Benefits of Following Our 8(a) Certification, WOSB/EDWOSB, SDVOSB, or HUBZone Path
- Our Federal Growth Strategy is totally free; you only pay for the pieces of the plan you need to succeed.
- Eliminates countless hours of learning how to do “one-off” SBA applications, Marketing Searches, GSA Schedules, GWACs and IDIQ Contracts.
- Our proven track record has helped thousands of clients with billions of dollars in combined annual sales.
- Build your recession proof business with the largest customer on planet earth, the US Federal Government.
18 Month Plan to Become a Successful Prime Contractor
Step 1
Getting Ready: SBA Certifications & GSA Schedule 0-6 Months
Step 2
Entry: Agency Targeting & Federal Marketing 6-18 Months
Step 3
Rapid Growth: GWAC and IDIQ Contracts 18+ Months
Step 1
0-6 Months
SBA Certifications – Why are they important?
SBA Certifications take the form of 8(a), WOSB, EDWOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB and VOSB. These certifications provide preference in the award of Federal Contracts giving the agency credit towards meeting their congressionally mandated social and economic inclusiveness goals. The 8(a) Certification is regarded as the most difficult SBA certification to obtain in terms of the application process, it does hold the highest reputation for providing the most benefit to the certification holder. However, all SBA Certifications can help a firm gain access to the federal marketplace.
SBA Certified
SBA Certified firms are permitted to obtain direct award contracts from federal buyers called sole source contracts.
Sole Source Contracts provide benefit to both the SBA Certified firm and the federal buyers. Using a Sole-source contract reduces the amount of time from months to a few weeks.
The contracting officer must believe the procurement is being made at or near market rates.
The procurement must be less than $4,000,000.
SBA Certified firms are awarded between $10-15 billion dollars in contracts per year through the Sole Source Method
Pro-Tip: Procurement officers will generally build relationships with reliable SBA Certified firms and then use a few different SBA Certified contractors making multiple Sole Source Awards on a routine basis. Getting on this rotation is key to SBA Certified Success.
Set-aside Contracts for SBA Certified Firms
SBA Certified Set-aside Contracts are limited so that only SBA Certified firms are permitted to bid on them. This means that to bid on the contract your firm must have the SBA Certified designation.
Opportunity Dollar Value – The federal government awards more than $15 billion dollars annually to SBA Certified firms via Set-aside Contracts.
We find that many of our clients start off winning Sole Source Contracts and as they grow take advantage of the larger Set-aside contracts because this strategy grows their revenue faster.
Pro-Tip: Monitoring RFIs (Request for Information) in your industry can be key. Once the RFI is issued if enough SBA Certified firms express interest in the procurement, the procurement officer can switch the procurement from an Open-Source Contract to a Set-aside Contract. This benefits the federal contracting officer because Set-aside contracts are less work and faster to award than Open-Source Contracts.
| Certification | Sole Source Contracts | Set-aside Contracts | Joint Ventures & Sub-contracting | Price Preference | Agency First Choice Vendor | Average Revenue per Certification Holder (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8(a) | Yes | Yes | Yes | $5.5 | ||
| WOSB EDWOSB | Yes | Yes | Yes | $2.2 $3.1 |
||
| SDVOSB | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes - VA | $1.5 | |
| HUBZone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Up to 10% on competitive awards | $2.9 |
8(a) Certification Qualifications
Below is a link to our 8(a) Certification Qualification Tool. It allows you to self assess your eligibility for the 8(a) program. For questions or issues please feel free to give us a call and we can work through any questions you have with you.
The firm must be a small business in its Primary NAICS Code. Please view the list of NAICS and their length requirements for verification. Click here for the table of small business size standards. https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards
GSA Schedules – Why are they important?
GSA Schedules provide a contracting vehicle, or a legal way to sell to all agencies of the federal government. It serves as an open purchase order for your firm's goods or services providing a wide array of benefits to your business. The GSA is familiar with working with small businesses as the vast majority of firms on the GSA Schedule are small.
