Even
with Continuing Resolution in Effect, Don't Forsake Fundamentals for
Identifying, Qualifying and Pursuing New Business Opportunities!
Once again, Congress
couldn't do the one thing they have a whole year to plan for yet never
seem to get done in a timely fashion. Passing the federal budget! So
we're operating under Continuing Resolution which ties the hands of the agencies and ultimately can inhibit your ability to find and win new business.
What to do?
Stay
calm and go back to the fundamentals. While new programs are on the
shelf during CR's, existing business operations requirements continue to
be needed (and fulfilled) on a daily basis. If your company has been
counting on a new program to kickoff, stand-by while the new Congress
does its posturing and flexing before getting down to the important
tasks at-hand. Take a look at the same customer(s) and explore working
with them to satisfy ongoing needs which are not as impacted by the
CR's.
The secret here is building a basic profile on a current or
prospective customer (even if you are working as a subcontractor, you
need to know your customer's customer!) understand the different
procurement methods leveraged (Micropurchase, Simplified Acquisitions,
BPA's etc.) and leverage market research to identify who is responsible for acquiring the goods/services relevant to you and what the current/upcoming operational needs are, qualify
the needs and that you are positioned to provide them via a contracting
platform they are comfortable with (GSA Schedule, 8(a), SDVOSB,
agency-specific BPA, GWAC (for IT products and services, and so on).
Once you've established this, develop your plan and your team (as
needed) to pursue
the requirement. Most of the information you will need to do this is
freely available, if you know where to look and what you are looking
for. The rest is based on your ability to develop and leverage
relationships that will help you validate the information you collect
during the process.
Don't get caught up in the hype of the doomsayers. There is still plenty of business to be had. Peace and Happy New Year!
Regards, Guy Timberlake Chief Visionary and CEO
The person who says it cannot be done should stop interrupting the person doing it.
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