Amtower on B2G (formerly Amtower Off Center)

Small Biz, Web 2.0 & B2G

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Citibank commissioned a study, reported by Reuters, that concludes that most small businesses are not yet using social media. "Few U.S. small businesses have adopted social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter for business uses, according to research released Thursday" according to the beginning of the Reuters article.

The article continues: "Three-quarters of small businesses say they have not found sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn helpful for generating business leads or expanding business in the past year, according to a survey conducted for Citibank Small Business of 500 U.S. businesses with fewer than 100 employees....Also, 86 percent said they have not used social networking sites for information or business advice. Ten percent said they have sought business advice and information on expert blogs."

This is not an indictment of social media. This is a lack of understanding of the value of social media for businesses of any size. part of the blame lies with the social media, and a part of the blame lies with the businesses themselves. Education has to be a component, largely self education. Businesses need to try the various social media to see what it can do for them, and the platforms themselves have to create outreach and education programs to attract more businesses.

In order to attract more businesses to each social media platform, the value proposition has to be explained in terms that make sense to the businesses. For a platform like LinkedIn this should be easier than a platform like Facebook or Twitter.

Was I surprised at the findings of the Citibank study? No. Even in the B2G market the vast majority of contractors have a long way to go to maximize the value that social media platforms can bring to the table.

On December 7, there will be a seminar on how both government and the contracting community are using social media. Find out more at
http://www.governmentmarketmaster.com/events.html

Speaking in Beautiful Virginia Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:57:00 +0000

On October 8, I flew down to Virginia Beach to speak to the Hampton Roads chapter of the American Marketing Association about using LinkedIn. It was a great group of about 75. One very proactive member, Andy Hilton (National Sales Manager - WAVY and WVBT at LIN Television) reached out to connect with me as soon as the topic and speaker were announced. Now if I ever need to know anything about buying TV time, I am connected to an expert.

The luncheon event was held at the new (and green!) Virginia Beach Convention Center. If you are looking for a great mid-Atlantic venue, you gotta check this place out! My contact there, Pamela Lingle (also connected to me on LinkedIn) would be happy to have someone show you around. And the food is great!

My friend, author and photographer Vincent Schilling, shot the event including the pictures here.

If you get the opportunity to speak at HRAMA, or just visit the Convention Center - take it. It is a nice place to visit and a wonderful crowd. And when you go, tell Andy, Pamela and Vincent that Amtower says "Hey!"

"Does your company have a social media strategy? Leveraging LinkedIn

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:29:00 +0000

In the Monday, Oct 19 Washington Post (pages C1 and C8), an article entitled "Worldwide ebb" reports on multiple discussions about the pending demise of the mega social networking site Facebook.

The issue is nothing new when it comes to the web: nothing is wrong with Facebook except that it too big and too successful, if not at making money, at least in attracting users. The issue is that it is trying to be all things to all people, and as a business plan that doesn't work.

Facebook was built for college students. Everything after that was kind of a retrofit, especially the ability to be a platform for B2B professionals.

Facebook is not a B2B platform.

Enter LinkedIn. Here is a social network that was designed for business professionals. (Thanks, Reid!)

I remember getting several invitations to join LinkedIn, probably like you. My invitations came in January of 2004 and I joined on February 11, 2004.

Then I did what most people did: waited for something to happen. I should be embarrassed to say I waited 3 years for something to happen. And nothing did. Well, not "nothing" but after three years I only had about 150 connections and was a member of maybe 2 groups.

In early 2007 several things came to my attention and I took a much closer look at LinkedIn and what it could do for me - if I used it. Then I got busy.

Today (as of 6:03 PM EDT 10/19/09) I have
- 1,910 connections (which links me to 12,145,200 professionals)
- belong to 50 groups and 10 sub-groups
- "own" 5 groups and several sub-groups
- manage 3 groups/sub-groups for others
- have over 200 peer and client "recommendations"
- and have 17 "Best Answers" in 11 different categories.

