1. Marketing Tips and Resources for GSA Schedule 520 – Financial and Business Solutions Contract Holders National Capital Region Small Business Utilization Office Presenter - Deirdre White-Randall 1

2. Who uses GSA Schedules? Executive & Other Federal Agencies Mixed-Ownership Government Corporations (FDIC, Federal Home Loan Banks, etc.) The District of Columbia Cost Reimbursable Government Contractors authorized in writing by a Federal agency (48 CFR 51.1) State and Local Government (Cooperative Purchasing, Disaster Relief) Domestic and Worldwide 2

3. Schedule 520 Sales/Trends FY 2010 Total GSA Schedule Sales = 38.8 Billion Total FY 2010 reported Sales for Schedule 520 = 1.14 Billion Schedule 520 was 6 th in total schedule sales in FY 2011 1- Schedule 70 - IT 2-Schedule 874 – MOBIS 3-Schedule 871 – PES 4-Schedule 84 – Security 5-Schedule 71 – Furniture 6-Schedule 520 – FABS 3

4. Schedule 520 Sales/Trends Top 5 Sales per SIN FY 2010 4 SINDescriptionFY 2010 SalesFY 2011 Trend* 520-4Debt Collection $325 MUp (4%) 520-7Financial Audits $200MUp (12%) 520-13Financial Mgmt Svcs $166MUp (3%) 520-11Accounting$129MDown (3%) 520 - 1 Program Fin. Advisor $61MDown (19%) *FY 2011 trend compares sales first 2Qts of FY 2010 to FY2011

5. Prerequisites for Marketing Define your Niche Conduct Market Research – You can not market successfully with out conducting market research Learn the Rules – FAR Narrow your focus Create a Business Plan for federal contracting 5

6. Market Research Who are my customers Who are my customers – All government agencies and other authorized users can order from the GSA Schedule but “All agencies” is not a focus Focus on one or two agencies to start your market research 6

7. Who buys want I/we sell? Consider the following resources to conduct market research. USASpending.gov http://USASpending.gov Federal Business Opportunities www.fedbizopps.gov Federal Procurement Data System https://www.fpds.gov Acquisition Central www.acquisition.gov/procurement 7

8. Questions for your Marketing Plan Who are we?/What are our business strengths? – Weakness Where do we want to go? What is attainable now? What/Who will help me meet my goals? What is my budget for exploring? What is the final outcome? 8

9. How agencies make purchases Solicitation Procedures Simplified Acquisitions – FAR 13 Small Business Set-asides – FAR 19, FAR 6 Sealed bids – FAR 14 Negotiated Proposals – FAR -12,13, & 15 Full and Open Competition – FAR 6 GSA Schedule –FAR 8.404 The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides guidance for all these acquisition methods 9

10. How agencies make purchases GSA Schedules Often the preferred method with DOD and other Agencies FY 2010 GSA Multiple Award Schedule 520 sales reached over $1.4 Billion * Total FY 2010 Schedule Sales – $38 Billion 10

11. How does Agencies can utilize Schedule 520 Sales – Micro purchases/Simplified/BPA’s/Competition/Evaluation factors e-Buy - Research the Advantage Spend Analysis Program e-Buy statistics/trends GSA Advantage ! ® 11

12. How agencies utilize Schedule 520 12 Vendors Log in here https://www.asap.gsa.gov

13. 13 How agencies utilize Schedule 520 Schedule 520 GSA 19 e-Buy RFQ’s so far in fy2011

14. Locating Buyers www.fbo.gov – Advanced Search Pre-solicitation, Sources Sought, Solicitation/Synopsis Agency Forecast, Digest bulletins, Legislation, GAO Reports, OIG ReportsGAO ReportsOIG Reports News reports- Federal Times, WSJ, local publications 14

15. USASpending.gov 15

16. Know your customers purchasing practice Research/Customer Base Current Potential Request Other sources Cost/Discounts Benefit Success? Use Fedbizopps and eBuy to research what current needs request for RFI/Sources Sought, recent contracts Use acquisition.gov/procureme ntforecasts/ to view potential opportunities acquisition.gov/procureme ntforecasts/ 16

17. Locating Buyers – FPDS.gov 17 sort options Top 10’s Agencies and Vendors

18. 18 Market Research - Federal Business Opportunities Search for opportunities,set -asides, sole source, pre- solicitations, and Special notices Search for Recovery opportunities and awards

19. Seek/Create Federal Opportunities www.gsa.gov/smbusforecast - Forecast (Updated) NAICS Code Title State Cold Calling Authority to Purchase Contact Information Quarterly/Biannual Updates Emails as follow-up only *Be pleasantly persistent* Conference Attendance Set Goals Anticipate potential partners – not just buyers Determine Needs Network, Network, Network Acquition.gov -Portal to view all agencies Forecast Opportunities -View agencies web sites and Small Business web pages 19

20. Utilizing Information Effectively Consider different mailing list General – Any and everybody Potential – High Probability Direct – responsive/sure thing Contact Steps 1. Letter/Capability (Intro) 2. Phone Call (details) 3. Follow-up Follow-up often/sincere Email Seasonal Greetings Update Annually Points of Contact (POC’s) Numbers Address General or Direct List Pricing GSA Data Sites e-library GSA Advantage! Vendor Support Center 20

21. 21 All agencies Acquisition Central

22. 22

23. Company Introduction Letter: Who, What, Where (about the company) ( avoid starting your Introductions – We are a Small Business. Talk about what your company does well) Phone Call: Who, When, How Much (potential customer) - Follow –Up: Card, Email, Letter (quarterly update) 23 GOAL: Visibility, Familiarity, Integrity, Trust, Confidence

24. Responding to an RFQ/Sources Sought Decide and Notify Yes I will be participating No, I will not Respond in order Not clear, then ask questions Respond to all parts Follow Directions Describe your process and unique values Spell Check and Grammar Check Be Neat Group Review before submission 24 Fedbizopps, eBuy, GSA Advantage or ITSS

25. How to DEAL????? Rejected Bids Unable to fulfill contract Cannot submit an offer/respond to an RFQ Upset the Contracting Officer Not meeting sales criteria Nothing seems to be working 25

26. More Support 11 Regional GSA OSBU www.gsa.gov/smallbizsupport OSDBU for all agencies www.osdbu.gov Procurement Technical Assistance Centers www.aptac-us.org Customer Service Directors www.gsa.gov/CSD 26

27. Utilize All Marketing Tools www.gsa.gov/logo Use images on GSA Advantage! ® Attend large conferences like the GSA EXPO www.expo.gsa.gov www.gsa.gov/events Attend outreach sessions designed just for small business - Access to Success (East Coast Oct 6, 2011) Opening Doors (West Coast – Spring/Summer 2012) Come prepared to ask questions and get contact information Invest in FedBizOpps 27

28. Know Your GSA Schedule Contract Terms Warranty Delivery Discounts Authorized Dealers Quantity Discounts Service Agreements Expiration Date Option Year Requirements 28 Give copies to your employees!!!

29. Questions & Answers 29

30. 30 National Capital Region Small Business Utilization Center 202-708-5804 www.gsa.gov/ncrsmallbusiness Judith Stackhouse-Jordan www.judith.stackhouse@gsa.gov Deirdre White-Randall www.deirdre.white@gsa.gov Thank you for attending