Establishing relationships with federal customers can be a long, arduous process that can often take a year or more. The federal end user's job depends on the vendors he chooses and, as a result, the end user is often averse to taking a risk with an unproven vendor.

Unfortunately, there's no magic bullet or shortcut that makes the endeavor easier. Use any federal relationship that you have and, if none exist, make repeated cold calls until you get in the door. Consider leveraging relationships you have with federal prime contractors to sell your services to them as a subcontractor. If you don't have such relationships, make the same cold calls until you have established contact.

You have to be willing to make the investment to get through the glass wall. The federal sales cycle is long, but persistence and focused, direct sales efforts pay off in the long run. You become an insider when you win your first contract. Once you have achieved that status, it can be used to leverage sales growth.