Did you know that in fiscal year 2014, The City of New York Awarded $690 million in contracts to minority and women owned businesses? Of those contracts 56% were awarded in the area of standard and professional services. The same is true for NYS which awarded 53% of all its contracts to professional services firms.
What does that mean for you? Well, for a professional services firm, it could mean significant growth. It’s the type of growth that you might not experience working with individual clients. That’s been my experience both when I had a security guard firm and now with a professional consultancy. Published reports show that when a small business is awarded a government contract, they tend to experience significant growth and add employees within their communities – it’s a win/win for everyone.
So how do you get started? Published reports also reflect that breaking into the government contracting can be time consuming and expensive, taking an average of 5 years and nearly 80,000.00. I happen to disagree with that since that has never been my experience. There is a faster, easier way and I am going to lay out some of the particulars below:
- Understanding the Procurement Process: if you are going to do business with government agencies, you need to invest your time and resources into learning exactly how they work, and what they buy. You’ll also want to register on the appropriate agency websites and create your capability statement. In also very important to understand MWBE goals and procurement policy guidelines.
- Your Capacity: once you understand how and what government agencies are purchasing you’ll need to be really clear on what it is that you can provide and how. You’ll also need to be straightforward on how you will meet agency goals and requirements relating to experience, past performance and financial capacity. Too many people fail to do this, they try to get their foot in the door, and think they will figure it out. This is a waste of time – you need to figure it out first.
- Sub-contracting: one of the key benefits of being a sub-contractor with a government agency is that you get a better understanding of the procurement and government contracting process. If you have never done business with a government agency before, sub-contracting is a great way to build past performance and market your business.
- Marketing: typically before I begin my training programs, I will always ask the audience – how many of you are marketing your business to the government, and often times, not one hand will go up. There is perception out there that small businesses and MWBEs do not need to market their businesses to the government – that is just not true. You need a comprehensive plan to stay in touch with your target audience.
- Networking: needs to be a priority. You need to be in front of your target audience on a regular and consistent basis. Effective networking is where you engage with a prospective client with the purpose of developing a relationship with them over time. It takes work, it takes commitment and it takes planning.
Bonus tip: follow-up, follow-up, and follow-up. Can I tell you how many people I meet at networking functions that say they are going to follow-up and never do!!! That’s what happens 98% of the time –if you are someone who is good at follow-up, you’ll be way ahead of everyone else.
If you’d like to learn more, I am facilitating the upcoming NYC Small Business Services event, “Marketing to the Government on February 24th. You’ll get lots of tips, resources and links to identify buyers.
