Know the Rules!

If you're going to play a game, you'd better know the rules before you start to play. Otherwise you might as well not play at all.

This bit of common sense clearly applies when marketing to the federal government. Unlike the commercial sector in many ways, the federal government's procurement of goods and services is governed by numerous rules, laws, and regulations. If you're going to market to the federal sector successfully, you must know the rules of the government contracting game.

As we all know, the commercial marketplace can be a wild and woolly world. While generally governed by contract law and the Uniform Commercial Code, you can still make a sale in the commercial market by wining and dining the buyer, by who you know, or by cutting a deal.

In contrast, the federal sector is highly structured. By law, an agency must seek to maximize competition when procuring goods and services, and provide all responsible sources with the opportunity to compete. The agency must state clearly what it needs and how bids will be evaluated. To insure that taxpayer dollars are spent fairly, the agency must treat all vendors equally and award to the vendor who promises to meet the government's minimum needs at the lowest overall cost.

The rules of government contracting can result in a very different outcome than in the commercial sector. If you're a day late in responding to a commercial request for a quote, it generally won't matter much. However, if you're so much as one minute late in submitting a government contract bid, then your bid will be rejected as late and you're out of the competition. Before 9/11, sales representatives stuck in traffic jams with only minutes left to file had been known to get out of their cars, run to the agency, and dive past armed guards to get the bid filed in time. Since 9/11, due to security concerns, many agencies have implemented filing procedures that make it even more important to plan accordingly so that the all-important deadline is met.

When your commercial offer states that your prices or specifications are subject to change without notice, the buyer generally understands it will nevertheless get what it paid for. If you use these same phrases in response to a government contract solicitation, however, your bid may be thrown out as "non-responsive" to the government's needs. Scores of otherwise winning bids have been rejected because the bidder's cover letter or technical literature used these common, industry-standard phrases regarding pricing and specifications.

So where do you go to find the rules of the government contracts game? The first place to look is the Federal Acquisition Regulations, commonly called the FAR, found at Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The FAR states the policy, procedures, and contract clauses by which the federal government buys goods and services.

The FAR advises an agency what type of solicitation or contract to use, how to evaluate bids, and how to administer the contract once awarded. Also, the FAR informs a vendor what its rights are in a procurement.

While the FAR is the first source of rules, the bible of government contracting, it's not all-encompassing. Individual agencies, such as the Department of Defense, NASA, and the General Services Administration, have additional regulations supplementing the FAR. Thus, when dealing with a particular agency, you need to consult both the FAR and the agency's supplemental regulations.

Next is the solicitation document itself. The solicitation will inform offerors what the government needs and what regulations apply. In a negotiated procurement, the solicitation will also advise offerors how their bids will be evaluated. The solicitation will generally incorporate numerous FAR clauses by reference and must state the agency's minimum needs.

In addition, there is a large body of case law stating how certain regulations or solicitation provisions should apply. These can primarily be found in the decisions of the Government Accountability Office and Boards of Contract Appeals. These decisions can provide guidance in understanding how the rules apply to a given set of facts.

Even with all the rules covering federal procurement, it's still important to market your product actively. Marketing will put you in contact with the government's users and procurement officials while promoting your product. The result could be the issuance of a solicitation or the placement of an order against your GSA Schedule, if you have one. In addition, the active marketing of your product can result in a solicitation that uses your product as the brand name item against which all other bidders must compete.

The rules of government contracting can be complex and annoying, but they result in a system that is generally fairer than the commercial sector. As a result, if you participate in enough procurements, chances are that you will win your fair share.

The first rule of government contracting is to know the rules. Use your knowledge of the rules to insure that the government treats you fairly. As importantly, use the rules to beat competitors who don't know the rules.