Ever struggled on knowing exactly what to focus on for a period of time? In order to avoid the tyranny of the urgent, it is imperative that you have a huge goal for a set period of time that demands and gets your attention. We call this the BHAG. So, what is a BHAG? A big, hairy, audacious goal according to Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in a book they [...]
Many people continue to ask me how can I separate the important things to do from the constant call of the urgent things to do? What a great question. The term generally applied to this is in relationship to “Time Management.” I always respond to this question the same way, you can’t separate them, but you can prioritize them. You will always have the urgent, but you must focus on [...]
In the last blog, we looked at all of the certifications. Today, let’s look at how to get them. The federal ones are relatively easy. For the overall Small Business certification, it is simply a declaration in the SAM registration, which can be accessed through this link here. This is a self-certifying certification and requires no documentation. Be sure you are under the revenue threshold for your primary NAICS Code [...]
It’s nice to get back to supporting those of you who are interested in pursuing government contracts with out blogs support. After lengthy period of closing out the calendar year, and supporting our clients in their year-end close, its time to help your business win your first government contract. In the last issues of the blog, we reviewed the most basic elements of federal, state, and utility/agency contracting. We looked [...]
Last week we talked about the importance of building relationships. All too often, many businesses make that assumption that because their doors are open or they obtained that certification, that the next thing that follows is business. Well, as we learned last week, they couldn’t be more wrong. Only those who were the most prepared by having intelligence not available to the average business owner, or came out of an [...]
Many times I have heard people say, I spent all the time, effort, energy and money to get certified, but I never got anything as a result of that. I am sure they are telling the truth. Getting certifications is a difficult and time consuming process, but they are well worth it if you know what to do next. Very few agencies and government entities can just hand you a [...]
In previous articles, we have looked at the government procurement process by defining the various government sectors of procurement and what they are looking for in a contractor as far as certifications, registrations and capability statements. We are now ready to explore the specific processes a company can utilize to successfully market to the government. The least effective method is to just respond to every competitive opportunity because you think [...]
In this economy, it is pretty normal to experience fear and trepidation about the current state of business and the future prospects for your business. However, it is critical to stay focused on the opportunities and not the circumstances, but to be as Stephen Covey says in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Habit #1, be proactive. Just like the cave dwellers of old, who focused on what the [...]
Is there some bad news out there, heard any of it lately? Do you believe it? Do you have a choice? A change in attitude, would you agree that business is going to go on? That there is money to be made? What if you project an attitude of gratitude? Law of attraction 10 Strategies to attract new business and be strong in this economy. Is your company Built to [...]
In order to effectively market to any sector described in the previous articles, it is important to have an effective and colorful one page description of the value your company provides to its customers. In the sectors we are describing, we call this a capability statement and it provides the procurement or sourcing teams the information they need to consider your companies merit. We can accurately say it is a [...]
