How to Get Government Contracts

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. How Lucrative Is Government Contracting—and How Tangled Is the Red Tape?

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 1-25

3. Get Started in Government Contracting

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 27-53

4. Break into the Federal Arena Without Breaking Your Neck

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 55-77

5. Win Procurements Before They Go Public

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 79-90

6. Create Strong Relationships with Government Customers

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 91-107

7. Intelligence Gathering

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 109-125

8. Develop a Win Strategy

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 127-139

9. Identify and Analyze Your Competition

   • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

   Pages 141-161

10. Create a Team That Compels the Customer to Select You

    • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

    Pages 163-181

11. Prepare a Solution Before the Request for Proposal

    • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

    Pages 183-196

12. The Race Is On: Get Ready to Write a Winning Proposal

    • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

    Pages 197-219

13. Wrangle the Nitty-Gritty of Proposal Details

    • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

    Pages 221-240

14. You Have Won a Few Proposals—Now What?

    • Olessia Smotrova-Taylor

    Pages 241-253

15. Back Matter

    Pages 255-273

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How to Get Government Contracts demystifies the process of how a company can enter the government market, win its first and subsequent contracts, and then grow itself into a multi-million-dollar government contractor within a couple of years. It offers an insider’s view into the latest best practices that government contractors use to succeed in an increasingly competitive market, and it shows exactly how your company can apply these techniques to build a strong business. 

Many companies venture into the government market with a certain naiveté and pay a hefty price to find out that there is much more to winning a contract than writing last-minute proposals in response to publicly posted solicitations. To stop the bleeding of precious resources, they need to step back to learn how professionals win business in the federal arena. This book shows you how to find, for example, the best potential customers and opportunities for your company. It also explains the secret to winning consistently by conducting pre-proposal preparation (also called "capture") and practicing a disciplined, process-based approach to proposal development.

This book provides a recipe for winning government contracts over and over again, the way seasoned government contractors do it. After reading this book, you will know exactly what to do to position your company to win a government proposal before a solicitation becomes public, including building customer relationships, gathering intelligence, developing a "win strategy," performing competitive analysis, selecting the best teammates, and developing a solution. As a result, you will apply professional techniques to organizing your proposal effort, outlining a proposal document, and writing RFPs that persuade evaluators to award the contract to you.

Olessia Smotrova-Taylor, AF.APMP, president and CEO of OST Global Solutions, Inc., has 18 years of experience in business development, communications, and marketing, including 12 years in contract capture and proposal management. She led winning bids for four out of the five top government contractors, winning more than $19 billion over the course of her career. She consults and teaches others how to get contracts with the government and large commercial organizations, as well as developing processes, tools, and Bid & Proposal Academy courses that enhance business developers abilities to win business. She serves as the President of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) National Capital Area Chapter. She is recognized as an APMP Fellow for her contributions to the field of capture and proposals the highest honor in the business development profession. Prior to supporting a number of Fortune 500 companies and small businesses as a proposal consultant and growing her own company, she worked as a business developer for Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and wrote for the Financial Times of London.

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