Small 8(a) Security Personnel Agency Learns the Contracting Game and Wins $1.5 million in Business in Six Months

Ana Telleria, President of Security Resources, a small, 8(a) security personnel agency, started to consider doing business with the government after attending a Fedmarket.com one-day seminar called "Winning Government Business." Fortunately for Ana, she was able to utilize the information and strategies that she learned in Fedmarket's class to win a sizeable piece of business for her company.

For Security Resources, the prospect of doing business with the government became a sudden reality three weeks after attending "Winning Government Business." Hurricane Charley hit Florida hard and the State and its citizens were in a state of emergency. "The State of Florida's existing prime security force contractor couldn't meet the State's emergency demands," said Ms. Telleria. "So the contracting officer sent out an email to everyone in the State who met their internal business criteria. When I received the email, I remembered what I was told in class - respond immediately and follow up. I was a little afraid the contracting officer was probably overwhelmed with calls as a result of her email, so I just followed up with a brief but informative email about the services we could offer," she said.

Within two days, the contracting officer called Ana back expressing an immediate interest in working with Security Resources. Ms. Telleria explained to me, "I let her [the contracting officer] tell me everything. I gave her a quick overview on how Security Resources could help her, but being new to the industry, I asked the contracting officer to teach me the State's proper contracting protocol to get the paperwork off her desk and get my security forces onsite." Together, the two walked through the process. Ana added, "What I learned in the class was exactly right. The issue was never about price. It was about making sure that we could mobilize a security force to the damaged area across Florida within 24 hours and her paperwork was completed properly so she could get approval without any delays."

Within three days of the initial contact from the State, Security Resources won a 30-day contract to supply 100 security officers to the State. "This led to a $1.5 million dollar deal within six months," Ana explained. Security Resources appreciates that it had a rare opportunity. Corporate management realized that the situation required the company to be flexible and also patient as the State's invoices piled up. The company discovered that the State's needs and rules changed almost daily. "I understood the State's rules weren't changing to make my life difficult; but they were changing because State's emergency needs changed by the hour. Remember, Florida was hit with multiple hurricanes," she said. "And we were beside them every step of the way."

Ana and her company had the foresight to act proactively to bumps they encountered along the way. Ana recalled that "[we] had a few mistakes in scheduling. I simply called the contracting officer right away. On the extremely rare occasion when this happened, I let her know before the onsite team called her. She expressed to me that she always appreciated my upfront approach to dealing with snags of doing business."

At the end of the contract, the company's patience paid off. Ana reported that "I had a chance to meet the billing and financial teams after all the work was complete and they told me the contractors who were rude and abusive about late payment will not have an opportunity to do business with them again. I suddenly realized I was looking more and more like a prime contractor every day. Stability in this marketplace is key." Ana learned in Fedmarket's class that "I had to close the loop in doing business with the government and that following proper protocol meant to also respect the paperwork and the workload of the federal payment team. Sometimes their hands are tied waiting for federal money or money from another resource. Until that money comes in, they cannot pay a contractor," she remarked.

Ana believes she was successful because "I stayed focused on serving the client first, changed when they needed me to be flexible, and quickly responded to all of their paperwork requirements. Hopefully, that will make me a potential prime with the State of Florida for years to come." When asked about her immediate plans for the future, Ana replied that she now intends to "get a GSA Schedule to start winning federal business and ask my embedded contracting officer at the State of Florida to help introduce me to more agencies who might need my company's security services."

You can contact Ana Telleria at Security Resources, LLC, serving Florida, Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC, at 877-337-6707 x 811, or visit www.securityresources.us

You can do it too! Whether you are hoping to work with the federal, state or local governments, the rules are the same.

1. Respond to the Government's call for help immediately.

2. Listen to the contracting officer's pain.

3. Offer your expertise or referrals to others if you are not the expert.

4. Ask for assistance in proper protocol. Inquire how you can help the contracting officer close the deal so you can start delivering immediately.

5. Deliver perfectly.

6. Show flexibility when they need you to change your typical business practices to fit the customer's needs.

7. Own up to and fix mistakes immediately.

8. Customize your billing to fit their paperwork needs.

9. Remain calm. Don't show your company's financial anxiety when dealing with late payment issues. Help the customer expedite payment by providing accurate invoices tailored to meet the customer's needs. Be patient.

10. Ask the customer how you can improve performance and ask for more business.