How to Meet Your Federal Sales Goals (Part II)

Written By: Dr. Zamora Crawford Olin, GovCon Expert

Step 2: Create a List of Prospects

Once you've completed Step 1 , you need to create a list of potential federal customers or prospects to whom you market your products and services. While it's true, the government buys EVERYTHING...not every federal agency is your customer! Many small businesses new to government contracting waste precious time and resources pursuing opportunities within the wrong federal agencies! Unfortunately, this leaves many of them feeling hopeless and dejected...and ultimately desperate to win their first government contract. To avoid this bottomless pit of small businesses owners headed in the wrong direction, you need to identify the right federal agency to do business with.

To identify the right federal agency, you have to create a Target Agency Profile. This strategy helps you narrow your approach, focusing only on federal agencies with opportunities that your company can win! When you look at the federal marketplace, it's easy to see that not all small businesses are created equal. Some struggle each year only to make as little as $25k a year in revenue, while others repeatedly make $10M or more each year. So, prospecting within a target agency where you can thrive and grow as a small business is paramount.  

Part of prospecting is getting to know your target agency, its mission, and its buying habits and needs. Creating a Target Agency Profile gives you a clearer understanding of:

1. How your target agency makes its buying decisions,

2. How often your target agency buys certain products and services, and

3. How much your target agency spends on the products and services you provide.

Once you have this information at hand, it becomes easier to sell to your target agency...thus helping you truly stand out and position your company ahead of the competition! 

Developing Your Target Agency Profile

The objective of creating a Target Agency Profile is to capture clear, actionable information that can support future marketing efforts to that agency. Your Target Agency Profile should contain:

1. Agency Background: Gives insight into the agency's mission and organizational culture (i.e., civilian or military).

2. Agency Purchasing Needs: Gives insight into whether the agency has an ongoing need to purchases the products and services you sell or if the past purchase was a rare one-time buy.

3. Agency Contractor Demographics:  Gives insight into potential competitors (large and small businesses) currently providing products and services within your target agency.

4. Agency Planning History: Gives insight into the type of acquisition planning routinely used in your target agency (i.e., if the agency issues requests for information or RFIs that target and seek input from small businesses).

5. Agency Purchasing Culture:  Gives insight into past purchasing decisions used to buy the products and services you sell (i.e., the type of contract, contract vehicle, or set-aside used).  

6. Agency Small Business Goals: Gives insight into if the agency consistently meets and exceeds its small business goals.

7. Agency Barriers: Gives insight into whether specific certifications are routinely required to do business with your target agency (i.e., security clearance requirements, ISO certifications, or CMMI certifications). 

8. Agency Challenges: Gives insight into the levels of support routinely required within your target agency and whether your company can support it (i.e., is your current operational capacity enough?)

Overall, once you are clear about the type of customer you want to target, prospecting is easy!