Transcript Paradigm’s Federal Health Practice

Marketing and Doing Business
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Make sure you are targeting the “BEST FIT”
agency.
-this would be a Federal Agency whose
mission fit the background and capabilities of
your organization.
“KNOW YOUR TARGET AGENCY”
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The better your organization understands the
Agency, its mission, its core functions, and what
products services it needs, the easier it will be to
identify pertinent contract opportunities.
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Do the following:
1. Get familiar with the agency (relationship
building)
2. Review the Agency’s organization web pages, to
get an understanding of the agency’s divisions and
how they operate
3. Learn more about different agencies and their
spending go to www.usaspending.gov
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Get Started –
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In order to do business with a Federal Agency
your organization needs to do some basic
knowledge and foot work:
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Know where your core competencies are and what
your business size standard for that type of work.
The North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) codes, developed by the Census
Bureau, are currently figured by either dollar
revenue or number of employees. Determine
your company’s NAICS codes.
www.sba.gov
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Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)
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All Federal Agency’s Procurement Offices
follow the FAR.
Any company interested in doing business
with the federal government must be
familiar with the FAR, especially the
sections relating to small business,
subcontracting and most importantly
competitive acquisitions. FAR website
access can be found on –
http://www.arnet.gov/far/
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Get Registered –
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Make sure your organization is registered in the Central
Contractor Registration (CCR).
The FAR now requires both current and potential government
vendors to register in CCR prior to award of any contract,
basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket
purchase agreement on or after October 1, 2003. The CCR
web page is http://www.ccr.gov/
Make sure your listing includes your website, your
certifications, and keep past performance information
current.
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Where to get hands on help –
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Procurement Technical Assistance Center –
http://www.aptac-us.org/new at little or no
cost, PTACs provide a wide range of
assistance covering every phase of
government contracting – from initial
registration through contract completion.
http://business.gov/ Is the official link for
Business to the U.S. Government.
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First Impression –
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Make every effort to ensure that the first impression you
make is a good one.
Make sure you “Look” like a company.
Be friendly and not pushy.
Make sure all contact information is correct.
Proof read your emails and your material prior to sending
them.
Make sure your telephone messages are understandable,
clear, short, and repeat your name, company name and phone
number twice.
Do not be late for meetings
Always let the meeting coordinator know how many people
you are bringing to a meeting.
Most importantly, follow up and follow through.
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Capability Statement –
A capability statement should include the following:
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products or services that you offer
the NAICS codes
a narrative description of your business
a list of past and current clients
project descriptions
teaming partners
address, telephone number, e-mail, and point of contact.
**Have this posted on your website for easy access.
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One-on-One Contact –
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Attend Vendor Outreach Sessions (VOS) for you targeted
Agency.
Make contact with the appropriate personnel (i.e., Program
Mgr., Contract Officer, Contracting Specialist, Small Business
Specialist)
Find out about any changes in the agency’s procurement
plans, and be in a better position to compete when new
requirements develop.
It is important that you do not “over do” your contact, you do
not want to be considered a nuisance. Do not call every day
or even every week. You need to find the right balance.
You should always have a solution to the government’s needs
and to be the first firm government staff thinks of when they
see a new requirement in our area of expertise. Most of all
“Do Your Homework”.
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One-on-One Contact – (continued)
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Understand the Agency you are marketing. Make sure that
they are the “Best Fit” Agency for your core competencies and
experienced background.
Look up their forecast and current contract list.
Pay close attention to the contracts that will expire within a
year or two. Pay close attention to FedBizOpps
announcements.
During your one-on-one contact, be prepared and talk about
the opportunities you have found in that Agency that you are
interested in and how your firm can fill this need.
Know and understand each Program office within the agency
and how your firm can address the agency as a whole and in
specific program areas.
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Ability to ‘Deliver’
Make certain your company can fully provide the product or
service as promised. Nothing will strip you of your
credibility faster than making promises or claims that you
cannot fulfill. To prevent this do the following:
*realistically assess your capabilities
*internal management resources
*financial capabilities
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Before contracting with your firm, the government will
evaluate your past performance and assess your ability to
perform successfully in the future.
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Where is the work?
All Federal contracting opportunities are
posted on FedBizOpps www.fbo.gov . You can
set up a “watch list” notification and have the
system send notices to your e-mail as they
post.
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Subcontracting/Teaming/Partnership –
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Teaming is a good opportunity to increase your experience
base as well as work with small and larger companies that are
more established in the Federal Market.
There are several methods one can use to find potential
teaming partners. Prime contractors will often advertise for
teaming partners in SUB-Net. http://www.sba.gov/subnet/
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You should market potential teaming partners the same way
you market your company to the federal government.
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Check the “Interested Vendor List” (IVL) in FedBizOpps for
subcontracting opportunities. http://www.fbo.gov
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Teaming Agreement –
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It is very important that you have a signed teaming
agreement with your business partner prior to submitting a
proposal for Federal work. The Government contracting
personnel only have relationship with the Prime contractor.
So, it is up to you as the subcontractor to protect your
subcontract role and your business with a detailed and signed
agreement.
Trade and Other Organization: Read about and become
involved with as many trade and professional organizations
as you can. You’ll be able to learn and network with
acquisition professionals, joint venture partners, and others
that may lead you to federal contracting opportunities.
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Contracting Vehicles –
Government Contracting Officer (CO) are very
busy, particularly at the end of the year. A C.O.
will look for contractors that offer a quicker
buying/contracting approach. Contractors that
have Government wide area contract (GWACs)
or General Services Administration (GSA)
schedule contractors offer a quick avenue for
contracting. www.gsa.gov/gwacs to read about
the different available contract vehicles.
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Approved Accounting System –
Agencies award many contracts as “costtype” contracts. In order to do this the
resultant contractor must have an approved
accounting system. You many download a
free booklet from Department of Defense.
Defense Contract Audit Agency (Information
for Contractors)
http://www.dcaa.mil/info.htm
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Great Websites –
 Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services
www.cms.hhs.gov/
 Official site for Medicare “Fee for Service”
Contractor Information
http://cmsnet.cms.hhs.gov/hpages/cmm/mffs/def
ault.asp
 Daily Health Policy Report
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_h
policy.cfm
 Acquisition Central – http://acquisition.gov
 Center for Veterans Enterprise (VetBiz)
http://www.vetbiz.gov/
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Questions & Answers
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