I am often asked, “What one question can reveal if a business is ready for government contracting?” For me, the answer is, “How do you sell?”

While inquiries about revenues, staff depth, experience, profitability, and the maturity of control systems are insightful in evaluating government contracting readiness, they pale in comparison to the importance of the business having developed the ‘sales muscle’. Without strong sales skills, a business is likely unprepared for the complexities of government contracting.

For example, are the following practices integrated into your business operations:

Define Target Markets: You can’t sell to ‘the government’. It’s too big and too diverse. The government marketplace includes Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, federal agencies (non-DoD), SLED agencies (state/local/education), large prime contractors, and other small business contractors. What combination of those markets are you going to target? You can only find out through research. You need to research competitors, current solicitations, past solicitations, and other sources to help you understand potential markets.  If you can’t find enough information through secondary research, develop a networking plan to find the information you are looking for, or in some cases, you might even consider using FOIA to find information.  As an example, “Department of Correction agencies in the Southeast” is a target market… “government” is not.  

Show Them You Care:  A long-time adage in sales is “nobody cares about you until you show them you care about them”.  This applies in the government space as well.  The default approach for most small businesses is to lead with their company name, history, certifications, services, locations, and staff… but the reality is that nobody cares about any of that until you demonstrate that you understand their mission, empathize with their problems, and present even strawman solutions.  If the target finds that message compelling, then perhaps they will want to learn more about you.  The focus of selling is always on THEM, not YOU.   

More Research:   Yes, research is important enough to mention twice.  If you can’t do a lot of research, then you aren’t ready for government contracting.  This level of research is about researching the specific target.  Go to their website, read their procurement pages, read their small business pages, and find out how they want to work with small businesses. “Google” them, find out what you can about their current events and current situations.  You are looking for specific areas where you can say, “We can help with that.”  You cannot show them you care without research!

Value Proposition:   What value do you bring to the prospect?  “Value” is specific and measurable.  How does your solution help increase their income? Reduce expenses?  Improve productivity?  Improve efficiency? and/or mitigate risk?   Some businesses act as if their value proposition should be kept as a ‘big reveal’ in their proposal.  You want to LEAD with your value proposition. If you don’t have a handle on your value proposition, that just might be your next step.

Differentiators:   Your target already has a list of known suppliers that solve the same problems you can.  There is probably an incumbent and at least a few more that have been orbiting the target for months if not years, and you come along, flash a smile, and say, “Hi, I’m another one to add to your list.”  Not only that, but you’re also saying that you deserve to leapfrog all those other known commodities and get the next contract.   That’s not likely to happen unless you demonstrate why you are different.  What makes you special?  What about your approach sets you apart from all the known commodities?  As you build your list of differentiators, don’t settle for platitudes (e.g., “Our People”); drill down and identify meaningful differentiators.  Your sales depend on it!

Weekly Call List:  Sustainable sales success is not the result of random acts of marketing.  It comes from a relentless weekly commitment to expanding your network.  You want to start each week with a strategically developed call list, and you want to take each contact on that list through a defined series of steps based on best practices.  Those steps aren’t just a series of “just checking in” contacts … use the standard of “Always Provide Value.” If you aren’t bringing value to the target in one way or another – don’t bother sending the message.  Show them you care.

None of the practices we’ve discussed above are unique to government contracting. They are simply sales best practices, whether you’re selling to residential markets, commercial markets, or the world of government contracting. If these disciplines are new to your small business, it might be wise to continue developing and honing your selling skills in the commercial marketplace before venturing into government contracting.

So, if your business is considering government contracting, your first step is to ask yourself, “How do we sell?”

As always, the Florida APEX Accelerator is here to help you achieve your government contracting goals. To find the Florida APEX nearest you, please click here.

Steve South is a government contracting consultant with the Florida APEX Accelerator at UCF. He assists local businesses in the Orlando region seeking government procurement opportunities.