Negotiations with GSA
If you are about to have your negotiations call with GSA, let me assuage your worries. It can be a little intimidating to have a call with GSA and comb over your proposal but let me give you a break down of what to expect so you can go into the call confidently.
The call will begin with your contracting officer (CO) introducing themselves, and asking everyone else present to do the same. The CO will then ask for a brief overview of the company (what type of work is executed and with whom). From there they will go over some tedious details: Company name, address, points of contact information, NAICS code, SAM expiration date, SIN(s) proposed, etc. The company representative will need to confirm all of this information is correct.
The next piece will be the actual negotiations. The CO will review the EPA method chosen and if they deem it applicable. If you request an annual escalation for your EPA, they may want to negotiate the percentage that was requested. (For instance, if you asked for a 2% annual escalation they may want to negotiate that down or up a few percentage points, usually basing this off the most recent BLS stats). You can always give a rebuttal to the CO’s request.
Next, they will tackle the basic GSA discount you are offering and attempt to negotiate that to a steeper discount. Prepare an explanation as to why your rates need to remain where they are. This may take some back and forth, but ultimately they cannot force you to give a better discount. They can however remove labor categories that they feel are egregiously over priced. In those instances it is wise to give a better discount to keep those labor categories on your contract. UNLESS this would put your company into a position where you won’t be able to use those labor categories because you would be operating at a loss if you did. If that is the case, allow those labor categories to be removed, and try to add them at a later date after your contact is awarded.
The CO will then move onto prompt payment discounts, and quantity/volume discounts. They will try and press you into giving one for each, but again they cannot force you to do this. Prepare an explanation as to why you are in a position not to give one if that is the case.
After negotiations conclude, you may need to revise your documentation depending on how the call went. (i.e. if any changes were made to your original proposed pricing). The CO will then send over a Final Proposal Revision Letter which states all the terms and conditions agreed upon for your contract. This will need filled out and signed by an authorized negotiator and returned to the CO as soon as possible.
If you need any help navigating this process please feel free to shoot us an email at info@elevategsa.com.