cultivate long-term, mutually beneficial relationships – ergo, they date their clients and customers. They put their best foot forward and present their benefits as a long term partner. Before entering into or expanding a relationship with the government, management should determine if they are ready to “date the government.”
Steering a company into a new market always requires careful consideration and the government sector is no different. Companies who want to enter into government contracting or ways to expand current business lines should examine the qualities they bring to the table. Think of your clients and services in four quadrants:
Quadrant 1: providing current products/services to existing clients/customers
Quadrant 2: providing current products/services to new clients/customers — a good way to expand your client base.
Quadrant 3: providing new products/services to existing clients/customers — a good way to expand your business lines.
Quadrant 4: providing new products/services to new clients/customers — high risk because you have an unproven product/serice that you are marketing to potential clients you have never worked with. You do not want to be in the fourth quadrant.”
Read the remainder of this post here and visit their website for more info on how you can get started selling to the government.