Ben Means Business

After reading parts one and two of Guide to Getting Government Contracts, you should be well aware of what the U.S Government buys from small businesses and how they buy. However, one of the most important things for any business owner to do is to turn customers into repeat buyers. So, in this post, we’ll discuss some practical tips for turning the U.S government into a repeat customer.

Tip #1: Get your Smooz On

Hob-knobbing and rubbing elbows with the big wigs is key to earning repeat business from U.S. government agencies. You must understand that the leadership in most government agencies are ex-military personnel and, as such, are very resistant to change and deathly loyal to all things familiar. This trait, once you’ve established relationships, will prove to be priceless to your small business. However, earning the respect of these hard core officials is not easy. Therefore, I recommend hiring and/or connecting with at least one former high ranking military official. These officials usually have personal relationships with most, if not all, of the current decision makers for government agencies. These decision makers, though retired from military, still respect the military’s ranking system and give great credence to those who ranked highly in that system. Having the endorsememnt of such officials can place your business in high demand among government agencies.

Tip #2: Provide Great Service

Great customer service is foreign to most government agencies. They are accustomed to receiving products/services from huge contracting companies who are able to provide products at low prices. These large contractors usually provide terrible support and/or service for their product and have no interest in making them better. Therefore, quality customer service is one way to create some demand for your business. Government agencies usually are very appreciative of your efforts in this regard because it’s something that they don’t get on a regular basis.

Tip #3: Don’t Be Afraid to Give Samples

This is essential to establishing relationships and building brand awareness amongst the higher ups of government agencies. Whenever, you see an opportunity to go above and beyond to assist your customer, be sure to take advantage of it. Even if they are services that are not in your contract, provide them. The long term benefit wil be greater than any one time compensation you could’ve received from that service. These types of acts create a sense of partnership/loyalty, encourage word of mouth marketing, and will ultimately lead to stronger relationships and new customers. Besides, these agencies expect some services to be provided even if they are technically not in the contract. I know that this is not the way that normal B2B transactions take place, but doing business with the government is much different than normal B2B. The bottom line is that they don’t NEED you, so it is imperative that you learn their language and their way of doing things. Once you do, you could be well on your way to becoming another small business earning large profits from government contracts.

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