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government contracting is not a secret it's just a process in today's video i will introduce you to the govcon sales process and key terms such as business development and capture this content is brought to you by the govcon chamber of commerce the only organization dedicated to the success of all small businesses in the federal space with members from guam to the us virgin islands in every single state in between each year roughly 125 billion dollars is awarded to small businesses as prime contractors our vision is to double that number by helping small businesses truly understand the process for success small businesses are the backbone of america by helping you succeed further in the government contracting we'll be strengthening american communities my name is neil mcdonnell and i've been where you are now i've been a small business owner for 20 years building two successful firms selling in the federal market i've built relationships with small and large firms as a subcontractor i've won prime contracts with defense and civilian agencies i've done things right and i've gotten things wrong the only thing missing though for me then and you now is an easy to follow process that will lead to predictable success that's my commitment to you i'll provide the process if you accept responsibility and don't blame others you'll find that you have the control to change your future when selling to the federal government there are two response types bids and proposals bids are generally for products and don't require a lot of explanation examples might include pencils garbage cans or software licenses basically bids are won through lowest price proposals are much more involved and are provided in response to the government's need for services such as software development construction etc proposals are generally won by convincing the buyer that you understand them and have the best approach to their requirement at a reasonable price govcon sales tends to be much more involved when selling services than products and therefore more dependent on the processes i'll defend define here there are three terms in federal sales that you'll need to know business development capture and proposal writing business development more often called bd is a focused approach into one agency for example if you're targeting the us coast guard then bd is about truly understanding the coast guard and identifying any opportunities at that agency if bd is about identifying all opportunities at the coast guard then capture is about shaping a single opportunity to increase your chances of winning the third term in govcon sales proposal writing is about providing the very best answer among your competition to the government's question why should we pick you with these three terms in mind let's look at the govcon sales process in a visual diagram all small businesses within the federal government must do business development to achieve success bd is an ongoing effort within your primary agency focusing on this target customer and not any one particular opportunity bd includes developing agency knowledge which then enables you to develop agency relationships through those relationships and knowledge you're then able to influence the agency's buying strategy the main component of bd is identifying opportunities within your primary agency that fit what your company sells when you identify an opportunity that fits what you sell and decide to try and win that contract you'll start the capture process on that one opportunity finally when the rfp is posted by the government you'll write that winning proposal i mentioned earlier all of this activity is designed to help you achieve more contracts being awarded to your company let's go over all these steps in just a little bit more detail developing agency knowledge is basically doing your homework on that agency you want to understand their mission and long-term strategic goals as well as the short-term objectives they use to measure their own success agencies will often communicate the challenges they're facing and tie them to one of those strategic goals finally it's important you learn how this agency buys what you sell for example do they tend to use gsa for their purchases part of business development is establishing and maintaining relationships with advocates like small business specialists who can help you learn more about the agency acquisition personnel like contract specialists or contracting officers can talk to you about upcoming opportunities and the program office has the folks responsible for the actual work and who establish any new requirements you might support by learning about an agency and establishing relationships you'll then be able to influence how and what the customer buys this is basic sales you can affect the acquisition approach by asking for a particular set-aside or suggesting a contract vehicle to use you can influence the tactical requirements by suggesting needed certifications or years of experience we might be able to offer a proof of concept for a very low cost allowing you access to key decision makers in a more collaborative way all of this activity will allow you to more accurately identify opportunities that your company can pursue within your primary agency as i've said your bd efforts can help you identify opportunities that most of your competitors won't even be aware of yet since you're in there having key conversations but opportunities can also be identified through the traditional methods as well you can look into fbo now and sam to see the current active opportunities you can research opportunities on the agency's forecast and you can also access fpds now in sam to identify older opportunities you wish you had won and start tracking them for when they'll be re-competed when you find an opportunity you like you begin the capture process capture is about focusing on one single opportunity in doing everything you can to ensure you'll win the contract you'll work with the program office to shape the requirements and try to have your strengths included in those requirements you'll also work with a contracting shop trying to shape the acquisition approach again whether that's a particular set-aside year's experience contract vehicle etc once the rfp is posted for an opportunity you've been performing these capture activities on you'll begin finalizing a proposal you want to make sure you understand the customer's challenges and what they're trying to solve then make recommendations for your approach to their challenge their challenge including why your approach is the best finally try to write a winning proposal you got to consider getting started earlier than when the rfp drops perhaps during the tail end of capture is a good time so remember government contracting is not a secret it's just a process i've walked you through an intro to the govcon sales process today and want to leave you with this bd is about developing your knowledge of an agency and relevant opportunities through homework and relationship building capture is about developing one opportunity shaping it to give you the best chance at success proposal writing is about answering the question why should we pick you