A 13-part installment series.
Richard White explains how federal sales are really transacted. 

Installment 2.  It's Not as Bad as It Appears

Knowing who has the cards and playing the contracting game the way the government wants it played can more than offset the government's inherent power. You can offset the government's edge by:

• Understanding that they are under a spotlight by the public, the press, and even the Congress who gave them all the power. They do not like using their power publicly.
• Yet if you make the waves on paper they will slap you down in a number of ways, i.e., putting an informal line thru your name, denying a protest, taking you to court, etc.
• If you embarrass them by cheating they will put you in jail
• Understanding that intense scrutiny causes buyers to be exceptionally risk averse. Heads do roll when contracts mess up publicly. (e.g., Obamacare web site)

Insiders (companies with contracts):

• Play by the rules and help buyers justify contract awards and performance ratings on paper.
• Stay out of trouble by performing at a B level or better.

It's a paper game with the paper showing that (1) awards were made in the best interest of the taxpayer and (2) contract performance was adequate. (What the paper says may not reflect reality.)

Don't cross them by protesting or making waves.

They want you to play the game by their rules and if you don't watch out.

In short, by playing their game and being a stellar business partner, i.e., these people know what I need and help me in any way they can.

Unfortunately, you can't learn to play the game without a contract.

About Richard White
Richard White has 45 years of experience in federal contracting and has published three books on federal contracting:

• ROLLING THE DICE IN DC How the Federal Sales Game is Really Played (2006)
• GSA SCHEDULES The Shortest Path to Federal Sales Dollars (2008)
• CRACKING THE $500 BILLION FEDERAL MARKET The Small Business Guide to Federal Sales (2010)
  

The three books are available for purchase through Amazon.com or complementary copies can be downloaded by clicking on the titles above.

The books attempted to inform readers about how the federal sales game is played in the trenches. They present "how-to" information, the information is still relevant, not much has changed in government contracting over the years.

Like the earlier books, this installment series is focused on selling services and complex hard goods, and software (selling commodities is a low priced crap-shoot).

Series Installments:

1. The Government Has All of the Cards
2. It's Not as Bad as it Appears
3. Trying to Become an Insider by Cold Calling is Expensive
4. Insiders Use Their Contracts to Sell to More Customers
5. Becoming an Insider Costs Time and Money
6. Public Bids
7. Incumbent Contractors Win Repeating Contracts
8. Multiple Award Contracts, the Tidal Wave of the Future
9. How Big and Important are MACs?
10. GSA Schedules: The Biggest and Most Sought After MAC
11. GSA Schedules are Expensive to Get and Not for Everyone
12. The Subcontracting Channel
13. Conclusion

Read installment #1 today, and download your free copies of the books listed above. 

Fedmarket