• LinkedIn
  • Google +
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

+1-571-223-6845

Bid Protest Weekly
  • Home
  • Bid Protest Ed Center
    • WHAT is a bid protest?
    • WHO can file a bid protest
    • DO I need an Attorney?
    • WHY Should you file a bid protest?
    • WHEN Must you file a bid protest?
    • WHERE can you file a bid protest?
    • READING the RFP
  • Blog
  • Topics
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME?

  • By GCPC GovCon Legal Team
  • February 27, 2015
  • Bid ProtestsGovernment ContractsNews
  • 0 Comments
*Editor’s Note: Because of Rocky Galloway’s unique experience as a GovCon attorney and Sales Executive and  Program Manager for Hewlett Packard Corporation, from time-to-time in this forum we will not only share areas of the law that are of interest to clients, but also highlight business practices that have proven to be successful to our clients in establishing the key relationships that lead to business growth.  We hope you find Rocky’s Business Insights helpful.

 

Who Are You and What Can You Do For Me?

 

govcon

“Who are you and what can you do for me?”

Right or wrong, those questions are top-of-mind at every meeting or chance encounter, and not just in business settings.  They are questions we all seek answers to at some level.  

In business, “Who are you?” is very much about your company’s mission and can be an essential part of your brand, especially if it is accompanied by a compelling story about how/why the business was formed.  Take the time to craft a mission statement that captures both your vision for the organization (e.g., provider of comprehensive, quality logistics services) and its business focus (e.g., deployment of advanced tools that support military readiness by providing real-time data to combat personnel).  Once you are comfortable with the mission statement, try it on and see how it fits – not just on you but on others as well, especially those in your intended audience.  Is it clear and concise?  Is it broad enough to encompass all the products/services you offer (or intend to offer) yet narrow enough so the reader understands your business focus? When you are satisfied with the mission statement, own it and make it core to the brand messages that are communicated outward by you and others who represent the company.  

“What can you do for me?”  This question is not only about the type and value of products/services you provide, but also how they will help your customer achieve its overall mission.  To effectively communicate how your products/services will benefit your customer, you have to first understand the customer’s mission, not only as it is stated organizationally but also how that mission is carried out by the component you are marketing to.  Direct conversation with the desired customer is preferable to gain this information but if that is not possible then gathering intelligence from current contractors of the customer, their teaming partners or agency officials will suffice.  Look for what is working well, as well as those things that are not (often described as “what keeps you up at night?”).  Use your findings to identify discriminators for your company’s offerings and create specific practical examples of benefits to the customer.  You can then provide those in the form of a white paper, product demonstration, or other means.  Always be careful not to violate ethics or procurement rules/regulations. 

In government contracting, it is also very important to educate your clients on how they can access your products/services.  You cannot take for granted that they will be knowledgeable about the various schedules, multi-agency contracts or other contract vehicles that they might use to reach you.  Even if they are, the contracting vehicles they choose may not be advantageous to you (e.g., vehicles with large numbers of pre-qualified vendors).  To the extent that you can, establish a trusted relationship with the designated program/project manager, the contracting officer technical representative (COTR) and the contracting officer (CO).   Express your interest up front and partner with them during the pre-solicitation phase of a procurement by providing comments, questions and recommended approaches to the statement of work, evaluation criteria, small business designation and appropriate procurement vehicle. 

Use any special business designation (SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, 8(a), M/WBE) your company holds to your competitive advantage.  Research the target agency’s progress in reaching its small business goals for various categories and find areas where additional support is needed.  If those areas are consistent with your company’s designation(s), make that fact known to agency representatives, starting with the small business utilization office.  In some cases, that office can directly influence whether a procurement is set-aside for small business or designated for full and open competition.  Always be mindful, however that regardless of the designation, your company must make a strong case that it is capable of providing the services requested.

General Counsel, P.C., has attorneys and business professionals that can support your legal needs as well as the ongoing business development efforts of your organization.  We work hard to learn our clients’ business and become a trusted partner that is an integral component of their success. 

Bid Protest Attorney DC MD VA

 _________________________________________________________________________________________

General Counsel, P.C. – Experienced Representation of Government Contractors:  Led by Rocky Galloway, General Counsel’s GovCon Practice Group has over thirty years of government contract law experience.  Our attorneys have experience relevant to the entire life-cycle of a government contractor, including formation, contract negotiation and award, contract administration, bid and contract disputes, and Mergers and Acquisitions transactions.

