Many government contractors make the mistake of not taking the time to conduct market research. Instead, they spend their time monitoring upcoming opportunities and chasing agencies, which is much more useful if paired with the proper market analysis to determine the right strategy and the most relevant opportunities to pursue. While it's important to get your company's name out there and respond to government solicitations, it can be a waste of time if the opportunity isn't the right fit, or there are components to it you just can't realistically meet.

Like shopping and ordering items online in just a few clicks on Amazon, GSA Advantage! is an online shopping and ordering system operated by the General Services Administration (GSA). The system provides government agencies access to a wide range of products and services available on GSA Schedule contracts, which are pre-negotiated agreements between GSA and commercial companies.

Certifying as a small business is an important step for GSA contractors who qualify, and some small businesses can even go further to certify for one of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) socioeconomic programs. This includes the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) programs. This certification allows small businesses access to exclusive set-aside opportunities. Women Owned Small Businesses make up 5% of the government’s acquisition goals, and it’s important all businesses that qualify know how to certify.

When you are preparing your GSA Schedule offer, there’s a whole section dedicated to your past performance and experience selling your products and/or services called the technical section. Just like a resume and cover letter acts for a job interview, the government wants to know you have experience and success selling your solutions before you offer them through a GSA Schedule. Once you get your contract awarded, the evaluations don’t stop there.

GSA Schedules offer the opportunity for contractors to provide their products and services to federal agencies at pre-negotiated rates, making it easier for the government to acquire what it needs and for commercial companies to secure reliable contracts. However, securing a GSA Schedule is not simply a matter of filling out paperwork and submitting it to GSA. Rather, vendors must ensure they are offering fair and reasonable pricing to the government. Once this pricing is determined in the award process, contractors must maintain their established rates and report their GSA sales quarterly or monthly.

Selling products and services to the U.S. government means adhering to several established rules and regulations. For potential and current GSA Schedule holders, complying with regulations outlined in the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) is one of the many requirements. While preparing an initial GSA Schedule proposal, most schedule holders become vaguely familiar with required trade laws and regulations. However, after their contract is awarded many make the mistake of not broadening their understanding and fail to regularly monitor their contract to maintain TAA compliant. In this blog, we will define what TAA compliance means and discuss 5 ways to stay TAA compliant.