Govt. trad. and non trad. contracting for sme

Traditional & Non-Traditional
Government Contracting and
Black Hat WIN© Capture Tips
Small Business Leadership Conference
June 28, 2019
Helping Businesses Grow & Succeed
© 2019 by PTAC, Univ. of West Florida
All Rights Reserved

Government Contracting Services are
offered by the Florida Procurement
Technical Assistance Center at the
University of West Florida and other sites
throughout the State.
This Procurement Technical Assistance Center is funded
in part through a cooperative agreement with the
Defense Logistics Agency.
Learn more online – www.FPTAC.org

• Doing Business with the Govt.
• PTAC Overview
• Govt. Contracting Fundamentals
 Govt. Budget & Contracts by Agency
 Govt. Contracts by Type of Offering
• Traditional Govt. Contracting
• Non-traditional Govt. Contracting
• Winning Govt. Business
 Understand the contract awards process
 Marketing & the ABC’s (Alliances, Business Development, Capture)
 Proposals Toolbox, Black Hat WIN© review & writing a Winning
proposal
 Putting it all together
 Useful reminders for contractors
• How PTAC can help
• Next Steps
• Other Helpful Resources
Contents

Doing Business with the Govt.
Doing business with the government (Govt.) is vastly different from and more
complex than dealing in the commercial sector. This presentation highlights
the differences between traditional and non-traditional approaches that the
Govt. uses to award money to small business (SB) in the form of contracts or
grants.
This presentation also discusses the importance of marketing and the ABC’s
(Alliances, Business Development, and Capture) on how to win Govt. business,
including tips in preparing outstanding proposals using our Black Hat WIN©
methodology – especially important for selling services.
Finally, we outline how Florida PTAC’s can help SBs in navigating the Govt.
contracting process to increase your odds of winning awards.

First . . . a short movie on PTAC

• Understanding Govt. objectives
to serve the general public – not make a profit
• Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is the “code of conduct”
• Follow the money
the president & congress establish the budget
• Know that there are two main offices in the procurement process: the
Program Office (PO) & the Contracting Office (CO)
customer & buyer
• There are many types of contract awards
traditional & non-traditional
• Important to know your ABC’s
Alliances, Business Development, Capture
Govt. Contracting Fundamentals

• Performed by large business, or Small Business (SB) providing products, services or
R&D as:
 Small Disadvantaged Business including 8(a) certified (5% contracts goal)
 Woman Owned SB (WOSB) (3% goal)
 HUBZone (3% goal)
 Veteran Owned SB (VOSB) & Service Disabled Veteran Owned SB (SDVOSB) (3% goal)
 Other (JV’s, Mentor-Protégés etc.)
• Educational institutions & non-profit research org’s
• NAICS industry code used for identification by size & offerings
• Need to first get SAM registered (requires TIN, D&B prior)
• Need to know what type of contracts to pursue, “traditional”
or “non-traditional” for sales, services, and R&D
Govt. Contracting Fundamentals

Govt. Budget & Contracts by Agency
(FY2020 est.
$576B)
(FY2020 est. $4.7T) (FY2020 $900B+)

Govt. Contracts by Type of Offering
Note: DoD R&D +7%, NASA +5% in FY2020

Computer
Sys. Design
Services
541512
5
Engineering
Services
541330
4
R&D
541712
3
Other
Computer
Related Services
541519
2
1
Top 5 Govt. Purchases by Industry &
NAICS
Commercial
Construction
236220

• How the Govt. buys products & services:
 Credit cards
 Open market contracts
 GSA contracts
 Govt. contracts
Time & Materials
Fixed price
Cost types
Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)
Others (Multiple Agency Contracts (MACs), Govt. Wide
Acq. Contracts (GWACs) etc.
Traditional Contracting

• There are 3 tiers of competition:
 Full & Open competition
 Limited (SB set-asides)
 Sole source
Traditional Contracting

