The problem most companies face when trying to argue that GSA's prices should be higher than your Most Favored Customer is that GSA will almost always say: "We are the world's biggest customer, and we should have better than your best price even if the terms and conditions vary."

The "world's biggest customer" argument may apply to a large prime contractor with thousands of established federal relationships. It's up to you to convince GSA that it does not apply to a small business new to the market.

To the small business owner, GSA may in fact be the world's most expensive market. The market is spread across thousands of agencies worldwide. Finding and selling end-users in individual federal agencies requires significant business development and sales costs, and there can be a long lag time between submitting a proposal and making a profit. The cost of making individual GSA sales may far exceed the average cost of a commercial sale.

Don't be shy; bring these points up in your proposal and during verbal price negotiations. GSA regulations say that the contracting officers should listen and be open to the unique circumstances of small businesses. Whether a given contracting officer buys your argument is sometimes just a roll of the dice.