No better time than the present and now is the perfect time to find and develop opportunities in the pipeline to give you an edge over the competition. It is good to access this knowledge early and plan needed resources to respond to upcoming opportunities in a timely manner.

The Government is wary about spending until a new budget agreement is reached. As you have heard or seen, some RFPs have been cancelled or postponed and the number of Federal opportunities has slowed down.

Agencies post procurement forecasts that list their planned purchases for not only 2013, but sometimes for additional years as well. While the information varies from agency to agency, you may find future procurement plans at: https://www.acquisition.gov/procurement-forecasts.

Once you choose an agency, you may refine your searches by a number of criteria including NAICS Code, Place of Performance, Quarter, etc. Forecasts will often list an agency point of contact, use this connection to build a relationship and obtain more information about the upcoming opportunity. Your feedback may even able to help define the solicitation.

If a contract is approaching an end date and it is planned for a re-compete, often the agency lists an incumbent contractor (if applicable) as well as one or two agency points of contact. This allows you to research an existing contract that is coming up for re-bid and cultivate Federal points of contact relevant to the opportunity.

In addition to forecasting, reviewing historical procurement data can guide you in identifying trends. However, keep in mind that reviewing past sales is only a fraction of your business potential. Your aggressive marketing activity can impact the size of your GSA’s Schedule market share.  Careful analysis of the forecasts and historical data can give you the edge over your competition.  You can search historical data by using the Federal Procurement Data System here.

If you need assistance building a Market Action Plan, creating visibility, or a general question about Federal Marketing contact Coley GSA at hello@coleygsa.com.