Compliance with requests = Success assuming you have the products/services
Jonathan Paul's List: USGovernment
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Dec 11, 09
A compliance matrix correlates each RFP requirement with the specific proposal section where the requirement is addressed. The matrix assists proposal evaluators in determining proposal compliance with RFP requirements
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Dec 11, 09
explanation of how your responses get evaluated and scored.
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Dec 11, 09
One that is written with the goal of surviving the elimination process.
A proposal which is customer-centric. It presents a practical solution from a customer's perspective.
A proposal which is limited to responding to the customer's requests. It gives them what they want; no more, no less.
One which meets each and every requirement of the RFP.
It is clear, concise and devoid of sales puffery. -
Dec 11, 09
a pure evaluation and scoring of paper proposals is not what happens in real life. Proposals that win are based on pre-selling work done early in the buying process and the proposal must reflect both intimate customer knowledge as well as a solution that the customer believes will solve their problem
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Dec 11, 09
Hot buttons are those things that keep your customers up at night. They are the reasons why your customers are putting work out to bid; these are problems they are trying to solve with your solution. Don't confuse these with SOW requirements.
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Dec 11, 09
key elements of a capture plan. Breakdown of the elements of evaluating a RFP
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Dec 11, 09
The key question for this type of company is "Are there federal offices or installations in our locale, and do these entities need our services?"
Once that question is addressed, the next question becomes "How much of the available work is currently held by incumbent contractors, and how much of it is new work?" By doing research, your company should be able to make a reasonable estimate of the available contract dollars within reach of your company.
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Dec 11, 09
Competition for an individual GSA order is reduced significantly because the prices contained in a schedule are pre-determined at the time of contract award. However, direct sales efforts are usually required to generate an order. GSA vendors should not expect sales under the contract without focused, agency-based sales efforts.
Generally, federal buyers submit requests to three vendors on a schedule and select the winning vendor based on best value considerations. -
Dec 11, 09
GSA says competition also takes place when they select a vendor from the GSAAdvantage electronic Mall. Available items are presented lowest price first and best value considerations are used in making the selection. Or if GSA is using Requests for Quotes (RFQs) instead of GSAAdvantage, they say competition takes place because they issue Requests for Quotes to several vendors (usually three).
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- Aggregate volume of anticipated purchases.
- The purchase of a minimum quantity or a pattern of historic purchases.
- Prices taking into consideration any combination of discounts and concessions offered to commercial customers.
- Length of the contract period.
- Warranties, training, and/or maintenance included in the purchase price or provided at additional cost to the product prices.
- Ordering and delivery practices.
When establishing negotiation objectives and determining price reasonableness, compare the terms and conditions of the MAS solicitation with the terms and conditions of agreements with the offeror's commercial customers. When determining the Government's price negotiation objectives, consider the following factors:
Any other relevant information, including differences between the MAS solicitation and commercial terms and conditions that may warrant differentials between the offer and the discounts offered to the most favored commercial customer(s). For example, an offeror may incur more expense selling to the Government than to the customer who receives the offeror's best price, or the customer (e.g., dealer, distributor, original equipment manufacturer, other reseller) who receives the best price may perform certain value-added functions for the offeror that the Government does not perform. In such cases, some reduction in the discount given to the Government may be appropriate. If the best price is not offered to the Government, you should ask the offeror to identify and explain the reason for any differences. Do not require offerors to provide detailed cost breakdowns.
- Aggregate volume of anticipated purchases.
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Dec 11, 09
"world's most expensive market - finding and selling end users takes significant business development and sales costs and lag time. Bring up in negotiation
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To the small business owner, GSA may in fact be the world's most expensive market. The market is spread across thousands of agencies worldwide. Finding and selling end users in individual federal agencies requires significant business development and sales costs, and there can be a long lag time between submitting a proposal and making a profit. The cost of making individual GSA sales may far exceed the average cost of a commercial sale.
Don't be shy; bring these points up in your proposal and during verbal price negotiations. GSA regulations say that the contracting officers should listen. They just don't like to.
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Dec 11, 09
closing vehicles - do you have these? Sell em!
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closing vehicle because of public procurement law and the bigger the deal the more difficult it is to close.
Closing vehicles include:
Credit cards (small purchase)
Purchase orders (usually three informal quotes are obtained)
Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts that you have won through a bureaucratic Snake dance (more on that later)
Public bids (the most lengthy, costly, and bureaucratic of all)
GSA schedules
GSA schedules are the best closing mechanisms for small-to medium-sized businesses that cannot afford to hold many Multiple Award Schedule contracts. GSA schedules establish "pre-approved" government prices for your products and services and they are quick and easy for any federal agency to use.
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Dec 11, 09
competition, price lists of at least three schedule holders
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* Federal buyers place orders by using GSA Advantage or by reviewing the price lists of at least three schedule contractors.
* Buyers are encouraged to seek further price reductions when an order exceeds the maximum order threshold stated in the GSA schedule contract.
* Vendors are not required to extend price reductions made under a specific GSA schedule order to other federal agencies ordering under the vendor's contract.
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Dec 11, 09
pre-approved pricing: limited competition, avoid public bid averaging 270 days and lits of paperwork
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Pre-approved (pre-negotiated) pricing is the key. In making a buy, GSA schedules allow:
* Unprecedented speed and minimal paperwork.
* Limited competition (this is what makes it fast).
* Avoidance of a public bid (averaging 270 days and at least one large tree's worth of paper work).
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Dec 11, 09
competition, avoid public bid, close deal, closes deals with fed buyer. Buyers can purchase from a single source by scanning prices at GSA Advantage
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Specifically, GSA schedules:
* Reduce competition within the rules.
* Allow vendors to avoid a public bid and save vast sums of proposal writing dollars.
* Allow vendors to close a deal within weeks instead of months and months.
* Facilitates closing deals with any federal buyer who can be convinced to use a schedule.
Buyers can:
* Purchase a product from a single source by merely scanning prices at the GSA Advantage.
* Use best value considerations in selecting a vendor (using subjective factors like value/service).
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Best value considerations include:
* Special features
* Trade-in considerations
* System life
* Warranty
* Maintenance availability
* Past performance
* Environmental and energy efficiency
* Other factors
In applying best value standards, federal buyers need only:
* Review GSA schedule prices at GSA Advantage or
* Review at least three GSA vendor's price lists.
If the buyer does not select the lowest price, they only need to provide a "reasonable basis" for selection.
Sales people using GSA schedules need to help buyers recognize the merits of a service or product in order to make a sale based on Best Value. Put the "reasonable basis" in front of their faces. Develop a Best Value Statement and provide it to buyers.
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Most federal sales are relationship based. People buy in the federal sector, not agencies, and they need to know everything about what you are selling.
Your sales person has to first get in the door (the tough part) and then:
* Establish a trust relationship with the end user and sell your solution using best value factors.
* Help the user with work statements/product specifications.
The federal end user then:
* Takes the sales documents and your GSA contract number to the Contracting Office
* Identifies two other GSA vendors (possibly with your help).
The Contracting Office:
* Sends RFQs including the work statement/specifications to three GSA vendors or,
* Uses GSA Advantage to select your product single source.
* Works with the end user to select your company based on your quote or GSA Advantage price.
* Places an order with you.
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29 items | 1 visits
Collection of US Govt sites
Updated on Dec 16, 09
Created on Oct 13, 09
Category: Government & Politics
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