I have some visibility, and the visibility has a focus. And I get lots of comments about "being all over LinkedIn," in fact I get more comments about LinkedIn than I do about my weekly radio show.

Most of my efforts are focused on being highly visible in the government market, where my visibility is already good.

So, what does this have to do with a social media strategy?

This is what it has to do with it: every individual, every small, medium or large business on LinkedIn or using any social networking tool, needs to understand how the network (tool) can be used, how it is currently used, what it can do (good and bad) to your business, and how you can plan and manage a basic approach to using LinkedIn to your advantage.

My first webinar at http://www.governmentmarketmaster.com/ went over this briefly, along with other elements of getting started (building your profile, getting connected, selecting groups, engaging in Q&A and more). our second webinar is coing up on 10/26 (all webinars are archived for replay).

But a detailed, well-thought out strategy for leveraging LinkedIn is not something you can learn through a webinar. You need to match your business goals and needs with the capabilities of the social networking tools, see where that fits and works with your overall marketing and sales plans and make sure each element become mutually supportive.

Here's a short list of things LinkedIn can help you with:

- identifying government buyers and influencers (federal, state and local) - yes, many are on LinkedIn;
- identifying business partners (trying to get the attention of a company that owns a specific contract - see if any are in your network);
- looking for competitor information - look here first;
- looking for a good small business partner?
- looking for a subject matter expert?
- looking for good employees or references on someone who is applying?
- oh, and get clients (make money!)

And the list goes on.

Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn was built with one focus - to facilitate business. And it works.

I have seen a number of people offering advice, consulting and seminars on using social networks for business and when I look them up on LinkedIn, only a few look like they actually know what they are doing.

I know what I am doing on LinkedIn - take a look -http://www.linkedin.com/in/markamtower

And if you need some help, give me a call - 301 924 0058, or drop me a line - mark@FederalDirect.net

In the meantime, go to LinkedIn and have some fun learning.

Amtower Off Center - The BOB Show!

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:18:00 +0000

This Monday on my radio show (recorded in the atrium of the Tower Club) I interview Bob Laclede (Ingram Micro) and Bob Woods (Topside Consulting) on a wide range of issues facing government from FY 2009 that will carry over to FY 2010 and beyond. Show highlights include computer and network security issues, the evolving cloud computing platform and how it will fit into government needs amid tightening budgets, funding levels for all IT-related programs, healthcare IT issues and stimulus grant funding issues (the flow-down to state and local governments via grants).

The show airs noon Monday (EDT) on Federal News Radio 1500 AM and is simulcast and archived for replay at http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=58&sid=1786531

WSJ - Why Email No Longer Rules

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:21:00 +0000

WSJ reporter Jessica Vascellaro wrote on Oct 12: Email has had a good run as king of communications. But its reign is over.In its place, a new generation of services is starting to take hold—services like Twitter and Facebook and countless others vying for a piece of the new world. And just as email did more than a decade ago, this shift promises to profoundly rewrite the way we communicate—in ways we can only begin to imagine.

This is not news to many, but apparently it still is with a variety of companies, even those in the government market. It should not be news here as the way President Obama was elected was heavily influenced by social media, and many new administration policies are designed to increase the use of social media by and for federal agencies.

While the article focuses on the growth of Twitter and the response by traditional email suppliers (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, etc), it does reeference other social media. Many government agencies (NASA and others) use Twitter to keep people abreast of what the agency is doing. While this is not used to transact business, it does illustrate the ability of an agency to create interest and even excitement regarding governmetnal actions - like the NASA satellite that was intentionally crashed into the moon.

There are a myriad of social media platforms attracting niche markets - including government contractors, aka B2G. For example, on LinkedIn when you search "groups" using "government" as the search term, there are 2,856 results as of 12:29 PM today (10/14/09). Now these groups cover all facets of government: federal, state and local, lobbying, compliance issues, grass roots movements as well as contractors. When I ran this same search earlier this year there were just over 2,000 groups.

