Government is Big.

Actually, government is more than big. It's huge. Targeting your public sector sales efforts has a shrinking effect, focusing your effort and making the audience more manageable.

When you use evidence to determine government agency targets that are realistic and functionally appropriate – realistic in terms of your ability to win and functionally appropriate based on your past performance areas – you save yourself time and headaches.

Sounds super simple, yet it’s surprisingly not done.

For example, you are making the transition from corporate to public sector. You’ve done a ton of work in your field for health care and alternative energy targets. So…. Look for agencies which mirror those targets. If you’re new to government completely – no prime or sub work in your portfolio – perhaps county health or state energy is a better starting point than federal contracting.

As you target, keep in mind that purchasing cooperatives can be excellent ways to engage with multiple audiences. For public sector buyers, these organizations allow them to pool their agency spending and reduce solicitation time. For contractors, there are multiple public agencies available through one competitively bid contract award. Of course, just HAVING a consortium contract doesn't bring you revenue -- you must market it, and many of the cooperatives provide tools to help.

In every case, determine your targets based on evidence. This focuses your efforts and saves you the time and frustration of a scattered approach. Our research team uses robust search tools to determine agency targets, profile competitors and identify current opportunities. Our two favorites right now are Onvia and Bloomberg Government.