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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
SELLING ABILITY ONE
IN THE CURRENT
MARKET
Larry Allen
Allen Federal
Jim Phillips
Centre Consulting
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
START AT THE BEGINNING
The Current Status of the Federal Market
 Current Status of the Continuing Resolution
 CR’s and New Projects
 Threat of A Debt Ceiling Crisis Still Looms
 Sequestration Is Still With Us
 DOD Officials Estimate that 50% of the Acquisition
Workforce Has LESS Than 5 Years of Experience
______
 But The Government IS Open For Business
 Missions, Priorities, Emergencies Will All Have To Be Met
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
WHAT’S STRESSING YOUR
FEDERAL CLIENT?
 Pay Freezes
 Shift From Furloughs To Possible RIF’s
 Micromanagement From Congress and the
IG Community
 Traditional Factors: Bureaucracy, Shifting
Mandates, Etc.
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
HOW TO MAKE THESE WORK
FOR YOU
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
Be The Trusted, Reliable Supplier
 Walk That New CO or CS Through The Process, Don’t Assume They Know!
 Position Yourself as a Business Partner - If you don’t have it help them find
it

Stress Experience in Market
 Speed of Need, Quality Items, Great Values
 Monitor/reinforce exceptional past performance record

Listen To Their Story First, Then Tell Yours
 Everyone has a “hot button” – Understanding a buyer’s hot button allow you
to differentiate yourself from others.

