Marketing Your GSA Contract
This is an area where we see a fair number of contractors struggling who just need some new ideas and tools to really get their contracts on the right track and producing some sales! First and foremost, there should be someone at your company who is dedicated to searching for opportunities on eBuy several times a week. EBuy is where you will see Requests for Proposal (RFPs) specific to the Special Item Numbers (SINs) you have awarded on your contract. And it’s also where you will respond to those RFPs, so definitely familiarize yourself with eBuy, and have someone on your team regularly checking in.
Make sure the GSA logo is on your website in a prominent location along with a short paragraph about your GSA contract, and a link to your listing on eLibrary. This will bring awareness to your contract, and give potential clients quick access to your product and service offerings available through the contracting vehicle. These are both more passive approaches to gaining some new sales, but still very important!
Networking should be given a huge priority in your business affairs when it comes to GSA. Network with the federal agencies that you see yourself doing business with. Have your sales teams target federal agency points of contact and reach out, set up meetings, shoot off some emails making these potential clients aware of what you have to offer! Some of the RFP’s posted to eBuy are deals that are struck between client and contractor prior to releasing the bid- so get to know your potential client base! Collaborate and brainstorm future opportunities and some of those many lend to actual sales.
If you run across an RFP that your company either could not bid on for various reasons, or your bid didn’t win- It is well worth it to reach out to the company that won to see if you can team up in the future! Sometimes all it takes is getting your foot in the door on one or two projects to start drumming up business for yourself. Some of these companies winning contracts may be designated as “other than small business”, which means they will need to subcontract a good portion of their work to small businesses like yours! It is a mutually beneficial relationship to engage with and network with these larger companies who are already finding success on GSA.
In the same vein, if a Purchasing Officer emails you regarding an opportunity and you didn’t win the bid, or couldn’t bid on it because it didn’t sync up with your offerings, reach out to them and explain what you DO offer. Ask to be put in touch with their client in order to collaborate on future projects. Truly anyone you can make a connection with, and put in your rolodex is going to be valuable.
It is also never a bad idea to attend any networking or marketing events where you can shake hands with (either in person or virtually these days!) purchasing officers, potential clients or other vendors. If your company has the bandwidth to attend these kind of events, then definitely give it a shot and see if it proves useful.
As always, if you have any questions, or requests for a future episode, please feel free to reach out to us at info@elevategsa.com
If you prefer to listen in podcast format, you can find that episode here.
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eBuy: www.ebuy.gsa.gov