Government contracting has developed into a very competitive marketplace because it has the potential for being very profitable. Companies of all sizes, from tiny micro-firms with one employee to large, mega-firms with thousands of employees, have been successful in selling products and services to government agencies at the federal, state, city, county and municipal levels.
However, competition has heightened as more companies try to break into, be competitive and stay successful in this market. It is mandatory that a business person learn how to build relationships with the decision makers before pursuing contracting opportunities. A successful Capability Briefing is one of the best ways to start and reinforce the relationship building process. Five years ago, very few people knew what a Capability Briefing was, and now, it is a critical tool to help you be as successful as possible, no matter what size company you represent.
In the last issue we discussed the multiple layers of decision makers involved in federal government contracting, how to identify and find them and the specific preparations to be made before asking for a meeting. To refresh your memory the three layers of decision-makers are:
Small Business Representative
Contracting Officer
Program Manager
Now that you have identified these decision makers in the agency you are targeting, how do you go about contacting them, what is your specific message and how do you ask for and virtually guarantee a decision-maker meeting?
Capability Briefing
To be successful in the federal market, it is important to use the language your customers use. In that regard, it is recommended that you change your terminology from decision-maker meeting to Capability Briefing.
Purposes of a Capability Briefing
? Introduce the agency or organization to your firm
? Initialize the relationship building process
? Take a critical step in the capture management process
? Provide proof of
o Core Competencies
o Past Performance
o Differentiators
? Mitigate Perceived Risk in Hiring a Different Vendor
? Satisfy RFP requirements
? Renew relationship with an agency if original contact left or was reassigned
To Request a Capability Briefing
First, do your homework! Confirm that the agency, organization, prime contractor or potential teaming partner wants to meet with you and has potential business opportunities appropriate for you.
Second, continue doing your homework by researching past, current and forecasted opportunities before you request a Capability Briefing. Come prepared to discuss specific matches between your firm and upcoming opportunities. Only when you know about most of the upcoming opportunities is it appropriate to ask for additional information regarding the pre-pipeline opportunities.
Third, target the right person or people. Realize that there is no one decision-maker in the government market, but rather, layers of decision-makers. It is your challenge to identify those decision-makers and plan to meet each one at an appropriate time in the buying cycle.
Fourth, follow the appropriate process. Do you call first, email first or wait for an out-reach session? The short answer is all of the above, but with caveats.
Phone call:
Call first and leave a voice mail stating who you are, your firm, your phone number and that you are sending an email requesting a Capability Briefing. Mention that you will call back in three days to set a time for the meeting, unless he/she prefers to schedule a date/time by email.
Email:
Send a very short email with a one page targeted Capability Statement attached as a PDF.
In the Subject line state: Capability Briefing Request.
The body of the email should include your mention of the voice mail message, your attached Capability Statement PDF, and how your firm meets the needs of that agency. Ask for a Capability Briefing and mention two alternatives dates/times. State that you will follow-up with a phone call in three days.
Make sure every email you send includes:
Your name and title
Company name
Email
Phone number
Web site
Any other appropriate information (GSA or other contract vehicles, certifications, DUNS, etc.
Then follow up with the promised phone call, leave another message and repeat the process until you get the meeting or hear from that person referring you to whom you should speak with instead.
Rules Regarding Requesting a Capability Briefing
1. If the agency or prime has a vendor registration process, ALWAYS complete that registration before requesting a meeting.
2. If you are a small business, ALWAYS start with the agency's or prime's small business representative before pursuing other people within the agency.
3. NEVER ask for a meeting regarding an opportunity that is already advertised as a solicitation.
4. If you are certain that the person you are contacting is the correct person, do not give up. Most people give up after one or two tries. Successful contractors never give up!
5. Make you message compelling--you should be such a perfect match for the work they have coming up that they will want to meet with you.
5 Common Mistakes
1. Do not start at the top. If this is your first foray into an agency, do not target the Director, XO level or other executive level person. While this is a typical tactic in the private sector, it will backfire in the public sector.
2. Do not use a generic Capability Statement. Instead, tailor each Capability Statement to the agency or prime you are targeting. Otherwise, it will be at best ineffective, and at worst, deleted.
3. Do not expect an immediate response. Remember, these decision-makers have many responsibilities, and meeting with contractors is not necessarily at the top of their list. However, the better match you are for what they need, the better your chance is of hearing back from them.
4. Do not skip the Small Business Representative. These people can be your best ally if you are a small or a large business. Plan your strategy to always start here before going to contracting officers or program managers.