There is a considerable presence of contractors and government officials (federal, state and local) on LinkedIn. I am directly connected to 1,900 professionals via LinkedIn and I have a 2nd degree network of about 555,000. Within 3 degrees I have over 12,103,600 registered people in my network. LinkedIn has over 45,000,000 business users at this time and it is growing.

I use LinkedIn to build a broader, deeper network, then stay in touch with that network. If you need to learn more about how i use LinkedIn and how it may benefit you, go to
http://www.governmentmarketmaster.com/webinars.html

We also have specialized groups like TFCN and GovLoop. And even on Facebook I am connected to some very senior federal and industry people.

I don't see a significant Federal community (feds or contractors) using Twitter....yet. But it is coming, and we have to be prepared.

The way we communicate is changing rapidly and it is critical to stay current with those changes to maintain ANY competitive advantage.

END OF FY - Beginning of FY and the Myth of the Level Playing Field

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:18:00 +0000

I am not certain I have seen a stranger year ever, across the board.

With the advent of ARRA (TARP, stimulus), there was a media and event rampage on getting into the government market, bringing your wheelbarrow down to the Capitol and going home with a couple million for your pet local project. Ain't gonna happen.

I'd just as soon buy some magic beans and wait for the beanstalk. The odds are better.

But, as usual, the government contracting world marches on in the only (nearly) recession-proof market in the world - Global One - selling to our favorite Uncle.

For the truly initiated, this market is recession-proof. The government needs contractors, it needs the products and services we bring to the table. And I hope you (the truly initiated) had a great FY and are ramping up for another.

But this year, especially because of the economy and the stimulus program, many companies came into the B2G market because of the rumors and out-right lies perpetrated by a few about how "easy" it is going to be to get some of that stimulus money, or to nab a contract. One pitch claimed "You are a phone call away from a $200,000" government contract. One company offering seminars on how to make that call apparently seeded the audience with employees and others who claimed to have done it.

I am not here to rehash that topic or to beat up of the seminar company. I am here to remind the gullible that NO market is easy to break into, especially the government market.

In the government market there are terms and conditions that you would never agree to elsewhere.

In the government market the GSA or DCAA can show up on your doorstep without advance warning and audit your books.

In the government market the contracting agency can terminate your contract "for convenience".

In the government market there are already people and companies doing whatever you do.

In the government market there are companies that do nothing but government, and do it well. While they may not have the best product or service, they have a track record of performance and a bid team with experience.

In the government market - there is no level playing field.

Not that I have an opinion.

Unrealistic Offers from Questionable Sources

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:29:00 +0000

When you hear claims like "one phone call to the right office can land you a $200,000 government deal," or that a seminar can provide the "formula" for winning TARP (ARRA) stimulus $ in 60 days, you should be hearing the robot from "Lost in Space" -

"Danger Will Robinson! Danger!"

In my 2nd book, Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, I call the sucker pitch the "shiny rock syndrome" and use a quote from the broadway musical, Guys and Dolls:

“On the day I left home to make my way in the world, my daddy took me to one side. ‘Son,’ my daddy says to me, ‘I am sorry I am not able to bankroll you to a large start, but not having the necessary lettuce to get you rolling, instead, I'm going to stake you to some very valuable advice. One of these days, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, you do not accept this bet because, as sure as you stand there, you're going to wind up with an ear full of cider.’”

The government market is not now, nor has it ever been "easy" to break into. It requires education from legitimate sources - sources with a strong background in the B2G market (PTACs and SBDCs are always good places to start). It requires dedication and significant resource investments by the company wishing to become a government contactor. It requires a deep understanding of the client agency, the budget process, the contracting process, and more.

There are a variety of good sources for this information and more than a few bad sources. Do your homework before you invest your hard-earned money.

