The following question often surfaces at our seminars, "What procedures should be followed by small businesses eager to participate in the federal market?" The answer to this question is that a small business should implement an aggressive federal sales program using various mechanisms to close your sales until you can obtain a GSA Schedule contract.

As aforementioned, your primary goal should be to obtain a GSA Schedule contract. A Schedule contract is the only practical way a small business can obtain a pre-approved price list under a multiple award schedule (MAS) contract. Pre-approved prices help reduce (i) the amount of competition a business faces when selling to the federal government, and (ii) the amount of time required to transact (close) a sale.

Many of the services-related GSA Schedule solicitations require that a company demonstrate that is has the background or corporate experience necessary to handle the services it offers to the government. This presents a problem to new companies that have no corporate experience to draw upon. However, select GSA Schedule solicitations allow a company offering services to proffer the experience of management with a previous employer as the corporate experience required under that Schedule's solicitation. Start-ups hoping to offer products to GSA face a hurdle because GSA requires that a company submitting an offer prove that it has sold the product in the commercial marketplace. Either of these factors can impact upon the time at which your company may submit its GSA Schedule offer.

What do you do in the meantime while you are waiting to submit your GSA offer or waiting for a submitted offer to be evaluated? Often, the offer review process can take 3 to 9 months so you have plenty of time to do other things.

1. Apply immediately for small disadvantaged and/or disabled veteran status if you qualify. Get the applications in the first month, complete them and submit them.

2. Immediately begin an aggressive sales program to sell directly to federal end users. Do this on Day 1.

3. Try to work through prime contractors to obtain subcontracts as the way to close your sale. This is difficult but works best if you are knocking at the door of a prime contractor with a sale in hand. Watch the closed door swing wide open when the prime contractor smells revenue.

4. Use credit card transactions (under $ 2,500) or purchase-order transactions (under $ 25,000) to close your sales and get your foot in the door.

5. For deals that exceed $ 25,000, tell the federal customer that you are working on your GSA schedule or have a GSA schedule proposal in evaluation. Larger deals take 6 to 12 months to sell so your GSA schedule contract could be awarded by the time you are ready to close. If it isn't, knock on the door of the prime contractor serving the agency and you will be welcomed with open arms (there always is a prime contractor there already