In observance of the Super Bowl, I thought I would take a moment to celebrate the recent win by 982 companies awarded the GSA STARS III GWAC. After all, appearing in the Super Bowl is a major achievement for the players, the coaches, and the entire team organization. It’s no different for the GWAC winners. Everyone on the team played a role, directly and indirectly contributing to this win. So celebrate your victory, you have arrived at the Big Game. 

Now it’s time to get to work. If you were a team member with incentives for getting your team to the big game, be sure to buy dinner, or a nice watch for your linemen and special teams players. Give the coach or CEO a hug and a nice note to acknowledge their leadership, and take a moment to reflect on everything that transpired to make this happen. Then realize, just like for the Rams and Bengals (at the time of this writing), the score is 0-0. You’re about to start the whole process over again, to play for the win. 

Preparation is paramount. Have you read the contract front to back to understand how it can and cannot be used? Quite a few companies who win multiple-award contracts miss out on opportunities because they did not read it and are at a disadvantage. They don’t understand who can use it, how customers and buyers can use it, order limitations, scope, etc. This happens frequently with Blanket Purchase Agreements setup in the round robin style versus the traditional task order shootout approach. Not every multiple-award contract allows for direct orders exempt from Fair Opportunity requirements. STARS GWAC does, but so do some other BPAs, IDCs and GWACs. 

Do you know which Departments, Agencies and Office were more likely to leverage your contract versus others? Can you break that down into Buyer versus Customer organizations? That can be key in “getting ahead of opportunities.” Wait, you don’t think that’s a real thing on this type of contract vehicle? Does that mean you are of the mindset agencies already know what requirements they plan to push through this vehicle? That’s not often the case, and remember, this is a long contract. There are environmental factors at-play that may cause other contracts or contract vehicles to fall out of favor, or off-the-scope for some requirements owners. Think about the ongoing saga that is CIO-SP4. When did NITAAC hope to have this up and running? Now add-in the protests that have already occurred and the ones that are sure to happen prior to and post-award. Now think about those customers and buyers and imagine some of the discussions going on in those rooms. In short, over and above the ecosystem already with a STARS III DPA (Delegation of Procurement Authority) in-hand, consider adding a targeted awareness campaign to sway those customers who may not so patiently be awaiting the outcome of the NITAAC drama, or other contract vehicles currently in transitional distress. 

Do not make the mistake of waiting to see what comes your way over the transom. If you do, you will fall victim to the Pareto Principle, and find yourself in the eighty crowd, versus the twenty crowd. Make a plan and go out and get to the business of finding and winning business. Engage with stakeholders, customers, buyers and good partners, too. Become visible to all who are relevant to you and to whom you are relevant. Review agency strategies and priorities. Learn the programs and initiatives, and communicate, communicate, communicate. 

As my friend, Mark “Godfather of Government Marketing” Amtower announced in his recent census, there are more than 2.4 million Feds on LinkedIn with over five-hundred company pages, too. Government Agencies and their people, are visible and engaged.  

This means the opening whistle has been blown and the clock is ticking. Will you ride the contract out to the end of its life? To the end of your time in the 8(a ) program? Or will you take this opportunity to become one of the companies that will “size out” in just a few years? Either way, continue to invest in your team’s knowledge and skills. Maximize your ability to see the opportunity landscape more clearly and go, go, GROW! Congratulations to all of the winners. 

Peace and Success, 

Go-To-Guy