We have repeatedly stressed in prior newsletters that the federal market is recession proof and an ideal source for additional revenue. Naysayers will although the market may be recession proof, it has a long sales lead time. This may be true, in general, but not necessarily applicable to you. Act today; short-term revenue streams are available if your company does the following:

1. Immediately begin the process of getting a GSA Schedule contract. Yes, it can take three to five months from the time of proposal submission to award but, by acting now, you will have a Schedule contract in time to close the sales you will be working on today.
2. Go to a military installation or federal facility near you and meet with the contacting office. Beg them for an order if you sell commodities and an introduction to end users if you sell complex products or services (yes, begging is necessary).
3. Use federal web sites to find end users and make sales calls. Use introductory e-mails, network connections, or whatever is necessary to get through the door.

You are a taxpayer and deserve some of the federal pie just like the insiders which are already selling at the federal facility near you. The red tape is not as thick as the public perceives. Making a sale is the key, not the red tape.

The initial resistance to new vendors is real but you can overcome this with aggressive sales efforts. Take the steps described above while working on getting your GSA Schedule contract.