Business Development and IDIQ Awards

Business Development and IDIQ Awards are Crucial to Small Business Growth
Know when they occur and know when to write them!!

Federal Market Risk

Building a federal contracting company requires Business Development and IDIQ awards. The federal bureaucrats and marketing companies make it sound like its easy: incorporate your business, register for free in our contractor database, and you are ready to go. The bureaucrats say 'we will help you for free,' and the marketing companies imply they will sell for you.

Small businesses can only sell for themselves and, in today's market, direct sales calls are ineffective. Selling yourself today requires IDIQ awards and proposal writing.

Small business status is free, but small business preference programs require written applications. Application writing and proposal writing require an investment in salaries or outside proposal writing assistance.

The Small Business Growth Dilemma
A typical small business owner:

• Does not have a lot of federal contracting, bid/no bid, and proposal writing experience.
• Has limited funds and are billable to minimize investment.
• Does not have time for business development.

But winning IDIQs requires business development, because you have to know when IDIQ opportunities are open for bid and whether or not you qualify for the opportunity. Fedmarket can assist you with complimentary business development assistance.

IDIQs are a Must

Today's federal market has evolved into a red tape game driven by multiple award contracts - commonly referred to as IDIQs.

Single award opportunities still are published in SAM.gov, but they are slowly drying up because government contracting staffs are overloaded, and IDIQs cut their workload drastically.

The advantage of having an IDIQ are:

• Proposals for Task Orders are usually easier to write, and you are only competing against the other small business awardees.
• You can focus your sales efforts on the agency issuing the IDIQ. For example, for an IT IDIQ an IT small businesses could focus its sale efforts on the CIO staff for the agency. Focused, direct selling can be cost/effective.

Business Development

Companies new to the market ask:

Q: How do I know when IDIQs are open for a bid and if I qualify for an IDIQ?
A: Watch our website, we feature small business IDIQs as they come up for bid. Call us at (301) 960-5817 if you need assistance in understanding the requirements and your chances of winning an award.

Q: How many companies will bid on an IDIQ?
A: No one knows. But the more awards the government is planning, the more bidders there will be. The stricter the requirements, the smaller the number of bidders there will be. For example, if a Secure Facility Clearance is required, the number of bidders will be smaller.

Q: What are my chances of winning a specific IDIQ?
A: It requires federal contracting experience to answer this question and even then, it's only your best business judgment. The better your proposal response fits the specific requirements, the better your chances.

Q: Why can't my company write a proposal in response to an IDIQ?
A: You can if you have an experienced proposal writer who has written winning proposals. IDIQ RFPs are structurally complex, usually are well over 100 pages, and your proposal will be rejected if you don't correctly answer every requirement down to the most detailed level like page count or a missing statement or affirmation.

Q: What if I don't have enough capital to invest in proposal writing?
A: Stick with trying to subcontract with prime contractors or focus on the under $25,000 federal market.

Q: What do we do if there are no IDIQs currently up for bid or if IDIQs for my industry are rare?
A: Propose for a GSA Schedule, which are always open for a bid and cover all industries. Call Fedmarket GSA consultant Toby Cantor for assistance at (301) 960-5817.

Bid Decisions

Bid Decisions are paramount to cost effective growth, yet they are difficult for owners inexperienced in federal contracting. Proposals are expensive to write, and your win rate has to be high to minimize your investment risk.

Smart bid decisions are the key to minimizing risk and investment. The keys to smart bid decisions are: how well do you fit the past experience requirements, how strict are the requirements, and how many small business awards exist for a given IDIQ.