• Finding Opportunities
 www.fbo.gov Fed Biz Oppty’s.
 www.gsa.gov Govt. Services Admin.
 www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil DLA Internet Board Sys.
 http://dsbs.sba.gov/dsbs/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm
Dynamic SB Search
 www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/index.php/en Fed
Procurement Data Sys. - used to track contract data
 www.usaspending/gov Fed Spending Info/Res.
 www.myflorida.gov FL Oppty’s.
 www.mycounty.gov (insert your county’s name)
Traditional Contracting Oppty. Sites

Non-Traditional Contracting
• Grants
• Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR)
• Small Business Technology Transfer
(STTR)
• Rapid Innovation Funds (RIF)
• Other Transaction Authority (OTA)
• R&D Agreements

• Free Govt. money mainly for R&D
Used by all fed agencies
Monies are variable
Finding Opptys. www.grants.gov
Grants

• An R&D program (grant or contract)
 Three Phases
Phase I. Feasibility, max. $150,000 for 6 months.
Phase II. Prototype, max. $1,000,000 for 2 years.
Phase III. Commercialization
 Used by 11 govt. agencies: 3 agencies for grants, 5 for
contracts, 3 use both
 Work share min. 2/3 by SB in YR.1, ½ in YR. 2 (if using research
partner), requires a Principal Investigator (PI) be designated
 Finding Opptys. - www.sbir.gov, agency SBIR sites, BAA’s on
FBO, https://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir/sb/schedule.shtml
 Note: must register @ https://www.sbir.gov/registration
SBIR

• An R&D program (grant or contract)
 Three Phases
Phase I. Feasibility, max. $150,000 for 6 months.
Phase II. Prototype, max. $1,000,000 for 2 years.
Phase III. Commercialization
 Used by 5 agencies
 Must include collaborative research partner (educ., fed res.
agency, or other non-profit research org)
 Work share 40% min. by SB, 30% min. by res. partner (no PI)
 Finding Opptys. - BAAs on FBO.gov, participating agency
websites, https://www.sbir.gov/about/about-sttr
STTR

• An R&D grant
 Used by fed agencies, esp. DoD
 Max. of $3M over 2 years
 Over ½ went to SBIR’s awardees
 Finding Opptys. -
https://defenseinnovationmarketplace.dtic.mil/busines
s-opportunities/rapid-innovation-fund
www.fbo.gov
RIF

• “Creative accelerated contracting” outside FAR being used
more often for R&D and prototyping – leading to follow-on
production
 Used by 11 Govt. agencies; DoD & DHS largest
 Each DoD agency can spend up to $500M on OTAs
 OTAs can be used when one of the following is met:
 Can be SBs or non-traditional defense CTR who has not had
DoD business w/in the last 12 months; or
 Can be traditional defense CTR so long as it is teamed with a
non-traditional CTR who performs a “significant” amount of
the work
 Research projects require 50/50 cost-share, prototypes
require 1/3 cost-share ($ or “in kind”)
 Finding Opptys. - www.fbo.gov, OTA consortiums, ACC, DARPA,
DHS & TSA, NASA, FAA, DoE, DoT
OTA

• Fastest growth area in Govt. contracting – from $1.7B in FY’15 to $20.4B in FY’18
total value. In FY18, 2/3 of awards went to non-traditional ctr’s. worth $7.4B, but
majority of money went to traditional CTR’s and their teams
• Awards roughly evenly split between consortiums and non-consortiums
• A consortium arrangement works closely with DoD (Army being largest by far) on
annual plan basis and can provide access to broader technology areas for mission
support by soliciting members from large and SB, academia, and non-profit
research org’s. It decides how DoD money received is awarded amongst members
• Top 3 OTA Vendors: ATI, Nat’l. Ctr. For Mfg. Sciences, Lockheed Martin
• At present there are 13 registered consortiums. 90% of OTAs are around 6 areas:
 Ordnance Technology
 Ground Vehicle Systems
 Medical Countermeasure Systems
 Command, Control, Comm’s in Cyberspace
 Energy, Environment & Demilitarization
 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction
About OTA’s

R&D Agreements
• Agreements requiring investment, IP sharing,
technology transfer – outside FAR
Cooperative Research and Development
Agreement (CRADA)
Technology Investment Agreement (TIA)
Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA)

Remember there are two main
Procurement Offices . . .
Winning Gov’t. Business
PO -
Defines
Customer
Require-
ments
CO –
Defines
Acquisition
Strategy

