Who Buys What You Sell, How Much, and How Often? A Step by Step Process Using Government Systems

The Most Valuable Training We’ve Ever Received For Government Acquisitions

WOW – we should have done this . . . ten years ago! A better term would be “Total Solution!” We

learned more in two days with RSM Federal than years with other well-respected and well-known

experts. RSM Federal’s approach and strategies are a true paradigm-shift. Not only did we receive the

most valuable training we’ve ever received, we were given access to hundreds of business templates,

resources, and strategies which allow us to successfully execute what we’ve learned.

RSM Federal – Managing Partner

Govology Adjunct Professor

Professional Speaker, Author, and Business Coach

30 years Public Sector / Government

Former Military Intelligence Officer

Small Business Advocate

−

Chairman, Board of Directors, Veterans Business Resource Center

Guest speaker and trainer, SBA

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Judge for Entrepreneurial Competition (Arch Grants)

Expertise

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Education, training, and business coach

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Tactics & strategies to accelerate revenue and market entry

Client and Member Success

Let’s Get Started

Session Expectations

- Basic to advanced tactics, concepts, and strategies

- 1.5 hour training session

- Ton of information – firehose… (recorded)

Initial Observations

Diverse Market

- New to Market

- Experienced

GIGO

- Garbage In - Garbage Out

-

You’re never going to find everything you need (or want)

Old School / New School

- FBO is history – Now beta.SAM

Initial Observations

There Is Value In Watching Someone Go Step-by-Step

- Dozens of ways to go through this process

- Data overload

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100 ways to ‘slice’ the data

Need a Good Computer

- Average company between 500,000 and 10 million fields of data

Your Focus Today

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Don’t simply focus on the button clicks

Level-Set

Let’s talk about expectations

Walkthrough

and

Demonstration

Propensity

Touching These Websites Today

✓ NAICS Identification

https://www.naics.com/search/

✓ beta.SAM

https://beta.sam.gov/

✓ GSA eLibrary -

https://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/home.do

✓ GSA Calc -

https://calc.gsa.gov/

✓ USASpending.gov

-

https://www.usaspending.gov/

✓ Contracting Office IDs –

No Longer Publicly Available

✓ GSA Sales Query Tool -

https://d2d.gsa.gov/report/fas-schedule-sales-query-plus-ssq

✓ GSA FAS GWAC Dashboard -

https://d2d.gsa.gov/report/gsa-fas-gwac-sales-dashboard

✓ SAM

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

Exercise #1

Following Slides are For the Presenter

NAICS Identification

https://www.naics.com/search/

• “Construction”

– 561210

– 541330

– 236220

1

Just too many NAICS!

USASpending.gov -

https://www.usaspending.gov/

• Profiles → Recipients

– Search – AECOM

– Select First Result

– Get DUNS / SAMMI Number

2

153561212

beta.SAM Standard Reports

• Discuss and demo selected reports

beta.SAM Adhoc – Award/IDV Information Report

• Show the Starting Point → CREATE

• 349 Fields

• I recommend using 104 Fields (30%)

4

Don’t Keep Starting From Scratch! → Create Master Query

• Step by step process with fields you need to select…

• In the order you want to select them

• Provided in the documentation to this session

• Show the RSM Federal Master Query

• Two NAICS 541330 - 561210

• Export Data

Pivot Table #1 - NAICS

6

• NAICS Code

• NAICS Description

• Dollars Obligated

3 Fields

• Funding Department Name

• Let’s talk Pivot Tables

• Need a strong modern computer to run these spreadsheets

• This spreadsheet – 10.5 Million Fields

It’s Easy! What pivot tables are for!

• Fields (in the order I want!)

• Quadrants

• I’m going to show you 15 of the common data filters that I run

• FIRST – let’s remove Contracting Office and Agency Name (Last 2)

• Review the following Contracting Office ID’s against the FPDS

“List of Contracting Offices” XLS

– First three under ARMY

List of Contracting Office IDs – (In FPDS)

7

• Contracting Officer Biz Size Determination

• Extent Competed Description

• Number Offers Received

• NAICS + Description

• Contracting Office ID

• Number Offers Received

• Contracting Office Name

(search engineer)

• Solicitation Procedures

• Type of Set-Aside

I’m showing you these different pivot tables but remember

that successfully using this data requires that you ask the right

questions!

So… I may want to know:

1. For USACE in the Mobile District (which is Alabama)

2. We just learned Contracting Office ID is W91278

3. Let’s say I’m a WOSB

4. Does this contracting office release contracts for

WOSB set-aside?

• NAICS + Description

• Contracting Office ID

• Type of Set-Aside

• Contracting Office ID

(W91278)

Mobile Alabama is my backyard!

Who else can I sell to there for Engineering or Facility Support Services?

Use FPDS Contract Office ID list for city “Mobile”

Let’s check several in our data

• Only USACE and USCG…

• National Interest Action

• NAICS + Description

• National Interest Description

• Contracting Agency Name

• Purchase Card as Payment Method Description

Provide value to our engineering data… but if you sell product…

• Type of Contract Pricing Description

• NAICS + Description

• National Interest Description

• Type of Contract Pricing Description

• Principle Place of Performance State Code

• NAICS + Description

• National Interest Description

• Principle place of performance State Code

• Product or Service Code

• NAICS + Description

You’ll find many of these emails are ‘system’ emails that will bounce

Use the Names and search in SAM Contract Opportunities!

