Before you even start the application process you need to know if the schedules program will work for your business. I am really big on market intelligence and if you want to pursue GSA schedules the first step for you would be focusing on your market intelligence. GSA contracts are a great asset to your business but you need to know if they buy your product or service. You don’t want to jump into anything like this without getting an idea of if this path will be beneficial to you.
GSA has free sites that are available to the public like GSA E-Library and GSA sales query that can assist you with working on your market research. When sifting through this task you need to focus on two bits of information. The first is to find out if the agency buys your product or service. If they do, the next thing is to focus on what your competition looks like.
Now GSA E-Library is a database that has all of the GSA contract holders information such as commodity they sell, contract number, pricelist, and so on. They even list who is the contracting officer that manages that particular contract, so market research is fairly easy. GSA sales query database focuses on how much revenue each company accumulated for each quarter. You can find the sales query website at http://ssq.gsa.gov, and GSA e-library website at http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/home.do.
Here is the step by step process for conducting market research on GSA E Library:
- You would first start out on the GSA Schedules e-Library website at http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/home.do.
- Enter a keyword in the search engine that best describes your commodity. That will bring up a list of schedules and SIN’s relating to that category.
- Read the description of the schedule and SIN’s so that you will be able to make a definite decision on which schedule suits you best.
- Click on the SIN number listed under the category and a list of all the contractors under that schedule will appear, these companies will be your competitors. Be sure to take note of their GSA Schedule number, contact information, discounts offered, and pricing.
If any information that I have provided you has been helpful please let me know by leaving a comment, I would love to hear from you. If you are ready for a GSA contract and need assistance in submitting a proposal I want to help. Sign up to work with me me here. For more helpful tips like this subscribe here.