Contrary to popular belief, people buy in the federal market, not agencies. The only way to make a federal sale is to contact a buyer through a direct sales call. Companies unwilling to make the sales calls are not going to experience success in the market.

Although rules and regulations often tie a government buyer's hands, they don't turn the buyer into a robot. Government buyers are people with the same general motivations and inclinations we all have, rules or no rules. Government end users buy from vendors they know and trust. The government employee's success and future promotions depend on the value of the products and services they buy and, because of that, they want to be assured that their vendors will perform well.

It's not just about getting the best deal for the taxpayer. Although certainly a factor, "taxpayer protection" is often a fuzzy, nebulous concept. The reality is that the federal buyer wants to get the deal that works best for him and his superiors. From a federal buyer's perspective, a good deal is one in which risk is minimized.

Federal end users, such as human resource program managers, engineers, or facility managers, make most purchasing decisions. As the term implies, the end user is the person who will actually use the service. Services and complex products and solutions must be sold to the end user because this person is the one who determines if the service or product meets their needs and solves their problem.