Every Business Needs a General Counsel — Founded in 2004 by Merritt Green, General Counsel, P.C. represents businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals throughout the DC Metropolitan Area and across the nation and globe. The firm has eight (8) practice areas to fully serve our clients:  (1) Corporate/Business Law; (2) Government Contracts; (3) State/Federal Litigation/Dispute Resolution; (4) Employment Law; (5) Immigration; (6) Intellectual Property; (7) Franchising; and (8) Not for Profits.

Share

Related Posts

General Counsel, P.C. Government Contracts Team Protest Success

July 29, 2021

GAO’s BID PROTEST – 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

January 19, 2021

Matter of Millennium Corporation, Inc.

March 26, 2019

Matter of Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation

March 26, 2019

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Search Bid Protest Weekly

Need help with a bid protest?

Call us at: 703-556-0411 Or fill out this form:

Categories

  • 8(a) Sole Source Awards
  • Acknowledging Amendments
  • Adequately Written Proposal
  • Adverse Agency Action
  • Adverse Impact Analysis
  • Agency Tender
  • Alternate or Previously-Approved Product
  • Ambiguity in Solicitation
  • Attorney's Fees
  • Bad Faith in Evaluation
  • Below-Cost Offer
  • Best Value
  • Beyond the Scope
  • Bias
  • Bid and Proposal Costs
  • Bid Bond
  • Bid Compliance
  • Bid Protest Decisions
  • Bid Protest Jurisdiction
  • Bid Protests
  • Bidding Best Practices
  • Blanket Purchase Agreement
  • Blanket Purchase Order
  • Blog Articles
  • Bona Fide Needs Rule
  • Brand Name or Equal
  • Broad Agency Announcement
  • Brooks Act
  • Bundling or Consolidation
  • Buy American Act
  • Cancellation of a Solicitation
  • Capability of Contractor
  • CCR Registration
  • Certificate of Competency (COC)
  • Certification Requirements
  • Changes Clause
  • Clarifications
  • Clear and Convincing Evidence
  • Clearly Meritorious Protest
  • Clerical Error
  • Commercial Item Acquisition
  • Competitive Range
  • Compliance
  • Conflict of Interest
  • Construction Design-Build
  • Construction Services
  • Contract Administration
  • Contract Modifications
  • Contracting Preference
  • Contractor Responsibility
  • Corporate Capability
  • Corrective Action
  • Cost Accounting System
  • Cost Evaluation
  • Cost Realism
  • Cost Reimbursement Contract
  • Cost-Technical Trade-Off
  • Customary Commercial Practice
  • CVE
  • DCAA Audit
  • Debriefing
  • Default Termination
  • Deficient Price Proposal
  • Delivery Order jurisdiction
  • Delivery Schedule
  • Designated Employee Agent
  • Disclosure of Price
  • Disclosure of Source Selection-Sensitive Information
  • Discussions
  • Disqualification
  • Documentation of Evaluation
  • Domestic Production Requirement
  • Education Center Articles
  • Electronic Filing
  • Evaluation Criteria
  • Evaluations
  • Events
  • Executive Order Compliance
  • Experience of Contractor
  • Experience Requirement
  • Fair Market Price
  • FASA
  • FedBizOpps
  • Federal Prison Industries (FPI)
  • Filing Deadlines
  • Final Evaluation
  • Final Proposal Revisions
  • Financial Responsibility
  • Fixed Price Contract
  • Former Government Employees
  • FSS Contract
  • GAO Bid Protest Review
  • GAO Jurisdiction
  • GAO Standard of Review
  • Government Contracts
  • Government Office Closings
  • Government Surplus Material
  • GSA Lease
  • HUBZone
  • ID/IQ
  • In-Sourcing
  • Incentive Fee
  • Inclement Weather Delay
  • Incomplete Proposal
  • Incorporation by Reference
  • Incumbent Capture
  • Incumbent Status
  • Independent Government Estimate (IGE)
  • Individual Environmental Report
  • Industrial Mobilization
  • Innovations
  • Interested Party
  • Invitation for Bid
  • Invited Contractor
  • Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act
  • Joint Venture
  • Key Personnel
  • Labor Hours
  • Labor Rate Pricing
  • Late Proposals
  • Late Submissions
  • Level of Effort
  • Licensing Requirements
  • Limitation on Subcontracting
  • Liquidated Damages
  • Lost Proposal
  • Lowest Price Technically Acceptable
