Getting Beyond the Zero – Affordability

Author’s Note: Over the last several months I’ve been sharing insights about federal agency multiple-award contracts. Known as MACs, and referred to as Zero Dollar Awards™ by my team, and many of our students and members, these are opportunities that fall into two categories: Myth and legend. My three-part article series, “Zero Dollar Winning,” set the stage for my new series, “Getting Beyond the Zero,” that focuses on the “how” of making a Zero Dollar Award more than a nice conversation piece. This first piece focuses on the factor of Affordability, and features contributions from my friend Teresa Moon of Parabilis. Enjoy!

Welcome to the first installment of “Getting Beyond the Zero,” a look at the factors involved in getting beyond the initial award of a multiple-award contract such as a:

• GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS),
• single agency Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract,
• GSA multi-agency Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), or
• Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) like Alliant 2, STARS III, SEWP V, and CIO-CS.

These types of awards are highly publicized, highly sought after, and can be highly lucrative if you make good decisions leading up to, and subsequent to becoming a successful offeror. A key consideration when pursuing Zero Dollar Awards™ or any other business opportunity in federal contracting is the availability of resources, tangible or intangible. When you use resources wisely, they play a key role in how or if your organization’s goals and objectives are achieved. What are resources? In business, they include equipment, buildings, cash, tools, technology, culture, reputation, relationships, expertise, processes, and more. Not in that list is a very important resource that applies to all of us in business, and in life. That resource is time, and as they say, it is fleeting. This brings me to the point of this particular discussion. When you consider the tangible and intangible resources available to your company, what activities can you afford or not afford to do, and how does that influence how you establish and achieve your goals?

Affordability of Zero Dollar Awards

In our Zero Dollar Award™ Body of Knowledge, we’ve identified six factors that directly impact success and failure in federal contracting, especially when it comes to Zero Dollar Awards. The first one is Affordability. The most simple definition of this is “the cost or price of something” (thank you Oxford Languages). Having lived on the identify, pursue, win, and manage side of Zero Dollar Awards during my years selling to the government, I have witnessed firsthand how human, financial, information, time, material, and environmental resources can amplify or nullify winning a Zero Dollar Award, and any of the work that follows. Because there are many elements that influence this factor, I decided to call on some of my smart friends to share their insights. My friend, Teresa Moon, stepped up as soon as I offered the opportunity. She is an avid and very passionate connector of people, and is the definition of a mover and a shaker. She’s also a good friend, a super Mom, and the president of the Go-To-Guy Timberlake fan club. Seriously. Ask her!

Teresa penned “Affordability of Zero Dollar Contracts” and I want you to make sure you read it, because it is solid. There were some things Teresa shared that I want to bring to your attention here. First, this one:

“Every process in your business costs money, and only some of it produces revenue in return, so you should be very choosy with where you spend your time because it will cost you.”

Here’s the scenario. You just won a seat on OASIS+ and you have received the notice to proceed. What now? Are you going to sit around waiting to see what comes over the fence, or are you going to “get some” as many of my friends in the military will quip? Do you have the resources to “get some” and what exactly does that look like? Yes, the end result may be a plethora of orders against your brand new Governmentwide Multiple Award IDIQ, but how much will you spend in time, money, and other resources before you realize that end result?

Here’s another:

“Business development is not a free process.”

And, it’s not just about Business Development. The lifecycle process also involves strategy, marketing, capture management, proposal management, and market research to ensure good decisions are being made along the way. How are you setting yourself up for success in these areas, and once again, can you afford it? All of it, including the wins you will realize?

Zero Dollar Awards are significant in federal contracting, so if this is how your customer or customers buy, then ensure you are prepared for that opportunity. But also keep in mind the largest portion of the total fiscal spend by federal agencies, does not get obligated against multiple-award contracts, and my team and I are here all day to help you understand when that portion of spend matters to you. Either way, make sure you are ready to go out and get some. And make sure you read Teresa's blog, too!

Peace, Health, and Thriving,

Go-To-Guy Timberlake

About Zero Dollar Award Successability™

Zero Dollar Award Successability™ is The American Small Business Coalition’s collection of educational programs created to equip learners with the essential knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to effectively identify, secure, and manage federal agency multiple-award contracts, known as Zero Dollar Awards™. This program focuses on agency-specific and multi-agency indefinite delivery vehicles (IDVs) with no dollar value or work attached to the initial award. The Zero Dollar Award Body of Knowledge is a component of the Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors® curriculum that includes comprehensive instruction on tactics, terminology, tools, resources, and contextual understanding to greatly enhance the chances of winning an initial Zero Dollar Award, and successfully getting beyond the zero during the life of the contract.