2023 GSA Schedule STATISTICS
| Federal GSA Sales FY 2023 | No. of Firms | Average Sales per Firm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSA Schedule Contract (Small Business) | $16,500,000,000 | 12,500 | $1,300,000 |
| GSA Schedule Advantages | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Market Research | GSA Advantage and GSA elibrary are the two places federal buyers go to find competent vendors to fulfill their orders | |
| Price Justification | Federal buyers must justify the price they paid for all purchases and GSA Schedules give them the means to do this | |
| GSA Member Only Contracts | GSA ebuy is an electronic bulletin board that gives federal buyers the ability to ask for proposals on projects. This is only available for GSA Contact Holders. | |
| Enhances Your Credibility | Having a GSA Schedule Contract signifies a certain level of reliability and quality. | |
| Teaming and Subcontracting | Small businesses can team up with other companies to service with them as partners or as subcontractors. | |
| Large Market | GSA Schedule System is approximately 15% of all federal discretionary spending and you only gain access to this market with a GSA Schedule. | |
| Small Business Sales | The average Small business with a GSA Schedule does $1.3 million in sales from their GSA Schedule |
Large Sales Synergy When You Combine An 8(a) Certification + A GSA Schedule Contract
| 8(a) Certification | Total 8(a) + GSA Federal Sales | Number of 8(a) Firms | Average 8(a) Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8(a) Certification + GSA Schedule Contract (Totals/Averages) | 17,694,435,193 | 1,492 | 11,863,199 |
8(a) firms that take the next step and obtain a GSA Schedule have 2.5x the sales as their non-GSA counterparts.
Pro-Tip: The lead time for obtaining a GSA Schedule is generally slightly longer than the timeframe for being accepted into the 8(a) Program so keep this in mind when you are working through your firm’s 8(a) Marketing Strategy.
We get hundreds of clients a GSA/MAS Contract each year.
8(a) Certification + GSA Sales Industry Data
Sales vary between industries for 8(a) Certified firms
Click on your industry below to see specific industry related 8(a) sales data.
- Accounting
- Architectural
- Computer Hardware
- Computer Services
- Construction General Contractor (GC)
- Construction Trade
- Custodial / Landscaping / Janitorial Services
- Engineering
- Environmental
- Financial
- Legal
- Management Consulting Services
- Manufacturing
- Medical Offices / Doctors Offices
- Medical Supply
- Real Estate Firms
- Security
- Staffing
- Translation
- Wholesale
- Totals / Average
Totals / Average
| 8(a) Average Sales this Industry | GSA Schedule Sales for a firm with an 8(a) in this Industry | Synergy (Generally adding an 8(a) to a GSA Creates More Sales than from the GSA Schedule Alone) | Synergy Ratio | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8(a) Industry Grouping | Total 8(a) Federal Sales | Number of 8(a) Firms | Average 8(a) Sales | GSA Schedule Only Sales 8(a) Firms | Number of 8(a) Firms w/ GSA Schedule | Average 8(a) Sales Directly from the GSA Schedule System | Total Federal Sales 8(a) GSA Contract Holders | Number of 8(a) Firms w/ GSA Schedule | Average Total 8(a) Federal Sales for firms with a GSA Schedule | GSA Schedule Sales Advantage | |||
How We Support You
Once we walk through your eligibility for either SBA Certifications or a GSA Schedule and you agree to move forwards with our firm, you are assigned an analyst who will complete the application.
Step 2
6-18 Months
Reducing to 3 target agencies and then to just 1 agency – Why is this important?
Obtaining your first contract will take some effort. If you spread this effort over all of the 438 federal agencies and subagencies it will be more difficult to win your first award. Therefore, focusing in on just one agency is your ticket to success.
We help you determine which agency is likely the best fit for your firm and can develop targeted lists of the people that are the key decision makers for your product or services.