Understand the Contract Awards Process
Requirements Def. Acq. Strategy RFP Eval. Phase
Shape PO require-
ments w/ capa-
bilities needs doc
Do mkt. res., sources
sought as needed
Refine w/ addt’l.
end user input,
white papers
Develop SoW
Requirements
Authority Review
Acq. Selection plan
input w/ PO; CO Id’d
Dev. contract scope,
budget, responsi-
bilities, legal review
Type? SS, F&O, set-
asides? Which?
CO define proposal
efforts, background,
tech details,
timelines, objectives,
place of performance
Proposal prep.
instructions
Evaluation criteria,
including teaming
Est. basis for award
Contract formulation
including SoW, tech
spec’s/approach, quals
delivery schedule,
payment terms
Publish w/ due dates
Match proposals to
RFP criteria
Evaluate proposals
against est. std’s.
Technical & Qual’s
reviews
Pricing analysis
Possible orals,
negotiations
LPTA/best value
A
W
A
R
D
Pre-Solicitation Solicitation Selection

Develop a Marketing Plan
Is your product or
service technically
acceptable to your
target agency?
Key factor as Gov’t. is
buying “best” price
given product/service
meets requirements.
The higher up the value
chain your product or
services go, the more
you’ll have to promote.
Do you want to
concentrate locally,
regionally, nationally,
or even globally?
PRODUCT PRICE
PLACEPROMOTION
TARGET
GOVT.
AGENCY

Alliances
CaptureBizDev
Know your ABC’s

• Remove/weaken competition
• Improves intelligence gathering
• Larger staffing pool
• Reduced BizDev & Proposal costs
• Mitigate risk
• Can be a Prime-Sub, JV,
Mentor-Protégé
The Importance of Alliances

Alliances Development Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5Propose & Close
NDA, SoW
Contact/Qualify
Teaming Agreement
Evaluate Oppty’s.

Execute on Business Development
• Develop a compelling Capabilities Statement, quad chart
• Develop an effective internet presence, social media
• Conduct marketing research (who is buying what?)
• Monitor key opportunity sites
• Try to shape requirements with the PO
• Get to know the CO
• Join an OTA consortium for teaming
• Consider alliances with primes for subcontracting
• Join relevant associations
• Trade show participation; advertising
• Write and submit white papers
• Manage the sales pipeline
• Remember: it’s all about relationships!

5%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Pipe line Mgt.
Proposals
SS
RFI
RFP
RFQ
Typical BD Activities

Implement a
repeatable
strategy
Understand
your customer
Analyze your
competition
Construct
your ideal
team
Manage your
team all the
way through
• What contract vehicle will this come out under?
• Is this a set aside – what NAICS codes?
• What type of solution are they looking for?
• ID critical needs . . . key deliverables
• Is there an incumbent?
• Build a customer profile, including PO
• Id funding source
• Who is contracting officer (CO)?
• Take advantage of Ind. Day, educational mtg’s. .
. . build relationships
• Learn what your customer needs & wants
• Do a SWOT analysis
• Leverage the differences
• Understand what your firm is lacking
• Look for the best partner (team)
• Go with what works best
• Include the Black Hat
• Leverage the Account Mgr., Capture Exec., and
Proposal Mgr. (include partners, if any)
Develop a Capture Plan
Review & Redo

Use a Capture Planning Toolbox for Proposals
• Create a common baseline
• Develop winning themes/discriminators
• Lock in value proposition/targeted messages
Graphic courtesy of Jim McCarthy, Fairfax Cty. VA

Conduct Black Hat WIN© Review
6. Finalize your
WIN strategy
and craft a
tailor-made
proposal
1. Review
and analyze
proposal requirements
in detail. Engage
w/ PO, CO
3. Look at your co. from
the competitor’s
standpoint. How do you
stack up?
4. Understand customer
wants & needs and map
exactly to it. Any
challenges, issues,
preferences?
5. Where
does
competition
fall under
pricing?
Who has
LPTA?
WIN!
2. Research
the segment,
and review all
competitors
data. Do
SWOTs on
competition

