Getting on the GSA schedule provides many opportunities for getting government contracts and significantly increasing revenues. A GSA contract:

Small Business Marketing Ideas

Government marketing involves many things, and meeting face to face with agency personnel is always a good idea. Federal agencies often sponsor and participate in events that enable them to meet with small busiensses and prime contractors.  Various agency OSDBU's (i.e., small business offices) have already planned to attend several evnts in 2011. 

GSA’s Green Proving Ground Program Seeks Information from the private sector.  

Agency creating registry of innovative technologies and practices.

In pursuit of GSA's goal to reduce its environmental footprint significantly, GSA’s Public Building Services (PBS) is seeking to harness the potential of innovative building technologies and operating practices.  On a limited and carefully controlled basis PBS will be testing and evaluating  technologies and practices in selected buildings in its owned inventory based on program needs.  As an initial step, PBS is creating a registry of innovative sustainable building technologies and practices. 

You've spent the better part of the past year completing your offer to GSA and have successfully completed the months-long negotiation with GSA.  Your reward is you’ve obtained your very own GSA number.  Congratulations!  

Some updates about the greening of government…

Finding Federal Business Opportunities or Creating FedBizOpps: Which works Best?

The vast majority of articles in magazines and on the web provide tips on how to set up your business to receive federal contracts and how to search for opportunities. Most provide advice about where to search agency web sites for procurement plans and forecasts, how to use FedBizOpps to locate current opportunities, or, if you are a GSA Contractor, using eBuy to find still more opportunities not available on FedBizOpps (see the eGuide link below for a guide containing this information).  But in searching all of these databases, are you missing out on the greatest opportunity of all; the opportunity to create your own opportunities with Federal agencies?

GSA's Southeast Sunbelt Region Office of Small Business Utilization is conducting a free conference for Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) that will focus on marketing your GSA Schedules contract.  It is an opportunity to network with other small businesses and government contracting officers to learn how to market your business and to identify and compete for opportunities.

I received a call from a business colleague last week.  It seems she received a cold call from another firm that “expedites GSA sales proposals.”  A number of dubious claims were made about their services as well as erroneous statements about GSA schedule contract.

SUMMARY

In bygone days, GSA contractors received little oversight by GSA auditors.  Today, the average GSA Contractor will receive two audits during their initial five year term.  GSA vendors won't be visited by an Auditor, because GSA euphemistically calls their audits "Contractor Assistance Visits" and their audits are known as "Industrial Operations Analysts"

Contractor teaming agreements allow two or more GSA contractors to get together to respond to an RFP/RFQ that they might not be able to respond to going it alone due to a lack of specific capabilities or adequate resources. And a team of small businesses can band together to compete effectively against much larger firms.  Agencies benefit because such a team can provide them with a total solution and they can enjoy far higher achievements against small business contracting requirements.