GSA Schedules: "The Way" to Grow in the Federal Market

Over $30 billion dollars of federal contracts are awarded annually through small business friendly GSA schedules. GSA schedules are a favored mechanism for federal buyers to contract awards to avoid the delays and piles of paperwork required for a public competition.

Fedmarket is offering a complimentary 10 installment primer on GSA Schedules and why they are such crucial "seed contracts" for small businesses to win federal contracts. As the titles suggest, the 10 installments in the series tell readers why they should seek a GSA schedule.

1. Federal Buyers Use GSA Schedules Extensively to Make Quick and Easy Buys
2. Companies Do Not Need Federal Experience to Be Awarded a GSA Schedule Contract
3. GSA Schedule Companies Can Bid Quickly with Limited Competition
4. GSA Schedules Promote Awarding Contracts to Small Businesses
5. How to Apply for a GSA Schedule
6. How to Sell with a GSA Schedule
7. Small Service Businesses Need a MAC to Grow
8. How GSA Schedules are Used to Award Service Contracts
9. How GSA Schedules are Used to Award Product Contracts
10. A Prime Opportunity: Reselling Products Through GSA Schedules

5. GSA: How to Sell with a GSA Schedule

Selling with a GSA schedule requires the same fundamental approach as required for winning any federal contact. Realizing, of course, that having a schedule allows prospective and existing federal customers to buy from you with minimal competition, lead time, and red tape.

Use your federal customers (if any) to leverage more federal customers; the fundamental way all successful federal contractors develop business.

Getting the first federal customer is the hard part. Federal customers beget more federal customers. Several customers are ideal but one is enough.

Long range approach

• Find potential new customers through federal award database research.
• Making sales calls to potential new customers found through database research

Short range approach

• Bid on Request for Quotes sent to GSA schedule holders.
• Find the federal facilities near you (military base, office building,) and arrange meetings with the Contracting Division of the facility. Ask for introductions to end users who buy what you sell. Inform them of your GSA schedule contract, your capabilities, small business status, and request that they use your schedule to buy from you quickly and cheaply.

Federal sales are made the same as commercial sales are made, with federal twists and turns. A GSA schedule is a levered way to generate federal sales.