• Intelligence gathering completed
• WIN theme developed
• Competitive assessment completed to eliminate vulnerabilities – ghost the
competition (Black Hat WIN© review)
• Write a comprehensive & compelling executive summary
• Capabilities defined
• Highlight management & staffing, with resumes
• Cover alliances/teaming
• Well defined technical approach & solution, processes & procedures, schedules
• Qualifications, past experience identified & documented
• How any risk is mitigated
• Specify benefits accrued to customer
• Price-to-WIN
• Transitioning
• Use lots of graphics
• Remember: most contracts awarded on LPTA
Now Write a WINNING Proposal
proposal
Approx. 80% of deals
lost on tech approach,
20% on price

Putting it all together
Govt.
Award
Market
Planning
Alliances
Develop-
ment
Business
Develop-
ment
Capture
Mgt.

1. Be customer
focused
Find the important needs
of your customer & then
meet them. Relationship-
building!
2. Your prime directive
Realize its not about
you, it’s about the
customer
3. There is a difference
Be a capture leader, not
a capture manager.
4. It’s not what you’re
selling, it’s what
they’re buying
Recognize you don’t
capture – they award
6. Exercise market
focus & discipline
Use a laser, not a
shotgun.
7. Let not your reach
exceed your grasp
Team for bandwidth
8. Be in it for the long
haul
Be tenacious & resilient
9. Employ two ears &
only one mouth
Listen more than you
speak; question more
than you answer
Reminders for Govt. Contractors
5. Know your place
Customers want
servants, not partners
10. Be out in front
Plan early . . . Start
early

How PTAC can help – the Six Step Gateway
EVALUATE
Is government contracting the right path for your business?
PLAN
Develop your plan for entering into the government marketplace.
REGISTER
Complete the required business registrations. Get assistance registering on
key govt. sites.
PREPARE
Develop marketing tools and secure certifications.
PURSUE
Find, select, and pursue government opportunities using multiple research
tools
ACHIEVE
Win, support, and operate contracts—and win even more business!

• Receive high-value, confidential consulting, training, and
compliance advice
• Navigate red tape and common hurdles
• Assess pricing/cost structure
• Strategize with experts to research and
bid on contracts from the DoD, VA,
other federal agencies, and state and
local agencies
• Network with prime contractors, other
SB’s, and end users Govt. customers
PTAC Benefits

Education Engagement Discovery Research Recommendations Implementation Review
How PTAC can help - Summary

Next Steps
• Contact your local PTAC office
• Set up meeting to understand our capabilities and the multitude of
ways that we can help
• Develop your capabilities statement, quad charts, elevator speech,
web presence, biz cards, other SB promotion tools
• Receive marketing, sales & proposal writing tips
• Brainstorming session on target accounts, where to find them &
how to approach them
• Research & assess opportunities
• Prepare some initial networking/partnering strategies
• Get certification assistance
• Ask for compliance advice
• All services are FREE!

PTAC Florida Locations
Cwww.fptac.org

Other Helpful Resources
• www.fptac.org Find PTACs in FL
• www.floridasbdc.org Find SBDCs in FL
• www.sam.gov Register in System Award Mgt.
• www.myflorida.gov Register/seek FL oppty’s.
• www.sba.gov Helpful SBA info
• www.dsbs.sba.gov Dynamic Small Bus. Search (used by GAO)
• https://acquisition.gov/content/part-13-simplified-acquisition-procedures
Simplified Acq. Info.
• www.gsa.gov General Services Admin.
• www.sba.gov/document/support--directory-federal-government-prime-
contractors-subcontracting-plans List of primes with subcontracting plans
• www.fpds.gov Fed Procurement Data Sys.
• www.govology.com Mkt. Res., Training, Other services
• https:www.defenseinnovationmarketplace.mil Finding RIF Oppty’s.
• www.usaspending.gov Fed. Mkt. Res., finding Primes

THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?

Alan DuBrow
Government Contracting Consultant
Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center
University of West Florida
Division of Research & Strategic Innovation
adubrow@uwf.edu
407.919.9500
http://fptac.org
For more information, contact::

Govt. trad. and non trad. contracting for sme

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