5. Do not offer to take them to lunch or dinner. This is a rookie mistake. While it is expected in the private sector, this is not allowed in the public sector.
Preparations for a Capability Briefing
Your preparations and research will be different for each type of person. We covered the specific preparations in the previous issue. Please review these to make sure you have done all of your homework before asking for the Capability Briefing.
Who Should Attend a Capability Briefing
When you are meeting with the following people, you want to consider having the appropriate people from your company attending.
Small Business Representative
? Your business development person
? Your XO Level (if a small company)
Contracting Officer
? Your business development person
? Your XO Level (if a small company)
? Contract vehicle experts
Program or Technical Manager
? Your business development person
? Your XO Level (if a small company)
? Technical experts
? Subject matter experts
Location
Almost always, the Capability Briefing will be held at the targeted person's government office. They will rarely if ever come to your office or location for a meeting.
Materials to Prepare
PowerPoint
Most often, contractors reply on a PowerPoint presentation to sell their message during a Capability Briefing. This may be a good time to use such a tool. However, be very careful as many government offices now prohibit bringing electronic equipment of any kind and this would eliminate use of a laptop, projector or even flash drive. Always ask first if a PowerPoint is allowed, and if so, do you need to bring your own projector and laptop.
Rule of thumb: Plan for one slide for every five minutes of time. If you have 30 minutes allotted, your presentation should be no more than five slides, period.
Always take printed handouts of all slides.
Always print out more copies than you think you will need of the slides as you may have more people attending than you initially thought.
Always take a pad of paper and a pen.
Always be prepared to discuss details of related past performance, research, processes or procedures related to a specific contract, RFP, RFQ, RFI or other targeted opportunity. You may also choose to include case studies or other data that will effectively identify your differentiation strategy.
?
Materials NOT to Take to a Capability Briefing
? Do not take your cell phone in to the meeting. Many federal building require that you do not take any communication device inside, especially one that can take photographs.
? Unless you have received authority to do so, do not bring any electronic equipment such as a laptop, projector, or camera to the meeting.
? Unless you have received authority to do so, do not take samples, display boards, demo units, or other equipment.
? If you want to leave a promotional item such as a pen, make sure it is under $25.00 in value
You now know how to find the decision-makers and request a Capability Briefing. If you spend enough time and effort executing this process, you will build strong relationships with the people who are involved in making decisions regarding which vendors are hired to perform the services and provide the products needed.
However, competition has heightened as more companies try to break into, be competitive and stay successful in this market. It is mandatory that a business person learn how to build relationships with the decision makers before pursuing contracting opportunities. A successful Capability Briefing is one of the best ways to start and reinforce the relationship building process. Five years ago, very few people knew what a Capability Briefing was, and now, it is a critical tool to help you be as successful as possible, no matter what size company you represent.
In the last issue we discussed the multiple layers of decision makers involved in federal government contracting, how to identify and find them and the specific preparations to be made before asking for a meeting. To refresh your memory the three layers of decision-makers are:
Small Business Representative
Contracting Officer
Program Manager
Now that you have identified these decision makers in the agency you are targeting, how do you go about contacting them, what is your specific message and how do you ask for and virtually guarantee a decision-maker meeting?
Capability Briefing
To be successful in the federal market, it is important to use the language your customers use. In that regard, it is recommended that you change your terminology from decision-maker meeting to Capability Briefing.
Purposes of a Capability Briefing
? Introduce the agency or organization to your firm
? Initialize the relationship building process
? Take a critical step in the capture management process
? Provide proof of
o Core Competencies
o Past Performance
o Differentiators
? Mitigate Perceived Risk in Hiring a Different Vendor
? Satisfy RFP requirements
? Renew relationship with an agency if original contact left or was reassigned
To Request a Capability Briefing
First, do your homework! Confirm that the agency, organization, prime contractor or potential teaming partner wants to meet with you and has potential business opportunities appropriate for you.
Second, continue doing your homework by researching past, current and forecasted opportunities before you request a Capability Briefing. Come prepared to discuss specific matches between your firm and upcoming opportunities. Only when you know about most of the upcoming opportunities is it appropriate to ask for additional information regarding the pre-pipeline opportunities.
Third, target the right person or people. Realize that there is no one decision-maker in the government market, but rather, layers of decision-makers. It is your challenge to identify those decision-makers and plan to meet each one at an appropriate time in the buying cycle.
Fourth, follow the appropriate process. Do you call first, email first or wait for an out-reach session? The short answer is all of the above, but with caveats.
