Consider becoming an insider and share in the fruits of the world's largest market. Remember, the insiders were outsiders at one point in time and the game is not that tough to play once you understand it. In order to become an insider, you must first understand how competition (or the lack of it) influences how buys are made. Furthermore, your company must hold a direct contract with a federal customer. It only takes one. Having an existing federal contract allows your business to demonstrate, through your partnership with the government, that your product or service provides value to the federal buyer or end user. This partnership becomes the path of least resistance. It is the path that minimizes the federal buyer's risk and the path that allows buyers to obtain what they want quickly and efficiently. As in the commercial market, federal buyers go with the proven vendor. Think about it. You do the same thing when purchasing goods or services.

You may be saying to yourself, "This sounds easy. So, what's the catch?" Landing the first contract requires the establishment of a business relationship with the buyer and you probably don't have one. Any sales person will tell you getting through the glass wall to a new customer can be a formidable task; the potential customer most likely already has business partners and may not realize that she needs you. But getting through the glass wall is not any more difficult than selling to a new commercial customer.

Don't go the Washington, D.C. area initially. There are too many entrenched insiders playing there. Find federal buyers in your locale or region. You will be dumbfounded by the volume of federal work to be found in your immediate geographic area. Use federal directories published by military bases, federal agency web sites, and your local blue pages (which list federal telephone numbers and addresses).

Military bases and the federal installations and offices located outside of Washington, D.C. prefer to buy locally. If you were a federal procurement officer, you would probably prefer to buy a dozen digital cameras from a local photo shop rather than a national chain. You would have better access to service and it is the politically correct thing to do. Natural disasters and the threat of terrorism have also resulted in new, more flexible purchasing rules that allow sole-source buys under emergency situations and specify that preference should be given to local sources for products and services.

Ask for introductions to federal buyers through your current network of existing customers, neighbors, fellow church goers and the like. Attend local chamber of commerce events, business conferences and industry events. Attend local or regional business opportunity conferences held by federal agencies. Make cold calls beginning with the contracting offices for those federal agencies in your area.

In short, selling in the federal market is just like selling in the commercial market. People buy, not agencies, and most sales are based on the development of strong relationships with federal buyers. The two markets diverge when it comes to closing the sale you have made with the buyer. Market characteristics and how they impact closing the federal sale will be the subject of the next two newsletters.