Persistent Government Marketing Myths

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:04:00 +0000

My google alerts program brings me news of the good, the bad and the ugly daily. One of my alerts is set for "marketing to the government", and today it took me to a 20 slide presentation by an obvious novice at a site called http://www.docstoc.com.

Now most of us have heard a number of myths about the federal market over the years. I occasionally do a lunch speech call "Ten Myths from the Federal Market" (written a decade ago) which you can listen to here: http://federaldirect.net/speaker.html (scroll to the bottom of the page).

BUT these myths persist, and some of them show up in this presentation, which is supposed to help companies get into the government market.

Here are a few of the more egregious examples:

Slide 3: contact your US Rep, whose staff might be able to help you identify opportunities or agencies. These people will tell you to go the the SBA web site or the agency web sites. That is not help.

Slide 3: develop relationships with people at big contractors and the agencies. This is good advice, but it is immediately followed by "your contacts will point you to new opportunities, put you on the short list for RFPs. While the referral part might happen, there is no short list for RFPs, and making "friends" with major contractors is not easy.

Slide 4: check out new listings on GSA Schedule. While this might be good advice, it is not a simple matter of going to www.GSA.gov . Finding new listings is a rather esoteric skill, and one that will not necessarily lead to useful market information.

Slide 5: "Tip – end of FY is a great time to get contracts" because of use it or lose it! NO NO NO - unless you have laid the groundwork carefully over the course of the year 9or longer), you cannot show up and find unused federal funds on the floor waiting for you to pick them up.

Further along the presentation says to send snail mail post cards and email postcards to procurement offices to inform the buyers, oblivious to the spam filters set tight at federal agencies and the mail threshold issues in most mailrooms.

The presentation also uses sample ads that have absolutely no relevance to the government market - an ad for martial arts uniforms and an ad for shoes (with Santa Claus and a child).

And my favorite - right out of "Ten Myths" - send press releases to print and broadcast "for inclusion in their pages or broadcasts at no charge." This is so naive that I will let it speak for itself.

There was some fair information, especially about the importance of relationships in the government market. But overall this is a bad presentation with many misleading tidbits.

I bring this to light not to make fun of the author but to remind people that there are legitimate sources of B2G information and not-so legitimate information sources.

The B2G Institute was declared a fraudulent operation by the Texas Attorney General as reported in Courthouse News ( www.courthouse news.com ) on Sept 22. I have written about them before and have heard from multiple sources that this organization.

From Courthouse News:
The company gives the false impression that winning government contracts is easy: "Just a phone call could win you a contract for up to $200,000," one ad claims. The company uses the workshop as a forum to sell its $4,995 program, using "employees" to represent themselves as students, and give testimonials about how easily they made money, Abbott says. During its workshops B2G also use the tactic of "taking a few attendees aside to convince others," Abbott says. "This is accomplished by an 'employee' of the defendants asking for volunteers, taking those few volunteers out into the hallway, and showing them the process in a simplified manner on the computer. The consumers then return to the group relating to others that the process is fast and easy."

The B2G Institute is not alone in providing questionable or outright bad information. Do your homework - check the credentials of the information provider. If you can't find anything on your first couple of Google inquiries, you should suspect all is not quite right.

Government Market Master

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:18:00 +0000

The government market is changing – again!

To stay valuable to your company you need to know more, be able to do more, and stay at or near the edge.

How are you staying current?

Government Market Master is designed to contribute to the ongoing education of all professionals in the government market, experienced and novices alike, line managers and CEOs. In a market as vast and complicated as doing business with the government, the ability to stay ahead of the curve is predicated on accessing the best and the brightest which is what we have done in the selection of the experts who share their knowledge at Government Market Master.

By providing cost-effective online, on-demand education, with new material every month, Government Market Master is the premier site for your B2G continuing education. It is designed to deliver useful information from professionals who are from the front lines (like you) of the government market in multiple disciplines – sales, marketing, bid & proposal, business development, management, operations, and more.

