Now is a great time to begin your prospecting plan. Start by looking back: the past contract awards on www.USASpending.gov reveal the big picture. What did your target agencies buy last year — from your competitors as well as from you? Which contract vehicles did they use most? How will your company access those contract vehicles? Which contracts will be coming up for recompetition in the next six to twelve months?
Here’s a tip: remember that DoD can delay publication of its contract spending data for 90 days to protect Operations Tempo information. So even though DoD typically spends more in July, August and September than in other months of the year, you might not see those contracts posted until after January 1st.
Why is that important? You’ll want to look at a full fiscal year of data if you want to get an accurate picture of which agencies are spending money on services and products like yours – and which agencies spending is growing or shrinking.
And, even though many buying plans are preliminary, take a first look at your target agencies’ acquisition forecasts(link is external). Where do their needs fit what you offer?
Is there more to it than that? Sure. Find out what you need to know in our guide, Four Easy Lessons In Free Federal Market Research.