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

Installment 10 - GSA Schedules: The Biggest and Most Sought After MAC

GSA schedules are a series of government-wide MACs that cover almost all products and services.

Schedules are attractive because they eliminate most competition and are used extensively by buyers because they are government-wide.

An offer to obtain a schedule can be made at any time. Other Macs open and close after a set bidding period of around 60 days and after they close the winners get to split up the contract budget (up to $ 60 billion or more).

Almost all other MACs are agency specific; they can only be used by a buyer within the agency; not government-wide.

GSA schedules are ideal for entering the market because they are always open for a bid and are for government-wide use.

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 
    

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