Federal Customers Say the Darnedest Things

Eileen Kent, our federal sales sherpa, told us, “When I was at a trade show in 2010, I was sitting at a breakout session and I overheard two federal contracting specialists behind me discussing a large procurement. One CO said to the other, “I really would rather not put that out on FBO (fedbizopps.gov, the public bidding website), because it creates too much noise.”

Steer clear of the noise

What do you think they meant by ‘noise’? Kent believes it meant a variety of things:

• “Noise could be their phones ringing off the hook from vendors who know nothing about federal contracting, but have a thousand questions about the bid.
• Noise could be all the rustling of paper and unpacking of hundreds of responses – from vendors who don’t have the qualifications, but they have to consider nonetheless.
• Noise could be all the angry losers protesting the winning bid and holding up the project.

 If I were in contracting, I’d want to eliminate the noise too – wouldn’t you? That’s why there are GSA Schedules, IDIQs, BPAs, and sole source contracting vehicles to avoid the public bid process.”

Become a known angel

Another great quote Kent heard while in the field was, “We’d rather do business with a known devil than an unknown angel.”

“Basically,” she explained, “They were telling me that even though I could prove my service was better, they didn’t know me. They would rather stick with the company they know, with all their quirks, than risk their project on a newbie – no matter how good I was in the commercial world. So I needed to start to become a known angel to these federal clients.”

How do you become a known angel? Kent advises to:

• “Stay in front of the federal client and help them with issues that are too small for the incumbent to even notice or care.
• Be willing to refer a partner who is an absolute subject matter expert on areas you are not. It’s better to pass on a project that doesn’t fit than to try to dance around an issue. If you don’t perform perfectly, it will reflect on the client’s record, so only work on projects that are in your wheelhouse.
• Always deliver perfectly and on time.

Eventually, they’ll put your phone number on their speed dial, and they’ll start to call you for more and more tasks. In a year or two, you could be kicking the incumbent out. Now you’re the known angel.”

Know – or hire – your competitor

While on a military base, Eileen heard a fellow cold-calling contractor tell the CO that his father had served. “We like to take care of our own,” was the response.

• “Hire a vet if you plan to sell to the military, it’s as simple as that.
• In this industry, it is very possible that your competitor legally hired a retired employee and it’s been past the employee’s official waiting period and they’re able to sell for your competitor – back to the agency. This is a reality of the business, so be prepared to out-perform them, go sell to a different agency, recruit that retired employee, or build a teaming arrangement with your competitor.”

Speak up as soon as problems arise

“Problems don’t age well like fine wine, tell us about them immediately,” a project manager once said to Kent. This was a great piece of advice, as federal project managers would rather work beside you to solve a problem then be surprised by a problem you knew about for a while but could not resolve without their help.

The key to landing the work

Kent’s most favorite quote comes from a retired CO who had a say in developing some of the acquisition rules during her 35-year career. This retired executive attended one of Kent’s federal sales classes and told the class, “Unless they know, trust and love you, they are not going to work with you.”

Kent’s response? “Class dismissed.”

Eileen Kent has trained over 10,000 in federal sales, proposals and GSA Schedule Contracting. Her woman-owned small business has helped organizations win tens of millions in federal contracts, through teaching federal sales strategies one-on-one and in team training. For more information, call 312-636-5381 or connect with Eileen on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eileen-kent/1/a48/a80). 

Cold Calling the Federal Government

According to Eileen Kent, the Federal Sales Sherpa, “Everyone has a fair and open opportunity – to make a phone call – the rest is all about relationships.”

Many executives selling to the federal government believe that cold calling is the wrong approach to opening doors to new opportunities.

“Of course we all wish we could be referred into the ideal opportunity within the federal government, but that’s not always realistic,” says Eileen Kent. “Therefore, at some point, when all contacts, partners and customers’ referrals are exhausted, a federal sales executive is going to have to have to pick up the phone and make a cold call or two hundred.”

What is the key approach to selling to the feds? Kent says the approach should be a “hat in hand,” subtle approach of asking questions, listening and learning – not selling.

“When I’m selling to the feds, I’m looking for the key end-user on the inside who requires my product or service to complete their mission. For example, if I’m selling furniture, roofing or construction, I’m going to call on the facility manager, the property manager and the sustainability officer. If I’m selling software, I’m going to try to locate the CIO, the IT Director or the IT Security Officer,” says Kent.

“My approach is simple. I ask whomever answers the phone, ‘I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction – I’m looking for the person who handles……’ and the person who answers the phone 99% of the time helps me find my contact.”

When you get your key contact on the phone, tell them you are new to their agency, but you’re not new to the industry and you are here to help them look good. (Note from Bill: Start off by mentioning that you were referred by the first person you spoke to. Now it’s not a cold call at all!)

Then, Eileen suggests you continue with, “I have some industry intel (whitepapers/capabilities briefings/training programs) that you may find interesting for your next project. But before I do that, I have a couple of questions so I understand your role at the agency……..” Most end users, Kent says, are happy to endure a few basic questions regarding their role, their vendor who currently supplies similar products and services, and how they found that vendor.