• “By” Fields x 4

• Approved, Closed, Last Modified, and Prepared By fields

• FIRST – Let’s identify contracting specialists and COs

I need Contact Information

7

• Last modified By Field

→ Emails with bogus letter in front

→ Copy and search SAM opportunities

→ ZERO… uncheck Active

→ Search for GSA only

When you look at the data…

If you ask the right questions…

• Everyone tells you that you need strong teaming partners

FIRST – you don’t team with companies that are weaker than you

… or have less experience in the federal market

You team with companies that will make YOU more competitive

You don’t team with companies that you simply like or have a relationship with…

You team with companies where you know you have a chance of winning

So – I need both small and large contractors that have been successful, not in

general, but specifically with the agencies or military commands that I am

targeting!

So let’s continue using the USACE in Mobile Alabama

• Contracting Office ID → W91278

Filter

• NAICS Code + Description

• Contracting Office Name

• I need to find an SDVOSB or 8a company for an upcoming opportunity

Many companies simply call companies they’ve met from a recent conference.

Many companies don’t pick a competitive company.

Sure… my company may be in California

I want to bid a contract in Colorado

I’ve build a relationship with a company a mile from the place of performance!

But they’ve NEVER won a contract with this agency.

They don’t know anything other than what is posted in SAM

They have no market or competitive intelligence

And you’re thinking… but that’s all I can do.

One example is “Which engineering companies are located in Utah, is a small

business and is SBA certified 8a?

• NAICS Code + Description

• Contracting Officer’s Biz Size Determination

• Vendor Address State → Utah

• Is Vendor Biz → 8a

HUBZone

Filter

Exercise #2

Use NAICS 541330 / 561210 / 236220

to Validate Sales Data

and Develop a Sales Strategy

8

USASpending.gov -

_{https://www.usaspending.gov/}

• Profiles → Recipients

– Search – AECOM

– Select First Result

– Get DUNS / SAMMI Number

153561212

SAM Standard Search

https://beta.sam.gov/

9

• LOGIN

• Data Bank → Standard → Contractor Search (AECOM)

• Then Right Click on any column heading and

select drill-down and Award Detail

NAICS Validation

SAM Adhoc Search

https://beta.sam.gov/

• Export (third icon from the right)

• LOGIN

• Data Bank → Adhoc → Award IDV Information Report

NAICS

(541330 - 561210 - 236220)

• Run in two 6 month batches

• 14 Million fields of dta

Pivot Table #2 – Drill Down

• NAICS Code x 3 From Basic Search

• NAICS Description

• Contracting Agency Name

• Dollars Obligated

• Review the following Contracting Office ID’s against the FPDS

“List of Contracting Offices” XLS

– W58RGZ → Army Contracting Command - Redstone Arsenal, AL

Let’s look at just 541330

And let’s look at just U.S. Army

• Contracting Office ID

List of Contracting Office IDs – (In FPDS!)

• DUNS → 153561212

Filter

BONUS – Go off on a Tangent

• Contracting Office Codes → Built into Solicitation Numbers (RFPs / RFQs)

SAM

https://beta.sam.gov/

• Sign-In

• NAICS

– 541330, 561210, 236220

• Type of Notice

– Sources Sought, Presolicitation, Solicitation, Combined

• Add Zip Code for Contract Office Location

– Using W91278 from XLS list of contracting offices – Zip = 36628

• Look at Solicitation Number

– W91278-16-R-0037 (Contracting Office ID!)

• Contracting Officer Contact Info

Lets Stay in Contract Opportunities for a Moment

12

Pivot Table #3 – Adhoc Search

Various Points of Intelligence / Information

• NAICS Code

• NAICS Description

• Dollars Obligated

• Funding Department Name

→ Remove after showing

• Contracting Agency Name

• Contracting Office ID

Pivot Table #4 – Are There Consistent Opportunities

Not Under an IDC / IDIQ / MAC / MATOC?

14

How well do they support small business?

• Contracting Officer's Business Size Determination

• Purchase Card As Payment Method Code

Credit Card? (MicroPurchase)

• Type of Contract Pricing Description

Contract Types?

• NAICS Code + Description

• IDV Type of IDV Type Description

Pivot Table #6 – For Partners and Teaming

(Use Pivot Table #5)

15

• NAICS

• NAICS Code Description

• Contracting Officer's Business Size Determination

• Dollars Obligated

• Add CAGE Code

• 8a?

• HUBZone?

• SDVOSB

So To This Point

• Researched and validated propensity by:

– NAICS

– Agency

– Contracting Office with Contact Information

– & Companies that have won contracts – Potential teaming partners

– Acquisition Strategy – Stand Alone Contracts or IDIQs

What Did We Cover

A Lot of Data, Information, and Intelligence!

How To Run Pivot Tables

Researching the Competition

Pivot Tables to Identify:

✓ NAICS

✓ Target Agencies

✓ Contracting Office ID

✓ Government POCs

You have to do this yourself, multiple times, to get proficient!

✓ Award Type (Stand Alone / IDIQ)

Free Podcast

Joshua Frank

Managing Partner, RSM Federal