Your Government Readiness Level – Part 2

Your Government Readiness Level (“GRL”) is your roadmap from registration to award. Did you win any awards in 2022? Make sure your foundation is set by following an established process known as your GRL. Click Here to listen to Part 1 of this Podcast.

In this episode we host Senior Government Contracting Specialist, Frank Krebs, to discuss Levels 3, 4, and 5 of your roadmap to government readiness by following a process for becoming a successful government contractor.

Government Contracting Readiness Level — **VIEW GRL PDF**

What is your Government Readiness Level?

Level 1: Get Registered and Optimized – SAM and DSBS

Level 2: Create Visibility for Market Exposure – Website Visibility & FedBiz Connect

Level 3: Develop your Company Resume – Capability Statement

Level 4: Perform Targeted Market Research

Get Daily Bid Opportunities – Market Intel Database
Get Connected to the Right Federal Buyers – Federal Connections Package
Get Connected to the Right State & Local Buyers – Local Connections Package
Get In-depth Research into Your Industry Buying Trends – R.A.D.A.R. Report
Get Engagement Coaching to Introduce Your Business to Contracting Specialists

Level 5: Become a Preferred Government Contractor

Get Certified Based on Your Socio-Economic Status
Get on the GSA Schedule for a 5-Year Contract with the Government

In Part 1 of our podcast, we discussed Levels 1 and 2 in more detail (Click Here to listen to Part 1 of this Podcast). Once a firm gets registered, optimized, and is visible to government buyers and large businesses alike, it’s time to develop their business resume.

Level 3: Develop your Company Resume – Capability Statement

The Capability Statement was created to provide government buyers with all of the information they need to identify a business for government contracts. The Capability Statement is the standard tool that’s utilized by federal buyers and decision makers to conduct an initial evaluation of your firm’s core competencies and qualifications.

The intent of a Capability Statement is to introduce your company to the government contracting staff. It’s typically a one-page document that clearly displays your company’s core competencies, demographic and registration data, differentiators, and past performance, both government and commercial.

An effective Capability Statement is equal parts form, function, and design, ensuring that your company makes a positive and lasting first impression. And remember, the Capability Statement simply supplements your overall marketing efforts, and can be used in commercial settings with equal success.

Level 4: Perform Targeted Market Research

Marketing to the government begins with targeted market research and initiating an outreach campaign. You should start your marketing by identifying one or two government agencies that you want to work with that utilize the products or services that you provide. (Don’t bite off more than you can chew.)

The Market Intel Database is one of the most advanced databases for business development and research in the government contracting marketplace, including federal, state, and local contract award opportunities.

The search capabilities in the database provide you insight into buying trends and competition, which in turn gives you the advantage of better understanding the market to win government awards. You can find open solicitations, upcoming opportunities, expiring contracts, and hidden future opportunities that aren’t visible to the public, which gives you a Roadmap to Success

The next key is to begin forming government buyer relationships in advance of orders and solicitations. Many of these awards are for a particular set-aside category and the majority of these opportunities never get publicly posted. A Federal Connections Marketing Campaign creates market visibility for your business to federal buyers.

In addition, a State & Local Connections Marketing Campaign creates market visibility for your business in your own backyard.

For a deeper dive into the federal government marketplace, the RADAR report (Real-Time Advanced Data Analysis Report) is a keyword search through award history associated with the products and/or services you sell. The RADAR lets you know the ‘who, what, when, where, and how’ of federal buying for your products and/or services, including the procurement offices that issue the most awards and how to contact them.

Another resource is the assistance offered by the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Every federal agency has one of these offices, and they are established to act as the liaison for small businesses working within their agency. You can find these offices by searching the agency website or searching the acronym O-S-D-B-U and the agency name that you’re targeting. Their job is to ensure that that agency is meeting or exceeding their small business goals.

Once you have done your research, it’s time to reach out to the buyers. Engagement Strategy or “Coaching” is one-on-one consultation with you to help further your efforts to form relationships with government buyers. It is all about preplanning and preparation. In an engagement strategy session, you learn how to get in front of and make the most of the time spent with the contracting official. It is the “how to” approach to reach out to government buyers.

Level 5: Become a Preferred Government Contractor

The government places preferential status on a number of different social economic categories, such as Woman-Owned, Minority-Owned, Veteran-Owned, HUBZone, 8(a), and GSA Schedule. Each of these statuses provides additional benefits and opportunities for receiving government contracts. If applicable, companies should take advantage of as many of these certifications that they may qualify for to get set aside and sole source contract opportunities.

As the federal government works to level the playing field by limiting competition on certain contracts, government buyers are incentivized to meet small business contracting goals. As an example, the current administration is attempting to reach a total of 15% of all contract funds being awarded to small disadvantaged businesses.

While each of these certifications have specific qualifying factors, they come with many benefits that can improve your chances of receiving government awards.

Your Government Readiness Level lays out the process toward building a business that specializes in government contracting. And the further a business moves through the various levels, the more opportunities they become eligible for and the greater their opportunity for success in the government contracts market.

Visibility is key because government contracting officers are required by the FAR, which is the Federal Acquisition Register, to take full advantage of all commercially available market research methods in order to identify capabilities of small businesses within the contracting market. Government contracting officers, as well as prime contractors, buy from small businesses they know. So, in order to make sure they know who you are and how to reach you, you need to be visible.

FedBiz Access (“FedBiz”) has a fulfillment team that takes the time to understand your business and ask questions to ensure you have a solid GRL foundation. FedBiz is a leading government contracting business development and marketing firm that offers research and engagement strategy coaching, registrations, set-aside certifications, and GSA Schedules.

FedBiz has over 22 years of experience working with thousands of companies worldwide to help them win over $35.7 billion in awards. From registration to award, FedBiz helps businesses succeed in the government marketplace.

Schedule a Complimentary Consultation with a FedBiz Specialist