Marketing to Federal Agencies – Where Do I Start?

There’s no single door that gets your company selling your products or services to the federal government.  Every agency has its own mission, and you should learn as much as you can about how your specific target agency makes purchases.

Many agencies host Industry Days, publish forecasts of upcoming contract opportunities, and have an in-house Office of Small Business Utilization (OSBU) to reach out to small businesses.

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) is an office within the Department of Homeland Security.  Their recent presentation, posted to FedBizOpps, contains information that can give you insight on how to do business with any agency. The presentation

  • Breaks down the mission of the agency
  • Talks about the different divisions, and the types of purchases they make
  • Discusses requirements common to all federal purchasing (SAM, DUNS, Representations & Certifications)
  • Describes the role of the Small Business Administration, and how the agency has worked to achieve their small business subcontracting goals.
  • Discusses what each department buys and upcoming opportunities.
  • Shows how to search for these opportunities – via FedBizOpps, GSA, and the Dept. of Homeland Security’s Advanced Procurement Forecast System (APFS)

What You Can Do:

  • Use FedBizOpps to find information on upcoming Industry Days or local Small Business events.
  • Agency presentations can give you an overview of the agency, break down the various divisions and their specific missions, and list procurement officers/buyers at each department.
  • An agency’s Office of Small Business Utilization (OSBU) is specifically set up to liaise between the agency buyers and small businesses.

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