Why sell the government is very different than selling to the private sector
One of the largest and often fatal, makes a business mistake in entering the government market, it is to like, they would be treated if the private market entry. This is especially true when a company successfully selling its products or services to consumers or other companies and try similar tactics in the states apply the market. This logic is wrong because the government is called market differs dramatically from the private sector as a result of not only the two thousand pages of rules and regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the ever-changing accounting and financial requirements. There are also unique and very special terminology specific government purchasing and procurement processes are very different from the private sector.
To better understand the processes and differences tracks tend to follow when entering the federal market, take a look at the two newbies: Top-down or bottom-up tracks.
Bottom-up track
Many business people run the government market by all the processes clear CCR.gov register, fill out every form and fill any database. You control and apply to all certifications and any meeting, conference and outreach sessions as possible. The bad news about this approach that it followed all directions to the letter, all the “i” dotted and “t” crossed, and never win any contracts or have to sell.
Top Down Track
The companies have been successfully selling big-ticket products or services to the consumer or business market in general use of the sales process start at the top, just as they did in the private sector. They have learned that if they buy into the top decision makers, the subordinates will follow to justify his / her example?
Dead Air
They are deeply disappointed if nothing happened. Top-down tilt
What they do not know, that are rare in government, the VIPs, the real decision makers. What works fine in the private sector, not only do not work in government, it might also their reputation so seriously that they gain little or no chance of jobs in the future need to be damaged.
Who are the decision makers
Real decision makers are the people that the legal authority to spend our tax money to negotiate to buy and sign their names on behalf of the Government contract. The federal government has rarely, if ever, only one person. For contracts valued at more than $ 25,000, mostly there were people from the small business representatives, contracting officers and specialists for technical representatives and program managers who are involved in the decision with.
When not working from top to bottom or from bottom to top
To successfully sell to the government, will meet you entrepreneurial time and energy for the decision, the various levels of people and any attempt to actually get to meet them and build relationships to invest identify with them. The process includes the steps of the bottom-up approach, but by a very important step in marketing: identifying the real decision makers and spending the time to strong relationships, so that they feel comfortable to build business relationship with the company.
Risk-averse
The people with the power of public money risk-averse. They do not learn to risks to take with public money. The purchase of vehicles
If the federal government buys something, he uses a kind of vehicle purchase. This car can be as simple as a government credit card, such as a 200-page response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a pre-approved contract called complicated GSA Schedule. If a seller is a private contract on the table and says “sign here” that’s a big red flag, the representatives of the government that the seller has no idea how the process really works and that it is a risky choice.
Building relationships
The most successful companies have the time and effort into learning all people involved in their purchase decision to invest their specific agencies. You go to conferences, vendor outreach sessions, one-on-one meetings, speed matching sessions, every place they have to take the opportunity to buy the hand-and face-to-face with the people what they sell; . Search These targeted people have different titles such as contracting officers or specialists, technical experts and program managers. Successful businessmen are prepared with an enormous capacity explanation, have done their homework and researched future possibilities and are prepared to discuss how the specific needs of the agency that fit. And they also know what to purchase with the purchase of vehicles for agency services and products. In short, know a successful businessman, that decision-makers (and policy makers to know them!), making it easy to do business with them and have the right to buy a number of vehicles so that there is no risk to public.
Categorised as: sales