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Public Sector GTM & Pursuit Strategy for Small Business

Federal government agencies are often the largest purchaser of your product or service, and with Federal budgets expected to continue growing, the opportunity to build highly profitable public sector revenue streams becomes more of a reality for more and more businesses. Despite this, only .2% of small businesses are registered to sell to the government, with that number expected to continue dropping from 1.83% in 2010. However, the Federal government spent a record 27.2% of its acquisitions budget through small business set-asides in 2021, meaning federal agencies are spending more money with fewer small businesses.

The barrier to entry for small businesses can seem high; however, through integrated and highly targeted strategies, small businesses can take a piece of the proverbial pie for themselves. Where do small businesses start?

First, understanding what agencies are buying what you are selling is the crucial step to informing a proper strategy to capture federal contracts. There are free resources such as USAspending.gov and SAM.gov to quantify the opportunity. 

Second, register your small business in the System for Award Management (SAM). There are unsavory contractors that will charge you "SAM registration fees" on top of consulting fees to register your business in SAM; however, SAM registration is free, and there are resources through the Small Business Administration (SBA) that can help you register your business if you have the time to do so yourself. If not, VanDruff Strategic can assist in registering your business compliantly in SAM with no exorbitant and false "SAM registration fees." 

Finally, you have reached a point where your small business can respond to federal RFIs, RFPs, BAAs, and SBIRs, but where should you start? Some may suggest a GSA schedule but often, this is not the best entry point for small businesses as it is costly and time-consuming. This is where an experienced and knowledgeable capture management professional can design a highly targeted pipeline strategy to capture opportunities at the agencies that buy what you sell. Unfortunately, while the federal acquisition regulations (FAR) sets general policy, every agency conducts its acquisitions differently, and understanding how these agencies source products and services is crucial to a proper capture strategy. 

What can VanDruff Strategic do for your business?