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The Federal, State and local governments have discovered a source for additional revenue. It is called "The Taxpayer and Getting More From Them." Tuesday is Election Day and while it not a Presidential year, it is an essential year. We encourage you to go to the polling place and vote your mind.

Y--Job Order Contract (JOC) - CONSTRUCTION SERVICES AND REPAIRS FOR VARIOUS FACILITIES WITHIN THE NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING COMMAND NORTHWEST AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY

If you want the free full summary of this target go to: http://login.epipeline.com/limitedDisplay?ID=FOSRDUSA19888&FLAG=SUMMARY. This target is only available for a short period of time.

If you need help designing and executing your capture program or proposals to win this procurement contact Sid Jaffe, at 703-642-5153.

One Way to Begin (Article #6 in a Series)-We Have Something to Sell!
By Bill Hamilton, Vice President, Advantage Consulting, Inc.

We all live in a sales environment. Every day we are put in the position of convincing someone to do something-that is sales. Anyone who has won a job or asked for a date is in "sales." Like a person, a business may be the best in the world but it must sell its goods or services or the company has no value.

In previous articles we discussed the vision and problem-solving that companies must tackle; now we have to sell the product or service. The first step in building sales is to determine who has a need for the product or service and who will buy it. The second step is to determine when they will buy it and for what price.

Begin by identifying the characteristics of people who would need or use the product or service-that is, what job they are performing or what mission they are involved in. This will enable you to determine what organizations or parts of organizations have a need for your product/service. Most important, the organization's ability to buy will be influenced by their budget. If an organization does not have the ability to fund the purchase, it is not a candidate for a sale regardless of how much it would need or would benefit from it.

Once you have identified groups of people and their organizations that need and would buy your product/service and have the capability to do so, prioritize them as potential targets by how well you know people in the organization. When you have the priority list developed, determine the major requirements of the top organization targets. Don't be overly ambitious, three or more top targets are about all you can manage initially. When you learn the most significant concerns of your target organizations, you can tailor briefings and presentations to the people in the target agency to address those concerns. Even considering just your top three targets, you will find the points of concern are not the same in all agencies even thought they are all concerned about the same general areas.

Business development and sales success comes from two things; your thorough knowledge of the target organization, developed from knowing their people and understanding their mission, and by presenting the produce/service in such a way as to enhance the agency interest and desire for the things you are selling.

This is only one way to begin to sell. Want to discuss your problems in the sales environment or do you have a particular concern about improving your sales? Contact Bill Hamilton at bhamilton@acibiz.com or by phone at 703-642-5153 and let's talk.

Brown Bag Session #22: Executive Calls and Meetings
By Sid Jaffe, President, Advantage Consulting, Inc.

At this time of year many organizations are focusing on next year's plans and activities. A good way to gain insight into an organization is with an executive call.

An executive call is a meeting with a ranking executive from your firm and your client, at the decision maker or influencer level. It is an opportunity to affirm with your client their value to your company and to ask questions about their mission, goals and objectives for the coming year. It is a chance to learn about the challenges and obstacles your customers face and how your company can assist in overcoming them.

You will find that your executives will learn more about your client, your client will appreciate the attention and investment in them, and you will leave with better opportunities to serve your client and grow your business.

Over a brown-bag lunch with your team, prepare an Executive Call Plan. To discuss this topic or other business development initiatives, contact Sid Jaffe at sjaffe@acibiz.com or call 703-642-5153.

Are You Making Objective Bid Decisions?
By John Bender, Vice President, Advantage Consulting, Inc.

Could you make an objective decision to pass on a bid when, deep down, you know your company is only a long shot? Or does emotion enter the bid decision and you decide to squander more bid resources on a losing effort - without any real benefits?

No company can afford to bid every opportunity they identify. Every time you expend company resources on losing bids, the resources for real potential winners are reduced - the pursuits where BD and capture efforts can position your company to win.

I am continually looking for a tool to help bid reviewers be more objective in their assessments. To date, I have only found one tool that goes beyond the artificial checklists or "gut" guesses. That tool is WinAward.

WinAward manages a government contractor's pipeline but it is the tool's additional probability modules which really make it unique. It uses an underlying analytical knowledgebase - similar to what Microsoft uses for their wizards and troubleshooters - to lead you through a consistent, objective decision process. It can help you identify early when things don't look good for you - particularly when you still have time to influence the procurement or position your company better for the win.

The best part is that WinAward completely pays for itself after it has helped you avoid the first "bad" bid. Some BD professionals have even acquired WinAward simply to build the "no bid" justifications they need for senior management - so they don't waste their time on so many losers.

Contact John Bender at 703-642-5153 or jbender@acibiz.com for details on how you can demo WinAward and see if it can help you make better bid decisions.

Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now. (works every time).