It is also designed to deliver information when you want it and in ways that make it easy and inexpensive for you to invest in yourself and in your company.

Regardless of the size of your enterprise – small, medium or large business – Government Market Master will provide information to help you and your staff get to the next level.

If you want to migrate from the second or third tier to the top tier in the government contracting community, then Government Market Masters is for you.

If you are new to the market and your company is interested in selling to the federal government, landing more government contracts and GSA schedules, developing critical procurement contacts, connecting with decision makers within the government and the contracting community, and learning the essential government best practices that can make you a viable player — even against much larger, more experienced companies, then Government Market Masters is for you.

Me On (and in) LinkedIn - Why I Love LinkedIn

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Like almost everyone else who has joined LinkedIn, I sat there for over a year and did not do much.

I would look at the screen and nothing would happen. I would lean my head against the screen and whisper "connect with me" and nothing would happen. Short of lighting incense and chanting, I was at a loss as to how to proceed.

Then a couple things happened. I read Jason Alba's book, I'm on LinkedIn, Now What? Then I read David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR. I added the lessons from each and went (in April, 2007) from 150 contacts then to over 1,700 today, from 1 group to 50 (yes, 50) groups, from no Q&A to "Best Answers" in 10 categories and being a regular Q&A user, from 5 recommendations to over 200, from a flat, short profile to one that, when printed, runs over 40 pages!

In short, from not having a clue to starting to maximize the value of this really incredible tool.

In my August 2008 seminar (Government Marketing Best Practices, version 7.0) I stated that any business magazine or association that does not have a social media back end is doomed, because they are natural online and offline communities.

Today, hundreds of of business publications and associations have groups on LinkedIn.

Why LinkedIn?

It is the ONLY major social media platform designed for business professionals. It is a natural home for business groups and publications.

It is also a grossly under-utilized tool for many of those registered, but like me 2 years ago, these are people waiting for something to occur. Don't wait - act!

I share my lessons learned in a 3 Cd set. It says it is for "B2G" (business-to-government), my market. But the lessons apply to anyone.

Plug the CDs into your computer, get on to your LinkedIn account, and listen to the CDs while you navigate LinkedIn. Start maximizing the value of this totally cool tool for you and your business.

Good luck!

http://federaldirect.net/order2008gmbp.html

MeritDirect Coop - July 9, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:35:00 +0000

For the 4th time I was fortunate to get the lunch speech for the Merit Direct B2B Coop. Merit is a direct mailing list management and brokerage firm in Westchester NY. I have been a friend and client since they started ten years ago, and I have several excellent friends who work there and more friends who are clients.

The conference is like a reunion. While there are always new people there, many of us go to see friends we may not otherwise see very often and to renew acquaintances. There is nothing like networking with friends.

My speech was a brief history of direct marketing since the 1980s and it was very well received.

However, regardless of the quality and impact of any speech, the limelight from it fades ever so rapidly.

GSA Schedule 70 Sales - 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:54:00 +0000

My friend Richard Mackey (www.CapitalReps.com) negotiates and manages GSA Schedules for a variety of companies. Several years ago he ran a report on Schedule 70 that had some remarkable statistics (I used this data in my first book Government Marketing Best Practices), so I asked him to run the numbers for me for 2008 (Schedule 70) to see if anything had changed. Things have not changed.

The results:

Total FY 08 Schedule 70 Sales were $15,901,412,897 (down from past years)

Total # of comapnies on Schedule 70 in FY 2008: 5,615

Dell's market share has dropped to 6.43% - years ago, they had almost 10%. 6.43 isn't bad though!

Top 50 Market Share 53.63% - about the same as the past

# of Firms Selling less than required $25k 45.97% - up a lot

# of Firms Selling less zero 38.62% about the same as the past

We have run these stats for several Schedules over several years and the general results are:

-the top 2% of the companies on any Schedule take over 60% of the $

- the middle group takes about 35%

- the bottom third usually take little or nothing.