Building a Contracting Officer Hot List
How to Build a Hot List – Awarded contracts for the past two-years can be found in the sam.gov database. Finding awarded contracts in your service area and industry and contacting the procurement officer that awarded your target contract is a great way to find future “hidden” procurements that match your firm’s capabilities.
Once you land a contract with one of your target agencies we recommend focusing on that agency. The federal government is very large and spreading yourself too thin generally reduces your sales effectiveness.
Once you master working with that initial agency you can leverage that past performance to move to other agencies. Typically, our most successful clients contract with three agencies or less.
Pro-tip for 8(a) Firms: In the dsbs.sba.gov you can look up who are the existing 8(a) firms in your industry and in your geographic location, as well as their 9-year 8(a) program graduation date. Because many 8(a) firm’s contracts are awarded on a recurring basis contacting the federal buyers who will need a new 8(a) firm to replace their graduating 8(a) vendor can be a good strategy.
Subcontracting and Joint Ventures – Why is this important?
Obtaining initial entry into a federal agency and making contacts with key decision makers are the smaller victories that make larger ones possible in the future. Therefore, subcontracting for large primes or creating Joint Ventures for easier entry into an agency is another good strategy.
8(a) Firms typically utilize Joint Venture agreements more than other SBA Certified firms, however all SBA Certifications can utilize Joint Ventures. Here is some information that is specific to 8(a) Joint Ventures.
Using Joint Venture to Expand your Capabilities
8(a) firms use The Joint Venture and the Mentor Protégé program in a variety of different ways. New 8(a) firms often partner with recently graduated firms to share in the graduated firms existing contracts. In other cases, 8(a) firms team up with larger firms to meet the capabilities needed for large procurements.
| 8(a) Industry Group | Total 8(a) JV Federal Sales | Number of 8(a) JV Firms | Average 8(a) JV Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8(a) JV (Totals/Averages) | 3,710,406,710 | 983 | 3,774,574 |
Building a Contracting Officer Hot List
One of the requirement for an 8(a) Joint Venture is that the 8(a) firm will receive at least 40% of the revenue and profit from the arrangement.
Firms where management has strong ties before going into the JV agreement generally work best because trust and rapport is needed for a successful JV.
Pro-Tip: JV Arrangement work very well for obtaining positions on certain GWAC Contracts.
Bid Monitoring – Why is this important?
Monitoring bids can be a good way to break into a federal agency. In some cases, a firm will elect to bid a small contract at a low price to enter an agency. But overall keeping abreast of bids is a keyway to not miss out on opportunities. Obtaining entry into an agency is how we create past performance which leads to additional opportunities down the road.
Superior Past Performance – Why is this important?
If you are looking to do work with the federal government, you must perform at the highest levels. If you are not performing at the “Exceptional” or at least “Very Good” level, it will be difficult for you to obtain future projects and result in your marketing efforts wasted.
The federal government does reward good vendors. The difference between Exceptional and Very Good Performance Levels has been told to us by government officials as being approximately a 5-7% difference in rates between the two, whereby the Exceptional rated firm would still be awarded the contract.
Once you enter, an agency performing at a high level ensures a future flow of high-quality projects stay in your work que.
| Rating | Contract Requirements | Problems | Corrective Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exceptional | Exceeds Many | Few Minor | Highly Effective |
| Very Good | Exceed Some | Some Minor | Effective |
| Satisfactory | Meets All | Some Minor | Satisfactory |
| Marginal | Does Not Meet Some | Serious: Recovery Still Possible | Marginally Effective: Not Fully Implemented |
| Unsatisfactory | Does Not Meet Most | Serious: Recovery Not Likely | Ineffective |
How We Support You
We help you identify which agencies are the best to target for your firms’ unique capabilities, geographical location, and future growth potential. Then we help you narrow this list down to a single agency. We help find the key decision makers within that agency that you will need to communicate with to get your foot in the door.
We can also help with the SBA’s Joint Venture approval process and monitoring various government sites to make sure you never miss an opportunity.
