At Fedmine, we conduct multiple product demos a week and sometimes I join those demos. The number one thing I hear a prospect wants in a business intelligence solution is to find opportunities before they are public, before they hit the street. Unfortunately, Fedmine and any other company that is in our industry, does not have the Magic 8 Ball, however when I think about this pain point — this need, I can offer up a few solutions that help the contractor access this lucrative information. Even better, all of this information is easily accessible in the Fedmine platform, with the click of a button (or two).
- Stay on top of your industry and customers by monitoring award and historical spending information
- Being aware of what is awarded, on what vehicle, for how much and to whom can assist with future success
- Knowing the NAICS, set-aside and expiration date allows you to get a head start, so that if the opportunity does hit the street, you knew about it months, if not years beforehand and had adequate time to prepare
- Knowing what your customer is buying can also help to shape future opportunities. If you already have your foot in the door, you can shape the requirement with them
- If the original solicitation was public, you can access the PWS/SOW, which we conveniently link to the FPDS-NG award details. Having access to historical documents and data is huge, furthermore, having access to it within one solution is a game changer
- Fedmine offers several search and reporting options to help you target your customer and/or industry using multiple different parameters like keyword, place of performance, socioeconomic indicators, expiration dates and more
- Form good teaming relationships
- Find partners who have actually worked with your customer or target customer and have specific socioeconomic designations that are complementary
- Information is key, who do they currently team with?
- Securing these relationships can often present you with new opportunities as either a prime or a subcontractor
- Fedmine has the BEST company profiles in the industry. You can view prime/sub details at the task order level. We also have a subcontract search so you can find out who is winning subcontracts within your customer base and industry
- Setup Industry Day alerts
- Use targeted keywords to be alerted of upcoming Industry Days, Small Business Forums and other virtual events
- Be alerted up to 2x a day so that you don't have to sit and monitor beta.SAM
- Keep your eye on sources sought and pre-solicitation notices
- Monitor and respond to sources sought notices within your industry and customers
- A few last points
- Future opportunities consist of "new opportunities" and initiatives but also existing contracts that are expiring and will be rebid - I cannot stress enough how important historical spending data is!
- Many agencies release detailed forecasts, such as USACE. Fedmine links directly to agency forecast sites wherever possible
- For those in the IT industry, IT Program Initiatives (Ex 53's) and Exhibit 300's are a great source for locating potential new initiatives
While we don't have a Magic 8 Ball, these tips and access to the Fedmine platform are just as good.