Now keep in mind that the GSA Schedules only account for about 15% of the toal federal spending.

But what does this tell us?

1) Most companies in the government market are in a passive mode, sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring because they have a contract.
2) Most companoes with GSA Schedules do not know how to leverage these into sales.
3) That the very proactive companoes out there understand how it is done.

If your company is not in that top tier, y0u need to start your education process NOW!

Take a look at www.GovernmentMarketMaster.com to start that education process.

The Blog Name Change

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:01:00 +0000

Amtower Off Center is my radio show, and it has a brand of its own. You can listen to my shows in the archive at www.FederalNewsRadio.com and you can listen live in DC on 1500 AM or on the web at the web site at noon every Monday.

The blog is still me, attitude intact, but it is different from the radio show. Amtower on B2G is what I do - business to government marketing, business to government sales, business to government BUSINESS.

My first book, Government Marketing Best Practices, was about selling to the government. My seminars are about selling to the government, my web sites, www.GovernmentMarketMaster.com
www.GovernmentExpress.com
www.FederalDirect.com
are about selling to the government.

And now, a little more clearly, Amtower on B2G is about selling to the government.

Stay tuned!

GovTips

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:09:00 +0000

GovTip of the week:
There are thousands of government contractors on LinkedIn. Many of these are open to connecting with other contractors directly and through the groups on LinkedIn. Listen to the free audio on using LinkedIn for B2G at http://www.governmentmarketmaster.com/sampleaudio.html

There are a ton of events, emails, blogs, podcasts and other "information" sources that only seem to regurgitate readily available info. Many of these venues still get it wrong, mangling the facts, adding opinion as fact, or worse, perpetuating market myths.

Since 1991, I have produced over 120 events (seminars, conferences, summits, in-house sessions and more) to provide real, actionable information on doing business with the government. When I don't know something, I find those who do, experts like Steve Charles (a sales and contracting expert and EVP at ImmixGroup), Courtney Fairchild (GSA expert and president of Global Services, Inc), Max Peterson (Federal sales expert and VP, Civilian, Dell), Bob Davis (business development expert formerly of CACI and Accenture), and many others.

Many of these people have presented at Amtower & Company events, some have been featured on my radio show (noon Monday, Amtower Off Center, 1500 AM in DC, archived and simulcast at http://www.federalnewsradio.com/ ).

And now we are accumulating the vast majority of this information at http://www.governmentmarketmaster.com/ . This is a paid member site, but the cost is low and there is new information every month - podcasts and webinars.

Take a look.

While You Were Out.....

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:37:00 +0000

As some of you know, I was with my family in London from June 19th until the 27th. It was a blast.

Checking my email upon our return, imagine my surprise to find out I had won no fewer than 4 lotteries: Netherlands, UK (of course - I just got back), Swiss and Lottomatica (who comes up with these names)! Zounds - I must be rich!

Not only am I now rich, but famous, too, as I have been nominated for the Who's Who in the Heritage Who's Who, the Presidential Who's Who, and the Starthnmore Who's Who.

Wow, if I wasn't impressed with me before.....I am tingly all over.

NextGov Aggragates Gov Twitterers

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:13:00 +0000

Will Colston from GovExec sent me an interesting email.

http://www.nextgov.com/ , part of the Government Executive Media Group (which is part of Atlantic Media Co.), has put together an aggregated feed government agencies Tweets, so you can see dozens of agencies tweets at the same time on one page. I already follow a couple of these agencies separately, so the "feed" is a great way to catch a quick glimpse of many agencies with one click. The link is

www.nextgov.com/thefeed

take a look.

DoD Buyers Guide Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:46:00 +0000

My commentary is in italics - what I received is not:

So I get an email today from
Federal Buyers Guide
To:
Subject: Amtower and Co. listing update - DoD Buyers Guide

offering me
SUPPLIERS LISTING APPLICATION Complete & Return By Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Fields in red are required.

for the appently low price of
The cost of a listing is $595 for 6 months and $995 for one year.

