You’ve finally made contact with a Small Business representative who isn’t telling you “We don’t buy your product or service”. They are within commuting distance and you’ve made an appointment to meet with them one-on-one for half an hour. Now what? Well, now is the time to prepare, so you maximize your time and opportunity to find out as much information as you can about that agency and how they do business.
First, familiarize yourself with the agency. You’ve already determined that they buy your products or services or you wouldn’t have booked time with their Small Business Specialist, right? But there’s a lot more to learn before you walk in the door. Look for their procurement forecasts (most agencies post these on their websites somewhere) and review requirements that that agency has posted on FBO (www.fbo.gov) for the last 6 to 12 months. Have one or two recent opportunities with you so you can ask about each of them.
- Were these one-time purchases or follow-on contracts (i.e., the agency buys this every year, three years, or five years)?
- Does your agency often post these types of opportunities on FBO?
- Do they often buy these off GSA Schedules?
- Is there another contract that the agency uses predominantly for purchasing your services, such as the Navy’s Seaport-e multiple award contract (MAC) which provides a range of functional support services or the EAGLE II, which is the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading-Edge Solutions II (EAGLE II) contract for information technology (IT) services?
If you found a couple of opportunities on their procurement forecast that you are interested in, be sure and ask about them in particular.
- Has the agency already awarded these?
- If these are follow on contract opportunities, who are the incumbents? Was it a small business (or other program) set aside last time?
- The forecast indicates the solicitation will be issued this quarter of this fiscal year. Has the Contracting Officer already posted a synopsis on FBO?
- Will there be an “Industry Day”?
- Is it still a small business set-aside or has it been set-aside for 8(a), HUBZone or other Small Business Administration (SBA) certified firms only?
- Did the Agency meet its small business goals last year? In which categories (e.g., HUBZone or Woman-owned small business awards), if any, did the agency not achieve their goals? How are they doing this year?
- When do you expect that the solicitation will be published?
- Ask how many option years are left on the current contract. If the end of the contract is within the next two years, the prime may already putting together their team for the follow-on procurement, giving you more of an opportunity to join the new team.
- Will I need a security clearance or will the firm need to get a facility clearance?
Here are a few more questions you should ask during your meeting regarding subcontracting opportunities:
- Do you have a list of points of contact for your agency’s prime contractors that you can provide to me? Ask what the prime contractors have been contracted by the agency to provide, so you can use these to explore potential subcontracting opportunities with them.
- Do you know if the primes needing the services my company provides have met their subcontracting goals?
- Do you know if the primes use sba.gov/subnet/ to find potential subcontractors?
Doing your research in advance of meeting with the Small Business Specialist will not only maximize the information you take away, it will present you as a serious business who takes the time to know their customer, and establish a foundation for a business relationship with your first contact within an agency. Make sure you get their business card, and remember to leave your business card and Capabilities Statement (or send it via email if that is their preference). Then follow up within a couple of days of your visit with an email thanking them for their time and information. This small courtesy may well be the thing that they remember the most, and will remember you when an opportunity crosses their desk that fits your capabilities.
This blog was a joint effort between Karen Pera and Vicky Strycharske