1 Federal Marketing Tune-Up for the New Year National 8(a) Winter Conference Tom Johnson, Publisher Set-Aside Alert

2 This is the Federal Market…. YOU $$$!

Prepare in advance…NAICS Confirm your NAICs codes  Think through each and every one of them  Which codes might Federal buyers use to search for your product/service?  Does your combination make sense?  Should you split into two or more entities? 3

Prepare in advance…FSC/PSC Confirm your FSC/PSC codes  Do you know what this is? It’s important!  Many OSDBUs and buying offices use these codes to search out small business suppliers, instead of NAICS codes uct_codes.pdf uct_codes.pdf  Products are numeric; services start alpha 4

Prepare in advance…Address Changed your address?  This process takes several days to complete, so do it early!  File change with Dun & Bradstreet at  Check back in 2-3 days to confirm that your change has been posted

Prepare in advance…DSBS #1 Review your DSBS listing  Many OSDBUs and buying offices use this site to search out small business suppliers Review your listing from top to bottom Identify necessary changes Prepare lists of keywords, certifications, past contract references (3-6 is sufficient) 6

Prepare in advance…DSBS #2 Test the searches  Search on your phone number, company name, primary NAICS Compare yourself with your competitors  Would an OSDBU or CO pick you…or the other guy?  What added info would enhance your listing? 7

Tackle SAM.gov #1 Now that you’ve got your act together, go to Before you log in, search your listing using the general search function Log in as administrator and inspect all fields and clauses, looking for missing or inaccurate info

Tackle SAM.gov #2 BEFORE you log out….click the update link for SBA’s DSBS (formerly called ProNet). Edit your DSBS listing, adding those keywords, certifications, and contract history Review your listing – will the CO choose you, or your competitor?

Review Past Performance grades Check the various government websites where your performance has been rated  CPARS  PPIRS  FAPIIS Respond to any negative comments – tell your side of the story

File those reports Most contractors are required to file reports annually on hiring census  EEO-1  VETS-100 Now’s the time to be sure they are filed, before the CO does Same is true of IRS forms/reports

FBO.gov review Are you seeing all the new opportunities? Check the criteria on all your saved searches Use FSC/PSC in your saved searches Look at ALL small business set-asides, not just 8(a), HZ, WO, SDV

Training & networking Have you budgeted time and resources for national and local conferences? Do you have a generic capabilities statement that can be easily tweaked for specific situations? Have you joined local associations? NCMA, NDIA, AFCEA, SAME, SECAF

14 Figure out where you are going Free! Mission statements Org charts Bureau breakdown Small Business contacts Also, visit for all OSDBUswww.osdbu.gov

15 Is GSA Schedule a necessity? Commonly-used, off-the-shelf products and services $35 billion in purchases that rarely appear in FedBizOpps For description of what’s covered: Transition from MFC to Fair & Reasonable Major concerns about FSSI

16 Tom Johnson Publisher, Set-Aside Alert Follow us on