  • Mail-Box Rule
  • Management Planning
  • Market Research
  • MAS Contracts
  • Material Misrepresentation
  • Material Solicitation Amendment
  • Material Solicitation Terms
  • Meaningful Discussions
  • Micro-Purchase Threshold
  • Minimum Requirements
  • Misleading Discussions
  • Mistake
  • Mitigation Strategy
  • Multiple Awards
  • NAICS Code
  • National Security
  • Negotiation
  • News
  • Non-Procurement Instruments
  • Novations
  • Offeror Representations
  • OMB Circular A-76
  • Option Exercise
  • Oral Presentations
  • Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI)
  • Page Limitations
  • Past Performance
  • Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS)
  • Performance Based Standards
  • Permits and Responsibilities
  • Personal Conflicts of Interest
  • Post-Award Changes to the Contract
  • Post-Protest Re-Evaluations
  • Practicable Alternative
  • Pre-Award Protest
  • Pre-award vs. Post-award Requirements
  • Pre-Qualification of Offerors
  • Pre-Solicitation Notice
  • Prejudice
  • Price Calculation Error
  • Price Calculation Error
  • Price Evaluation
  • Price of FSS Task Order Quote
  • Price Realism
  • Price Reasonableness
  • Price Reduction
  • Procurement Announcement
  • Procurement Integrity
  • Product Testing
  • Proposal Acceptance Period
  • Proposal Detail
  • Proposal Evaluation
  • Proposal Extension
  • Proposal Standards
  • Proposals
  • Protest Terms of Solicitation
  • Protester Comments
  • Public-Private Competition
  • Randolph-Sheppard Act (RSA)
  • Rate Tenders
  • Re-Certification of Size Status
  • Reconsideration
  • Reevaluation
  • Reevaluation Standards
  • Reimbursement of Protest Costs
  • Rejection of Proposal
  • Relaxation or Waiver of Requirement
  • Relevancy of Past Performance
  • Reliance on the Proposal
  • Remedies
  • Requirements Contract
  • Responsibility
  • Responsiveness
  • Restricted Competition
  • Resumes
  • Revision of Proposal
  • Revision of Proposals
  • Risk
  • Rule of Two
  • SBA Status protest
  • Scope of GAO Review
  • SDVOSB Set-Asides
  • Significant Issue Exception
  • Simplified Acquisition Procedures
  • Site Visit
  • Size Determination
  • Size Protest
  • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
  • Small Business Set-Asides
  • Small Business Subcontracting Goals
  • Sole-Source Award
  • Solicitation Amendment
  • Solicitation Requirements
  • Source Approval
  • Source Selection Authority
  • Source Selection Decision
  • Source Selection Plan
  • Sources Sought Notice
  • Staffing Plan
  • State and Local Requirements
  • Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)
  • Subcontract Protest
  • Subcontractor Experience
  • Suspension and Debarment
  • Taking Exception to RFP Requirements
  • Task Orders
  • Teaming Agreement
  • Technical Acceptability
  • Technical Evaluation
  • Technical Evaluation
  • Termination of Award
  • Terms of the Solicitation
  • Timeliness of Protest
  • Timely Filing
  • Timely Performance
  • Timely Proposal Submission
  • Trade Agreement Act
  • Unbalanced Pricing
  • Unduly Restrictive Terms
  • Unequal Access to Information
  • Unequal Treatment of Offerors
  • Uniform Time Act of 1996
  • Unstated Evaluation Criteria
  • Unusual and Compelling Urgency
  • Use of Appropriated Funds
  • Veterans First
  • VIP Database
  • VOSB Set Asides
  • Wage Determination

Get Help


Talk to an
attorney who
specializes
in bid protests:

+1-571-223-6845
Email

Keep up to date
on bid protest
decisions and
policies:

© 2022 Bid Protest Weekly

  • LinkedIn
  • Google +
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Bid Protest Ed Center
  • Blog
  • Topics
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Bid Protest Ed Center
    • WHAT is a bid protest?
    • WHO can file a bid protest
    • DO I need an Attorney?
    • WHY Should you file a bid protest?
    • WHEN Must you file a bid protest?
    • WHERE can you file a bid protest?
    • READING the RFP
  • Blog
  • Topics
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • LinkedIn
  • Google +
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

+1-571-223-6845