Selling to Uncle Sam – What They Buy
Uncle Sam buys everything. This statement has been true for decades, but what does it really mean? Let’s explore this with a goal of increasing your clarity for finding customers, partners and opportunities of relevance for you.
For me, everything means being able to find instances of federal agencies, boards, and commissions procuring a broad range of goods and services in support of a broad set of objectives. An easy example of this is the Department of Defense (DoD).This executive branch agency is home to a plethora of well-known entities such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard (yes, the Coast Guard resides in the Department of Homeland Security, but operates under the Navy in times of war). Ultimately, each supports the overarching mission of the DoD in its own unique way. Additionally, there are lesser-known entities that are equally important to the DoD mission, such as Defense Media Activity, DoD Education Activity, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and Military Health System. As you might imagine, there are thousands of goods and services commonly procured by these organizations. However, there are also goods and services specific to each organization because of their unique contributions to DoD goals. I can use this same example, replacing DoD with almost any agency name. My point is, there is no shortage in what agencies buy.
The good news is, finding out What They Buy is not difficult. In fact, instead of assuming that a certain organization buys what you sell, use easily accessible information from government agencies to support your decision-making. This is where seemingly basic context and skills will collectively prove their worth.
Context is something discussed and taught in every Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors® program. The reason? Without context, decision-making is futile, at best. To my point, I reference a quote we use during Bootcamp that sums up why we spend a large chunk of the first day explaining federal contracting terms based on ground truth versus conjecture. The quote comes from the 1997 article, Connecting a Few Dots, by Michael Ventura, where he shares:
Without context, a piece of information is just a dot. It floats around in your brain with a lot of other dots, and doesn’t mean a damn thing. Knowledge is information-in-context — connecting the dots.
Mr. Ventura’s article was not about the business of Government Contracting, but the lesson is highly applicable. For example, market research that is conducted using misunderstood or incorrect information, will produce results that are misunderstood or incorrect. Those results, if used in decision-making, will most likely continue on the same course. To further this example, let’s say your company provides Information Technology Services, and you have identified certain NAICS Codes to use partially or solely in finding new opportunities. Based on experiences acquired, you have developed an understanding this is a valid approach. You may have won business using this approach, further cementing your beliefs.
Here’s new information that may conflict with your current understanding.
The U.S. Government does have a classification code to represent WHAT THEY BUY, but it is not a NAICS Code. The code they use pre-dates NAICS codes by more than twenty years, and is used by every agency reporting contract transaction data. This code, the Product Service Code or PSC, is also the foundation of DoD’s Better Buying Power Initiative started in 2010, GSA’s Category Management launched in 2016, and represents the first four characters of the National/NATO Stock Numbers or NSN’s. In the video accompanying this article (below), I’ll provide specific information and basic skills to explore and exploit the use of PSC’s in:
- Category Management
- Contract Action Reporting
- Solicitations
- conjunction with NAICS Codes
There are multiple keys to finding and winning contracts and subcontracts in the federal sector, but the key of context will save you time and money in Business Development, from start to finish.
To increase your clarity and context for finding and winning federal contracting opportunities, attend our Bootcamp to establish a solid foundation of knowledge, skills and confidence, or participate in our REFUEL & REFOCUS (R&R) cohort for guidance and support with building and refining an effective federal sector strategy.
Our mission is simple. We help people win.
Peace, Health, and Success,
