Should you join the parade to grab some of endless flow of federal contracting opportunities? The federal government has always been an extremely lucrative market; world events are just making it more visible. As with everything in life, you can't just pick up federal contract dollars and put them in a bag. Those of you with battle scars from the sales game probably realize that tackling the federal market will require a substantial investment of money and time. Some have tried to take short cuts and are now waking up every morning in a prison cell (or at home anxiously awaiting appellate court rulings).

You should probably stay where you are if you are in the oil business or are a Wall Street suit. Otherwise, consider selling to the federal government. Those who decide to go forward must commit significant resources to their sales program and also be prepared to wait at least one year for their first dollar of federal revenue. All it takes is money and the knowledge gleaned from our new book, "Rolling the Dice in DC", of course.

Most federal sales, like commercial sales, start with a customer relationship. To be successful in the market, you must consider the entire sales cycle as a business process. Many outsiders think that they can jump into the middle of the process. Because the federal government publicizes its bidding opportunities at a central web site, companies hoping to win business with the government think they can simply conduct a search and pick and choose projects to bid on.

As you may have surmised, jumping in the middle doesn't work. In order to be successful in the federal market, your sales staff must (i) make direct sales calls to establish trust relationships with end users, and (ii) learn to play the "close the sale" game. The game is really not that different than the game played in the commercial market. The difference with the federal market is that there's much more paper work.

As in the commercial sector, insiders dominate the federal market. Ensconced insiders devoted significant company time and money to establish the necessary business relationships with federal buyers. Those new to the market need to understand the long-term investment required to become an insider.

This article is an excerpt form the new book "Rolling the Dice in DC". The book is written for managers and sales people and describes the day-to-day dogfight of competing and winning in the federal market. Read this book if you want to know the good, bad, and the ugly of the federal market, what it takes to enter the market, and the potential returns.