Throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks is not a good strategy for any company to employ, in any marketplace. Yet, that’s the tactic du jour being doled out by federal contracting “experts.” This is what I call GovCon in the stylings of Jackson Pollock.

Jackson Pollock is the renowned 20th century abstract expressionist known for the radical poured, or “drip,” technique he used to create his major works. While this style earned him widespread recognition and publicity during his life, I don’t believe a “throw paint at the wall” approach is in the best interest of today’s federal contractors.

But that’s exactly the approach being endorsed by some Government officials and Industry influencers. Too many companies react and respond to Requests for Information (RFI) using techniques that look a lot like splatter painting. While this style has resulted in some of Pollock’s paintings selling for hundreds of millions of dollars, I have yet to see similar outcomes in federal contracting.

In the spirit of being to the point, I’m reiterating sentiment I’ve been sharing since the birth of The ASBC:

‘For many companies, RFIs and Sources Sought Notices represent the beginning of a federal contracting business opportunity for them. However, this agency market research does not represent the beginning of a need or requirement for federal agencies.’

Need. Requirement. Opportunity.

These three terms used interchangeably, mean different things. You’ll catch that only if you’re paying attention. For example, within the Department of Defense Adaptive Acquisition Framework, is a model for services acquisitions. This 7-step process imparts the actions taken from when a need is identified, until a requirement is submitted to Contracting. Once a requisition changes hands from a requiring activity to a contracting activity, the requirement can become an opportunity to be awarded to a vendor, with or without competition. Many companies are focused on opportunities versus requirements and needs because it’s easier to identify Contracting Officers. After all, their names, email addresses, and phone numbers are attached to solicitation and award documents. This makes them a logical choice for outreach efforts since they make decisions about HOW the Government buys. For contracting professionals, having conversations about the functionality and value of a particular product or service is rarely at the top of their list, if on their list at all. That’s because making decisions about WHAT agencies buy (referenced as determination in the FAR) is not part of their charter. That’s why we refer to them as buyers versus customers. Connecting with customers, those responsible for activities at the origin of a need or requirement, means having an intentional and process-driven approach that involves Strategy, Marketing, Business Development, and solid Market Research. Connecting with those end-users, program managers and other stakeholders is where many vendors come up short. Part of the reason why is because many see “a connection” as a conversation versus a communication. All hail the great and powerful Marketing!

If you follow evidence available in studies like the Marketing for the Public Sector (M4PS) Content Marketing Review, you can quickly and clearly understand why relying primarily, or solely on RFIs and Sources Sought Notices as your chief marketing activity, offers limited opportunities for successful outcomes. Communication is key, but it doesn’t have to occur in the traditional form of a conversation, or relationship. In fact, Marketing is about establishing meaningful relationships between your prospects and your brand, company and offerings, with or without having a traditional conversation or relationship.

Responding to RFIs

Since the Government clearly references “no intent to award a contract” in RFI and Sources Sought language, this means industry submissions are a form of Marketing versus Sales. If there is no sales transaction to occur, then you aren’t selling. Just like in Marketing, it’s an opportunity to create visibility for your product, service, company, or brand, in consideration of a possible sales opportunity. This means tactics and expectations need to be aligned accordingly. If, however, this is your primary or sole mechanism for achieving visibility, let me again direct you to the Services Acquisition Process in the Adaptive Acquisition Framework. The RFI and Sources Sought effectively occur during step 3 of the 7-step process. Step 1 is where the acquisition team is formed after a need has been identified. One of the actions in step 4 is the requisition being submitted to the Contracting activity. For the record, step 7 is post-award. A majority of companies polled over the years during our Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors education programs, identify step 4 as where their opportunity identification typically occurs. That’s both small and large companies. The key trigger is RFIs. Anyone truly focused on getting “in front of opportunities” will be looking at the needs and requirements versus just the solicitation outputs of the Contracting activities.

Back to Jackson Pollock

How many companies include responding to RFIs and Sources Sought Notices in their Marketing or Business Development plans? Budgets? Based on available time and resources, how many RFPs and RFQs can you now respond to when adding in however many qualified, or unqualified RFIs will also be submitted? Are you hearing the stories about someone winning a contract directly or indirectly from responding to an RFI? Before revving up your RFI-response machine, consider how many RFIs were issued and responded to, where no such outcome occurred. Now consider the number of times where an agency used the RFI results to add work to the contract or contract vehicle of a small or large company already in the building. I’ve been on both sides of that scenario.

How are you spending your time, money, and resources? Do you employ a similar strategy to RFIs and Sources Sought Notices, as you do to RFPs and RFQs? Do you track the results associates with responding to agency market research the way you track your win-rate for RFPs and RFQs? What are the results telling you, and what are your next steps?

Peace, Health, and Success

Go-To-Guy Timberlake