From there you can ask the subtle question, “How is it going with ____(competitor name)_____?” Your hope is they share with you all the good, the bad, and the ugly. At first they’ll share the good but they always dish on their known devil – the incumbent.

Kent calls this the wedge issue. “Once you find a crack in the cemented relationship your new client has with the incumbent, wedge in with a solution to the crack, and then tap, tap, tap with a cost-effective solution.” As you fix more of these small fissures – breaks – in the fed’s relationship with the incumbent, eventually the client will start calling you for more and more tasks.

The ultimate goal is to unseat the incumbent, but that is something that happens slowly over time. You need to build the relationship and move it carefully. Your first call is the introduction. Your second call is delivering a capabilities statement. Your third call might be a possible capabilities briefing/webinar.

Your fourth call addresses a need. Your fifth call provides a suggested solution/white paper/recommendation/idea. Call six through eleven are for follow up. Call number 12 is a bid and then wait, wait, wait, wait and WIN! Federal sales opportunities take 12 to 24 months, just like courting someone for marriage. Take it slowly and steady and you will eventually win.

Every conversation starts with an introduction that feels cold, but as soon as the formal intros are done, it’s no longer cold. Find something in common and ask them for help. (Note from Bill: Talking about anything, from the weather to the big game, warms up a call at least from cold to neutral.) The federal employees work for you and they’re happy to help.

Kent says, “I have never had someone in the government behave rudely toward me and I have cold called in DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco and San Diego for the past 12 years. They may be short because they don’t know me yet, or they’re shy because they don’t know whether or not I’m a nutcase, but once I set their mind at ease that I’m new and need a little help, they always point me in the right direction, which in time leads to a win.”

Eileen Kent has trained over 10,000 in federal sales, proposals and GSA Schedule Contracting. Her woman-owned small business has helped organizations win tens of millions in federal contracts, through teaching federal sales strategies one-on-one and in team training. For more information, call 312-636-5381 or connect with Eileen on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eileen-kent/1/a48/a80). 

Develop A Sales Strategy Now – Before the Summer Federal Feeding Frenzy Begins

“Repair your boat, prepare your map, update your tackle and cast your nets!”

That’s the message from federal sales strategist Eileen Kent. She says that during this time of sequestration and possible federal employee furloughs, federal contractors are becoming more and more disenchanted with selling to the federal government in 2013. Primes are cutting back on their sales teams, their proposal efforts, their capture management and their project management teams.

Basically, they’re pulling up their nets and leaving the industry – for opportunities they believe are open in another marketplace altogether.

“This is the perfect opportunity for new vendors to enter the federal marketplace,” says Eileen. “While the primes struggle with losing their contracts, cutting their project teams and letting people go, new contractors should be strategizing and focusing on new ways to support the government in its goal to streamline business processes and saving money.  It’s time to get out there and start casting your nets.”

How do new businesses position themselves to win federal contracts?

Kent says, “As a federal sales sherpa or guide, the first thing I do is look at a company’s direct competition. How much business are they doing with the feds, what agencies are buying from them, how much and with what contracting vehicles? This intelligence is vital to finding where the fish are biting. Despite what you read in the news, they are, in fact biting.”

The second step is to train the company’s ownership and management team, along with the sales executives, on how to fish for leads and opportunities. “The info is out there, you just need to know where to look,” says Eileen. “Most guides won’t show you their secrets, but I will.”

There are many public classes offered by PTACs and the SBA and a variety of federal marketing companies, including Eileen. These can help the entire team understand federal key decision makers, critical terminology, and methods of opening doors and closing deals, quickly and quietly. The goal is to build long-lasting relationships inside the government and close deals that are “under the surface.”

The third step is to build a federal sales action plan, which includes a focused list of agencies based on the competitive analysis, who to contact and with whom to partner. This federal sales action plan must require the sales team to report their results and their contact conversations weekly so the management can track the legacy of every relationship and help steer the sales (boat) toward fertile waters.

“This is not rocket science,” says Kent. “Like fishing, it takes patience, persistence and perseverance, but it also requires a guide who can tell you where all the fish are hiding. It also  takes a good size boat to handle the rough waters and times when the fish are all biting at the same time.”

When will the fish bite? “From June until September, 2013, it’ll be a feeding frenzy because agencies still have to spend the 2013 budget – so the time to prepare and strengthen your nets, equipment, maps, team and relationships – is NOW.”

Don’t sit on the riverbank watching FBO.gov waiting for opportunities and complaining when you lose.  As Eileen and I both say, “The fish don’t jump in the boat!”

Eileen Kent has trained over 10,000 in federal sales, proposals and GSA Schedule Contracting. Her woman-owned small business has helped organizations win tens of millions in federal contracts, through teaching federal sales strategies one-on-one and in team training. For more information, call 312-636-5381 or connect with Eileen on LinkedIn.