A client of mine recently won a 9 figure government contract, as a subcontractor! This is how... 

A client of mine recently won a 9 figure government contract, as a subcontractor! This is how we did it...
Note: I recommend NOT overlooking the power of subcontracting in hashtag#govcon.
You might be surprised how many big companies hold both prime and sub-contracts with the US government. *Some focus exclusively on subcontracting, but that's a post for a different day!
Now the steak...
First, I always ensure our coaching clients do not make the biggest mistake of hashtag#subcontracting , which is blindly reaching out to primes and begging for work!
Begging for work, does NOT work.
At least, not usually. You might get lucky, but I believe in creating my own luck. Your time will be much better spent doing the following:
1. Find a pre-RFP opportunity in samgov (or whatever platform you use for gov hashtag#leads). This will give you enough time to form a teaming agreement and influence the opportunity.
2. Next, reach out to the program office with any question you have about answering the sources sought. You are now in "communication" with the gov program office. This is important, see step 3.
3. Finally, research small to medium size companies with past performance as PRIME contractors selling to the agency your sources sought is with. *You can do this for free on USA Spending.
4. Reach out to 5 of these companies (provided they can provide part of the solution the government is after, better if they do NOT provide the solution that YOU specialize in).
a. Tell the company you are communicating with the specific agency office, (ex: Army Corps of Engineers) on an upcoming opportunity.
b. Tell them you are looking for a prime that can do the part of the work that your company does not specialize in.
c. Ask to set up a call if they are interested.
DO NOT
1. Send them a link to the opportunity
2. Tell them what the opportunity is, except in generalities.
Save the specifics for when you meet with the potential prime.
If you are doing this correctly you should be setting up 2-3 meetings for every 5 companies you reach out to.
They will want to talk with you because:
1. You did the work of finding an early opportunity in the market research phase.
2. You are engaging with the program office.
Obviously, there's quite a bit more to this. However, this is how my client formed her partnership and teaming agreement with the prime they are on contract with.
we are excited to announce that our book "The Government Contract Planner" is now available on Amazon!!
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If you want personalized assistance from my team and I to help you start selling to the US government, increase the number of contracts you are winning or optimize the contracts you currently have please reach out to us at: www.dodcontract.com/
If you have comments or would like to reach me personally you can do so at Rick@dodcontract.com
You can also connect with me on LinkedIn at: / rickychoward
0:00 Intro
2:17 Don't Do This
3:27 Find a pre-RFP opportunity
3:55 Reach out to the program office
4:26 Reach out 5 of companies
5:14 Messaging
7:00 Coaching, Book & Resources