Helpful Tips and Updates

🔵 Tips For Success

As the date gets closer, review the agencies and primes scheduled to attend and determine those that are a best fit for your products and services.
Review the prime and agency websites and small business programs for additional information on their mission and needs.
Bring government-focused marketing materials including business cards and your capability statement.
Have your elevator speech ready as you never know who you might run into.
Review the scheduled seminars and attend those that will benefit your business most.
Remember to network and share information about your business with potential customers, suppliers or partners.
If possible, bring two people from your company to maximize your benefit (meet with vendors and attend seminars, attend two seminars in the same time slot, etc.).
After Opportunities, review the business cards and contact information you have collected and follow up.

🔵 Crafting A Great Elevator Speech

The ability to make face-to-face connections with potential buyers of your products and services is a key highlight of the Opportunities reverse trade show. There will be many local, state and federal government agencies and prime contractors present, so be sure to prepare so you’ll have enough time to connect with those who more likely to need your products and services.

The best way to do this is to craft a strong elevator speech (also known as an elevator pitch). The elevator pitch is your 30- to 60-second opportunity to tell a potential buyer what your company has to offer and make a lasting impression.

Outline Of Elevator Speech

Tell who you are and what your company does. When describing your business and its products and services, avoid using too much industry jargon. Plainly tell what you have to offer within the first few sentences. Explain your specialty in a conversational tone.
Have a two-way conversation by asking how your products and services may be useful to the agency or prime contractor. Introduce your company’s products and services, but treat this as an introductory conversation. At this point, you will be able to gauge if this would be a good match. If so, you can continue on to #3.
Explain why your products or services are a great match for the agency/prime contractor.
Be sure to exchange business cards and let him/her know you would like a more in-depth conversation and ask when they will be next available.

A Few Tips To Help You With Your Elevator Speech

Know your customers/potential customers. Review the exhibitor list to identify government agencies and prime contractors who may be strong potential buyers of your products and services. Focus on speaking about what your clients have experienced while working with you. For example, “Our clients buy XYZ from us because…” versus “We provide top-notch customer service”…
If you’ve never completed a speech before, search for a few examples using Google or YouTube.
Practice your speech. You want to be sure you say a lot in a few words due to time constraints. So create a pitch and practice it with colleagues, friends or family. You can even rehearse online using tools like Pitcherific, an interactive tool that helps you make your message clear and rehearsing easy.
Exchange business cards, and be sure to write a few brief keywords/phrases from your conversation on your business card before passing to agency or prime representative to help him/her remember what you’ve discussed.

Resources

Pitcherific, an interactive tool that helps you make your message clear and rehearsing easy
How To Give a Flawless Elevator Pitch (Inc.com)

🔵 Smart Networking Can Lead To Contract Partnerships

Networking with other small businesses at Marketplace could lead to short-term and long-term contracting partnerships. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for networking before, during and after the conference.

Networking 101

Have your elevator speech down so if another small business owner ask what you do. You can recite what you do like the lyrics to your favorite song.
Remember that there will be other small business owners attending Marketplace that sell similar or the same products or provide the same services. So, besides being able to talk about what you do, you need to talk about what sets you apart from your competition. This is your opportunity to toot your own horn.
Talk to other small business owners; find out what products and services they offer. Ask them if they have ever won a local, state, or federal contract.
Supply Chain? You might be able to become part of another small businesses supply chain or they may be able to recommend your business to other businesses.
Prior to attending Marketplace, review the exhibitor list so you can accomplish research on the primes and agencies that will have booths. Be selective and makes sure you are visiting those booth participants that purchase your products or services.
Know what you and others are talking about when discussions about teaming and joint ventures happen.

Subpart 9.6—Contractor Team Arrangements

9.601 Definition

“Contractor team arrangement,” as used in this subpart, means an arrangement in which—

Two or more companies form a partnership or joint venture to act as a potential prime contractor; or
A potential prime contractor agrees with one or more other companies to have them act as its subcontractors under a specified Government contract or acquisition program.

9.602 General

Contractor team arrangements may be desirable from both a Government and industry standpoint in order to enable the companies involved to—
- Complement each other’s unique capabilities; and
- Offer the Government the best combination of performance, cost, and delivery for the system or product being acquired.
Contractor team arrangements may be particularly appropriate in complex research and development acquisitions, but may be used in other appropriate acquisitions, including production.
The companies involved normally form a contractor team arrangement before submitting an offer. However, they may enter into an arrangement later in the acquisition process, including after contract award.

9.603 Policy

The Government will recognize the integrity and validity of contractor team arrangements; provided, the arrangements are identified and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer or, for arrangements entered into after submission of an offer, before the arrangement becomes effective. The Government will not normally require or encourage the dissolution of contractor team arrangements.

9.604 Limitations

Nothing in this subpart authorizes contractor team arrangements in violation of antitrust statutes or limits the Government’s rights to—

Require consent to subcontracts (see Subpart 44.2);
Determine, on the basis of the stated contractor team arrangement, the responsibility of the prime contractor (see Subpart 9.1);
Provide to the prime contractor data rights owned or controlled by the Government;
Pursue its policies on competitive contracting, subcontracting, and component breakout after initial production or at any other time; and
Hold the prime contractor fully responsible for contract performance, regardless of any team arrangement between the prime contractor and its subcontractors.

🔵 U.S. Government Spends $750 Billion Each Year for Products and Services

The US Government alone spends more than $750 billion annually for various products and services. Yet each year, thousands of contracts bypass small businesses that do not know about or understand how the government buys.

Marketplace is your chance to learn how you can tap into this lucrative market by selling to the government. It is a regional biennial “reverse” trade show and conference that allows small businesses the opportunity to meet contracting officers from over 50 federal, state, and local government agencies and prime contractors.