Ten Myths from the Federal Market
by Mark Amtower, Founding Partner, Amtower & Company
Over the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in selling to the Federal government. In large part this is because of the slowdown in the rest of the economy as well as the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
While the interest is growing, the market perceptions are, at best, blurred to many. The amount of misinformation and half-truths about this market abound, always on the periphery of otherwise intelligent business meetings, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.
Part of this perception is because we in the government market do have our own language and are loathe to explain it to the uninitiated. And part is because it is easier for many to think they can't play in this market rather than to work at getting in the market. It's always easier to complain than to act. It's like the line from a Mary Chapin Carpenter song: "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug", and most turn out to be the bug, as they expect market entry to be quick, seemless, simple, and lucrative.
I receive calls every week from companies wanting to enter the government market. Although I don't have a standard response yet (I've only been doing this 20 years), I'm working on one. I try to explain that the market is big enough to accommodate many, but there are rarely "quick hit" new entries.
Most believe you get a GSA Schedule and wait for the phone to ring. Recently in a DC paper there was a listing for a seminar with the title "How to get Your GSA Schedule and Make Your Cash Register Ring"! As if a Schedule was a cure-all – tell that to the hundreds of Schedule holders with $0 in sales.
The level of voluntary ignorance is staggering.
Everyone is looking for the easy way, the quick hit. The hardest point to get across is there is no single answer for every company, and it all involves hard work and education. And then more of the same. This is an incremental market.
And over the years, a number of half-truths, myths and outright untruths have evolved and spread.
This is an attempt to dispel a few of the misconceptions about selling to Fortune one – the U.S. Federal government.
MYTH 1: It's too difficult to break into this market.
MYTH 2: The government demands the lowest price.
MYTH 3: We have a great product; resellers will line up to sell our stuff.
MYTH 4: A GSA Schedule ("number") makes the cash register ring.
MYTH 5: We can fax press releases to the government publications and reporters will call.
MYTH 6: Our brand name recognition will drive sales in the government market.
MYTH 7: Email works everywhere, so if we get the right email list, we're in.
MYTH 8: We've got to be at big trade shows like FOSE – if you're not there, everyone notices.
MYTH 9: We'll hire a guy in DC and give it six months.
MYTH 10: It's too big and we can't do it.
Mark Amtower is the founding partner of Amtower & Company, of Highland, Maryland. Each year he consults with senior management in several companies on government marketing programs. He is the author of Government Marketing Best Practices, published in January, 2005 (now in its third printing), and Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes (November, 2007). His e-newsletter, The Amtower Report, is widely read by both the Federal contracting and direct marketing communities. His first radio show, The Amtower Market Report, ran on WBIS, 1190 AM out of Annapolis, Maryland from March 2006-February 2007. His new show, Amtower Off-Center, is heard on Federal News Radio, WFED 1050 AM in Washington DC. The hour-long talk show airs Friday at 2:00 PM.
Mark Amtower Copyright 2008, Amtower & Company |