Phone call:
Call first and leave a voice mail stating who you are, your firm, your phone number and that you are sending an email requesting a Capability Briefing. Mention that you will call back in three days to set a time for the meeting, unless he/she prefers to schedule a date/time by email.
Email:
Send a very short email with a one page targeted Capability Statement attached as a PDF.
In the Subject line state: Capability Briefing Request.
The body of the email should include your mention of the voice mail message, your attached Capability Statement PDF, and how your firm meets the needs of that agency. Ask for a Capability Briefing and mention two alternatives dates/times. State that you will follow-up with a phone call in three days.
Make sure every email you send includes:
Your name and title
Company name
Phone number
Web site
Any other appropriate information (GSA or other contract vehicles, certifications, DUNS, etc.
Then follow up with the promised phone call, leave another message and repeat the process until you get the meeting or hear from that person referring you to whom you should speak with instead.
Rules Regarding Requesting a Capability Briefing
1. If the agency or prime has a vendor registration process, ALWAYS complete that registration before requesting a meeting.
2. If you are a small business, ALWAYS start with the agency's or prime's small business representative before pursuing other people within the agency.
3. NEVER ask for a meeting regarding an opportunity that is already advertised as a solicitation.
4. If you are certain that the person you are contacting is the correct person, do not give up. Most people give up after one or two tries. Successful contractors never give up!
5. Make you message compelling--you should be such a perfect match for the work they have coming up that they will want to meet with you.
5 Common Mistakes
1. Do not start at the top. If this is your first foray into an agency, do not target the Director, XO level or other executive level person. While this is a typical tactic in the private sector, it will backfire in the public sector.
2. Do not use a generic Capability Statement. Instead, tailor each Capability Statement to the agency or prime you are targeting. Otherwise, it will be at best ineffective, and at worst, deleted.
3. Do not expect an immediate response. Remember, these decision-makers have many responsibilities, and meeting with contractors is not necessarily at the top of their list. However, the better match you are for what they need, the better your chance is of hearing back from them.
4. Do not skip the Small Business Representative. These people can be your best ally if you are a small or a large business. Plan your strategy to always start here before going to contracting officers or program managers.
5. Do not offer to take them to lunch or dinner. This is a rookie mistake. While it is expected in the private sector, this is not allowed in the public sector.
Preparations for a Capability Briefing
Your preparations and research will be different for each type of person. We covered the specific preparations in the previous issue. Please review these to make sure you have done all of your homework before asking for the Capability Briefing.
Who Should Attend a Capability Briefing
When you are meeting with the following people, you want to consider having the appropriate people from your company attending.
Small Business Representative
? Your business development person
? Your XO Level (if a small company)
Contracting Officer
? Your business development person
? Your XO Level (if a small company)
? Contract vehicle experts
Program or Technical Manager
? Your business development person
? Your XO Level (if a small company)
? Technical experts
? Subject matter experts
Location
Almost always, the Capability Briefing will be held at the targeted person's government office. They will rarely if ever come to your office or location for a meeting.
Materials to Prepare
PowerPoint
Most often, contractors reply on a PowerPoint presentation to sell their message during a Capability Briefing. This may be a good time to use such a tool. However, be very careful as many government offices now prohibit bringing electronic equipment of any kind and this would eliminate use of a laptop, projector or even flash drive. Always ask first if a PowerPoint is allowed, and if so, do you need to bring your own projector and laptop.
Rule of thumb: Plan for one slide for every five minutes of time. If you have 30 minutes allotted, your presentation should be no more than five slides, period.
Always take printed handouts of all slides.
Always print out more copies than you think you will need of the slides as you may have more people attending than you initially thought.
Always take a pad of paper and a pen.
Always be prepared to discuss details of related past performance, research, processes or procedures related to a specific contract, RFP, RFQ, RFI or other targeted opportunity. You may also choose to include case studies or other data that will effectively identify your differentiation strategy.
?
Materials NOT to Take to a Capability Briefing
? Do not take your cell phone in to the meeting. Many federal building require that you do not take any communication device inside, especially one that can take photographs.
? Unless you have received authority to do so, do not bring any electronic equipment such as a laptop, projector, or camera to the meeting.
? Unless you have received authority to do so, do not take samples, display boards, demo units, or other equipment.
? If you want to leave a promotional item such as a pen, make sure it is under $25.00 in value
You now know how to find the decision-makers and request a Capability Briefing. If you spend enough time and effort executing this process, you will build strong relationships with the people who are involved in making decisions regarding which vendors are hired to perform the services and provide the products needed.
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