Best Practices Tools
for Targeting Federal
Agencies & Contracts
Govconectx
Tom Johnson, Publisher
Set-Aside Alert
www.setasidealert.com
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This is Uncle Sam….
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Start with some alphabet
soup…
IFB – sealed bids
 RFP – negotiated terms and price
 RFQ – small value, or based on previously
agreed pricing
 LPTA – low price, technically acceptable
 Brand name or equal
 IDIQ – indefinite delvry/indef quantity - TO

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And a little more…

GWAC: Government-wide acquisition
 GSA
Schedules are a subset (MACs)
AWAC: Agency-wide acquisition contract
 BPA: Blanket purchase agreement

 Generally
based on an existing contract’s
pricing, terms and conditions

MATOC: Multiple award/task order-based
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#1 Your 1st Resource – US
Government Manual
Free!
 http://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/
 Mission statements
 Org charts
 Bureau breakdown
 Small Business contacts
 Also, visit www.osdbu.gov for all OSDBUs

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#2 FedBizOpps – but not just for
new opportunities
Free!
 Resource for what agencies buy your stuff
 Resource for how agencies buy your stuff
 Resource for where agencies buy your
stuff
 Resource for when agencies buy your stuff

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#3 Agency Websites – study the
guts
OSDBU or OSBP pages
 Procurement or Acquisition office pages
 Long-range Forecast
 Agency mission
 Sub-agency organization
 Personnel directory

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#4 Carroll Publishing – THE source
for government contact information
Directories
 Org charts
 Federal, state, county, municipal
 90,000 top fed managers w/contact info
 900 agency org charts w/contact info
 www.carrollpub.com

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#5 Set-Aside Alert
Daily Contract Opportunities e-mails
 Quick notes on who’s buying what for
where
 Not just for today’s current alerts but also
historical value
 Identifies key contacts within buying
offices that can lead you to your target,
both buyers and program managers

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#6 Federal Procurement Data
System
FPDS-NG (“next generation”) – you should
have seen first generation ;-)
 www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/
 Google-type search for agency or
contractor name, NAICS, PSC, etc
 Drill-down to get more detail

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#7 Better yet:
www.USASpending.gov
Official contract awards data
 Same data as FPDS-NG, but more userfriendly interface
 Search by NAICS, agency, keyword,
company
 Research your competitors or suppliers

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#8 Utilize Market Data Research
Firms
EZGovOpps www.EZGovOpps.com
 GovWin/INPUT/FedSources/Centurion
www.govwin.com
 FedMine www.FedMine.us
 Govini www.govini.com
 EZGSA www.EZGSA.com
 CapITal Reps www.capitalreps.com

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#9 Confirm your SAM and DSBS
listings
Transition of data from CCR to SAM was a
mess
 Small business data not getting passed
through to SBA’s Dynamic SB Search
 Today, log in and review your SAM entry
and be sure to go on to DSBS
 Add keywords, past performance to DSBS

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#10 GSA Schedule a necessity?
Commonly-used, off-the-shelf products
and services
 $40 billion in purchases that rarely appear
in FedBizOpps
 For description of what’s covered:
www.gsa.gov/schedulesolicitations
 Transition from MFC to Fair & Reasonable
 Major concerns about FSSI

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#11 Need to team?
Take advantage of socio-economic goals
– see Small Business Scorecard
 Participate in industry days
 Participate in industry events and
networking – like today
 Check FBO’s Interested Parties
 Look for Industry Day sign-up lists

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Tom Johnson
Publisher, Set-Aside Alert
800-845-8420
tjohnson@setasidealert.com
Follow us on Twitter: @SetAsideAlert
www.setasidealert.com
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How does Social Media apply?
LinkedIn
 Facebook

 www.facebook.com/government
Govloop
 Twitter

 Follow

us: @SetAsideAlert
Blogs
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What’s your social media
objective?
Company presence
 Product/service promotion
 White paper promotion
 Intelligence gathering
 Lurking
 Groups

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