Why not try to win many IDIQs? Well, winning an IDIQ is not only expensive but, more importantly; with too many you are in danger of losing focus. And focused sales efforts are critical to keep sales costs within reason. Equally important, you do not have a dollar of revenue until you win a funded IDIQ order, and that takes aggressive and expensive sales efforts. Even the billion-dollar prime contractors usually limit themselves to 10-20 IDIQs.

Which IDIQ fits you is simplified somewhat if you are not in the information technology (IT) industry, since IT IDIQs abound and several new ones are announced every year. IDIQ selection is inherently narrowed for most industries because new IDIQs do not come along that often.

The IDIQs that have already been awarded are not open to you except as a subcontractor under one of the IDIQ winners. GSA schedules are an exception because they are always open for a bid and are available for over 40 industries.

When new IDIQs are announced for your industry you can narrow your bidding decision by weighing the following factors:

• Is geography important? (construction and facilities maintenance)
• Is the IDIQ government-wide or agency specific?
• Does the IDIQ cover your product or service?
• Has the government limited the planned awards to a reasonable number (an indicator of heavy competition, particularly from the companies that already work for the agency)
• Are there awards set aside for small businesses, what flavors are the set-asides (if any), and how many awards are planned for each flavor?
• How well do you satisfy the experience and personnel requirements of the solicitation?
• Does the issuing agency buy what you sell?
• Have you worked for the agency and with whom do you have relationships?
• Will there be enough awards to offset the lack of relationships in the issuing agency?

Whether to seek an IDIQ award is not an easy decision but it's a critical one, because IDIQ proposal writing is expensive and it saps corporate energy.

This newsletter is an excerpt from Loading the Dice in DC, Legally: Learn the Politics and Realities of Federal Contracting by Fedmarket Founder and President, Richard White.
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