Help Solve Other Problems When You Can
| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
CHANGES TO SUPPLY & ACQUISITION
What They Mean To You
 Office Products, Jan/San & Other FSSI Programs
 More on this follows
 GSA 3PL Plans
 Single Agency “Total Solutions” Contracts
 LPTA Buying
 Small Business Goal Pressure
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
HOW DO YOU CONFRONT THOSE
CHALLENGES?
 Tell The Ability One Story
 Put a Face With a Name
 Disparate Economic Impact One Pager
 New Staff Be Unfamiliar With Ability One Requirements
 Target Specific Agencies
 Past Successes
 Existing and New Relationships
 Stress Best Value, Quality of Product, Secure Supply Chain
 Form Strategic Alliances With Industry Partners
 FSSI Contract Holders & 3PL Contractor(s)
 Participate in Buying Groups and Other Vendor Coalitions
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
CONFRONTING CHALLENGES
CONTINUED
 Reminders About Mandatory Source Status Are
Appropriate – Especially in a “Set It and Forget It”
World
 Get Help From NIB and Ability One For Special
Circumstances
 Constant Communication with Major Buyers
 GSA
 DLA
 VA
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
SO WHAT MAKES YOU ATTRACTIVE TO A
PRIME CONTRACTOR?
 Potential Business Opportunity You’ve
Already Identified That They Can Help With
 You Have Specialized, Niche Items
 Experience In The Federal Market
 Experience/Relationship With A Specific
Customer That They Do Not Have
 Reliable/Quick-Ship Capability
 Ability One Status Can Be A Positive
Evaluation Factor
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
WHERE DO I FIND THESE PRIME
CONTRACTORS?
 All Large Prime Contractors Have Small Business Offices To
Identify Partners With Socio-Economic Status
 Free Media Sources Like Govexec.com and
Federalnewsradio.com, regularly mention larger contractors
in the news
 Many Companies, and Associations, Host Small Business Days
for Contractor “Speed Dating”
 Industry Association Membership
 One-on-One Meetings
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
WHAT ELSE
 Subscribed to Industry Publications
 Government Executive, Federal Computer
Week, Federal Times, etc.
 Active marketing both with issuing
sources and with contracting entities
 Internal Training on Compliance
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
COMMON TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL
CONTRACTORS
 Focused On The Federal Market
 Put the time and resources not just into sales, but relationship
building
 Anticipate changes that can impact your business, quickly
identify problems
 Learn from others
 Successful CEO’s Say: “Don’t go it alone”
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
WHY YOU NEED TO SELL & MARKET
 Ability One Status Is Just The Beginning
 Allows You To Sell More Easily, Gives You
Legitimacy
 How Good A Tool It Is Depends on Who Is Using
It
 No Business Is Guaranteed
 Must Call On Customers & Develop Leads
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
MAKE USE OF RESOURCES
 Use Information From Free and Paid Resources to Draft Internal
Growth Plans
 Develop & Use New Contacts In & Out of Govt.
 Participate in The Market, Including Events Like
Conferences, Awards Shows, Etc.
 Identify New Opportunities, Competitors and Risks
 Dedicate Internal Resources To Make It Work
 Be Prepared When Less Dedicated Firms Leave the Market
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
WHAT ELSE
 Subscribe to Industry Publications
 Government Executive, Federal Computer Week,
Federal Times, etc.
 Active marketing both with issuing sources and with
contracting entities
 Internal Training on Market Changes And, Where
Necessary, Compliance
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
MORE TIPS
 Successful firms adopt a “client for life”
operating model
 Clients tend to re-use Trusted Suppliers
 Add new tasking with minimal
competition
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
THE SELLING RECTANGLE
 End-User – The Most Obvious Person
 Program Manager - Sometimes The EU’s Boss,
Sometimes the Same Person
 CFO – Only If You Want To Make Sure The Agency
Has Money
 The CO – Repeat After Me: “The CO Is The ONLY
Person Who Can Bind The Gov’t. To A Contract”
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
A QUICK LOOK AT THE FUTURE
 Federal Budget Will Continue To Be Tight For Foreseeable
Future, But Specific Opportunities Will Exist
 New Procurement Methods Pose Challenges For Ability One
Sales & Distribution
 Make Sure You Tell Your Story
 Procuring Agencies – Especially New Contracting
Officers
 Logistics Contractors
 Don’t Be Afraid To Use Congressional Allies When
Absolutely Necessary
 Make Sure YOU Stay Up To Date On What’s Happening In Your
Area
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
FSSI
(Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative)
 Major OMB/GSA initiative to create new buying programs to
achieve greater discounts/lower prices based on consolidation
of buying across government agencies.
 All agencies direct to evaluate spending and propose
product/service markets suitable for Strategic Sourcing.
 Goal is to then target those markets deemed suitable
through creation of new “mandatory” contract vehicles.
 GSA is a big player here – directed by OMB to establish 5 new
FSSI contracts in 2013 & 2014.
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
FSSI
(Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative)
OS3 – Office Supplies
 Current OS2 FSSI BPAs tied to Schedule 75 to expire June
2014.
 Fifteen BPA holders currently, of which 13 are Small
Businesses
 GSA at work on acquisition strategy for successor FSSI vehicle
 Strategy complicated by fact that Schedule 75 has been
closed for five years to new offers
 GSA appears to prefer an “open market” procurement
strategy to replace this contract.
 Expect RFP in December/January time frame!
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
FSSI
(Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative)
JanSan/MRO Supplies
 Draft RFQ for Schedules based BPA issued in May 2013
 Draft RFQ subsequently revised in response to industry
comments
 Extensive Q&As has extended release of final RFQ –
Coming soon!
 You must be an applicable Schedule holder and be Ability One
approved to compete
 Vendors not winning BPA seats can seek to become
participating dealers on other BPAs holder contracts.
 If you don’t win a BPA and/or become a participating dealer,
this market will likely close for you!
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
Data Reporting & Pricing Tools
 Transactional data reporting a major new mandate.
 Commands strong E-Commerce capability.
 Another area where you shouldn’t assume customer
understands requirements – Get ahead of them!
 Emergence of “Prices Paid” and Other Pricing Tools
 Creating keen focus on prices paid at the transactional/order
level
 Need to understand what dynamics are driving your prices
and your competitors because someone is going to start
watching!
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER
 Federal Government Is Open For Business &
Will Buy What You’re Selling
 Use A Targeted Approach When Pursuing
Business – Rifle vs. Shotgun
 Consider New Relationships/Channels
 Promote/Educate on Ability One Compliance
 Be Patient
 Have A Sense of Humor
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo
Contacts
Larry Allen
Allen Federal Business Partners
703-999-6046
lallen@allenfederal.com
Jim Phillips
Centre Consulting
703-288-2800
jphillips@centreconsult.com
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| 2013 NIB/NAEPB National Conference and Expo