If the first hint you have of an upcoming contract award is its listing on FedBizOpps, you're behind, according to the panel of government contracting experts at the latest GovWin Virtual Roundtable, "Win or Go Home: How to Thrive in the Budget-Crunched, Extra-Competitive Government Contracting Environment."

Watch the Virtual Roundtable Video Below

Download the presentation slides [PDF]

Panelists from GovWin.com's "Win or Go Home" Virtual Roundtable Webinar on April 13, 2011. Featuring (L-R): Guy Timberlake, American Small Business Coalition; Dr. Kim Nguyen, Pragmatics; and Paul Strasser, Dynamics Research Corporation. (Not pictured: remote participant Elizabeth Smith, Unisys.)

Dr. Kim Nguyen, vice president of special programs at Pragmatics, said, "You need five to 10 highly-qualified opportunities that you've been pursuing for months before the request for proposal (RFP) release rather than 20 to 30 low-probability ones." Preferably indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts: the increasing use of these long-term contracts means that companies that don't get on board an agency's IDIQ might be locked out of that agency for five to 10 years.

The Budget is Your Crystal Ball

Businesses that haven't yet landed a contract still have options. Information is power in today's contracting market. The panelists recommended that companies research agencies':

• Missions
• Strategic plans
• Existing contracts and ending or recompete dates

"There's much more information available today" than was available 15 years ago, said Guy Timberlake, co-founder and chief visionary of the American Small Business Coalition (ASBC). He recommends seeing what information you can gather on your own before using market research services. "You need to be able to tell the customer why you're good for them."

Market research is also a good way to tell which areas of the government to target. Right now, according to Elizabeth Smith, vice president of federal sales at Unisys, businesses should be analyzing the detailed budget cut information released after last week's government shutdown scare.

Some areas of opportunity the panelists see include:

• Cybersecurity
• Healthcare and health IT
• Federal financials and regulatory
• Payment processing
• Improving efficiencies
• Consolidations
• Anything related to mobile computing

"The government has made it clear what direction they want to take regarding telework. Anyone working on remote apps or interfaces with remote users is going to have a very good opportunity across the government," Timberlake said.

Newcomers Need Connections

For businesses new to the contracting scene, landing that first contract is especially challenging due to increased competition and other barriers to entry. "From small businesses, we hear repeatedly that their biggest challenge is getting access to decisionmakers, access to influencers," said Timberlake. The in-webinar poll bore out this statement: 39 percent of respondents said they are unable to get in and see government customers:

Poll results from the question, "What is your biggest business development challenge?"

Like the private sector, contracting is also driven primarily by relationships. The panelists recommended that businesses without these relationships consider hiring consultants who do have them.

Primes or Feds?

The panelists were divided on whether would-be contractors should try to work with prime contractors or directly with the government. Paul Strasser, senior vice president and general manager of Dynamics Research Corporation's Federal Group, felt that working with primes gives subs a past performance advantage, while Nguyen advised companies to market directly to the government first and aim for small, low-risk opportunities.

Businesses that want to work with primes should "Talk to the customer's customer, the end-user organization, so when you go to primes you can talk about the challenges the customer is facing," Timberlake said.

Whether you target primes or the government to get that first contract, be persistent. "Be tenacious -- a little bit bold, but respectful, knowing you have something good to offer and talking about it when you get the chance," Nguyen said.

Recompetes Still Essential

Even if you've done the research, talked with the customer, defined your value and written a great proposal, a contract win isn't guaranteed. "You may have a 33-percent chance of winning," said Strasser.

With contract wins chancy at best, winning recompetes is increasingly important. "Anyone who's not paying attention to recompetes is blowing it," Strasser said. "In the market we're in today, with limited discretionary funds, contractors are trying to regain market share by taking work away from someone else. If you're not circling the wagons and protecting your recompetes, you're endangering your business."

Lindley Ashline is the assistant Web editor of GovWin.com, the network that helps government contractors win new business every day. She can be reached at lindleyashline@deltek.com, or you can follow her on Twitter @lindleyashline.