Step 3
18+ Months
GWAC & IDIQ Contracts – Why is this important?
Now that you have built your foundation over the past 18 months it is time to leverage this work so that you can enter additional agencies. The best way to do this is to focus on GWAC and IDIQ Contracts. Many of these contracts carry with them average annual sales in the millions of dollars. This makes entry into your next agency much easier than your last and helps you break into these agencies growing your entire portfolio.
This process has led to hundreds of our clients having millions in federal sales per year
GWACS, IDIQ, and BPAs are & “STAR Procurements”
A special GWAC that is only for 8(a) IT firms is called 8(a) STARS. A position on this contract alone can be worth several million dollars per year in IT contracts. These contracts provide your firm with access to a large “bucket” of money that have a finite number of potential vendors.
Pro-Tip: Many of these multi-agency contracts have reserved places for SBA Certified firms. Therefore, obtaining a position on these contracts reduces your competition to the few SBA Certified firms that were awarded a position on that contract.
We are experts at helping clients obtain positions on these contracting vehicles and complete hundreds of varying GWAC, IDIQ, and BPA contracts annually for our clients.
EXAMPLES OF GWAC CONTRACTS
| Small Business GWAC Examples | Average Small Business Sales |
|---|---|
| 8(a) Stars | $3 million |
| Alliant SB | $26 million |
| CIO-SP3/4 | $5.8 million |
| FSSI Building Maintenance | $1.5 million |
| HCaTS | $15-35 million |
| NASA SEWP | $20-50 million |
| Oasis SB | $1.2 million |
| Polaris | $3.5 million |
| VETS2 | $10 million |
How We Support You
As our client we keep you aware and provide recommendations for your firm about important GWAC and IDIQ contracts that are becoming available that year.
“If you are interested in obtaining a position on a particular contracting vehicle, all you need to do is signup! The process is easy being our client as we are already well versed with your company.”
Strong Track Record of Client Approval
| Our 8a Clients | 8a Overall | |
|---|---|---|
| 8a Approval Rates | 99%+ | 25% (According to the SBA) |
| Success Once in the 8a Program | Our Clients Have Billions Per Year in Federal Sales | 20-25% of 8(a) Firms Never Obtain a Single Contract |
Strong Track Record of Client Success
Our Clients have over $1 billion dollars in federal sales per year.
Our Role in Helping Clients Succeed!
We can make the process of transitioning into federal contracting faster, easier, with a greater ROI than completing these processes on your own.
- 8(a) Certifications
- WBENC and State WBE Applications
- All other SBA Certifications and State Applications
- GSA Schedule Applications
- Federal Bid Monitoring
- Subcontractor Registrations
- Building your Hot List of Federal Contractors
- GWACS (Major) - such as OASIS, ALLIANT, SEAPORT, SEWP, FedMall, Polaris
- All other BPA and IDIQ contracts
- Joint Venture SBA Applications
- Strategic Guidance for what has worked for making federal sales in your Industry
Call for a Free Consultation and Start Your Strategy!
8(a) Certified Firm’s Average Sales Data
| WOSB Industry Group | Total WOSB Federal Sales | Number of WOSB Firms | Average WOSB Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDWOSB Totals / Averages | 10,235,720,046 | 4,266 | 2,399,372 |
8(a) firms have a nine-year program eligibility and after that point in time they are graduated and are ineligible for future 8(a) work.
Following our best practices is critical to taking full advantage of your time in the 8(a) program.
Call now for a brief strategy discussion or continue reading for more insights!
Testimonials Powered by ez8a
Amod Desai
i10
I recommend anyone who is looking at their services to expect professional services from them.
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Gurpreet Singh
Infotrend Incorporated
You were a pleasure to work with and I hope other people reap the benefits of the competence and the benefits you provide, thank you so much!
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Janet Hurley
HDI
I had a lot of questions, they were happy to review the application as many times as I needed, and I had a lot of questions and they called me back immediately. Without their experience and knowledge I would have never gotten into the 8(a) program.
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