Hiring GSA Schedule Consultants: How to Improve Sales Operations
In 1949, the government created a valuable tool that all vendors looking to sell to the federal government should be aware of. The General Services Administration (GSA) is a federal procurement tool that government employees use to obtain: products, communications, and spaces for the office, transportation, and other management tasks and services designed to cut costs. Vendors that are not listed with the GSA are missing out on a chance to substantially boost their sales by making their product or service viewable to thousands of government customers.
Federal consumers deal solely with GSA listings when looking to make purchases because its buying process has been streamlined: all buyers have been pre-approved, all prices have already been negotiated, and a lot of the work involved with making a purchase is eliminated. Organizations that want their product or service to be listed will usually turn to a GSA company. These companies offer years of experience getting businesses listed, and will use that expertise to optimize GSA schedules so that the businesses are able to make sales. However, businesses that choose to not work with a GSA company will usually see poor results. Businesses that are tired of seeing poor results should reach out to GSA schedule consultants for advice on increasing their sales conversions from their listed contracts. Here are some of the ways that GSA schedule consultants will help a company improve its sales operations:
Scheduled Preparation
One cause of low sales is problems in the sales operations process. Time, money, and resources are wasted if the organization takes too long to secure an award. GSA schedule consultants will evaluate the sales operations processes and provide strategy development and proposal preparation assistance so that the process is expedited. In some cases, the GSA schedule consultants might be asked to take over these tasks entirely. They will also provide advice on negotiations to help organizations gain contracts that they otherwise would have lost to a competitor.
Contracted Management
Placing a GSA schedule listing and then forgetting about it is another way to guarantee low sales. The market is constantly changing, so while an organization might start with the lowest rate, competitors might undercut that rate and steal business away from the organization. Sales can be improved by allowing GSA schedule consultants to manage the contracts. They might add new products, remove old ones, adjust the rate, and make administrative revisions. Additionally, they can help when it is time to negotiate a contract extension. Without help from consultants, the organization might become overwhelmed by the different procedures that are necessary to secure a renewal.
GSA Compliance
A listing will be removed if the GSA contract is not in compliance. GSA schedule consultants will provide training to organizational members so that they are able to maintain an up-to-date and complaint contract post-award.
These are just some of the ways that GSA schedule consultants help businesses boost the number of contracts that are acquired. When working with a GSA company to set up a contract listing, ask if they also provide consulting services to ensure that sales operations are effective.