Then there is a long form to fill out, giving them more information about you than you give to your spouse. The information they have on me (name, address, email etc is largely WRONG).

Alright. It's an offer. But it does NOT tell me who the directory is going to, how many will go out, when it will go out, or how it is to be delivered.

Hmmm.

They also offer a GSA Buyers Guide, Federal Government, Homeland Security, State & County and more.

This is not the first time I have seen this and I am sure it will not be the last. I have not and would not recommend this as a method of advertising to the government - Federal, state of local.

According to web survey tool http://www.alexa.com/, the web site associated with this directory - http://www.dodworld.com/, is ranked 2,837,858 in web traffic.

Hmmm.

My advice is save your money.

Ken Blanchard in DC

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:08:00 +0000

Ken and several of the Ken Blanchard Companies staff were in DC today doing a seminar for Feds on "Staying Focused and Productive During Uncertain Times." It was a great event and well attended.

After having spent a couple hours of the phone with Ken over the past 18 months (including an interview on my show), it was great to finally meet him, and his lovely wife Margie.

Apart from being a prolific writer (over 55 books and counting) and the co-author of one of the best selling business book of all times (The One Minute Manager, which is still in print almost 27 years) Ken is truly a nice man and a class act. He is everything you'd hope he would be, and more.

Beware of B2G Institute, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:33:00 +0000

The Huffington Popst weighs on the alleged mis-deeds of the B2G Institute:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/03/scheming-businessman-hold_n_210851.html

and this major warning from The Center for Public Integrity:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1404/

A few tips for selecting venues requiring your time and your money:

1) pedigree - has the event producer "been there, done that." Many have beendoing this a long time (Federal Business Council,, Digital Government Institute, 1105 Government Media, government Exec, AFCEA, etc) - and some have not. See my posts from Feb 2009 on Why People Are Leery of Events.

2) how many times has this particular event occurred (annual sinc 1990?, 2001? annual since last week?)

3) will the event producer list the sponsors and exhibitors from previous years?

I have seen events where the event producer will list key government people as speakers, yet when I call the govies, they have no idea who the producer or event is.

Hmmm????

Government Market Master on LinkedIn

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:14:00 +0000

I am very active on LinkedIn and much less so at Twitter, Plaxo, GovLoop, FederalContractor, Facebook, etc.

I have 1,503 connections and belong to fifty (5-zero) groups on LinkedIn. I was not satisfied with a few of the B2G groups I was in, so yesterday I started my own - Government Market Master, with the idea that I would make this one more active than those I was not satisfied with.

The group will provide information for all the "skill" areas of doing business with the government: BD, marketing, sales, program management, C-level, operations, GSA and more.

I have three discussion posts (with 10 comments) and 3 news posts in the first 24 hours - and 177 members in the first 24 hours. Tomorrow I will announce the first free teleseminar for the group, which will be held next week.

Come check out the group when you have a few minutes - Government Market Master -
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1979445

Content Guy as Keynoter - part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Yesterday I delivered the keynote at the 10th annual SEWP conference in Austin, Texas. For those of you who do not know the government market, SEWP is a government-wide contract (GWAC in our parlance) for high-end information technology products.

First - I had a great time. I learned that SEWP is not simply a contract and that the conference is not simply an event, but that SEWP is a community comprised of the SEWP staff, agencies buyers, and the contractors. These people know one and respect one another and truly enjoy themselves when they get together.

Second- We have all been to events where have either been or seen the "fringe" people - those who are too new to an event to feel a part of it and who will go to their rooms for meals. This event did everything possible to be inclusive, with the SEWP staff acting as ambassadors, seeking out all the attendees.

Third, looking at the agenda and talking to the attendees, I know that Joanne Woytek, Marcus Fedeli and the rest of the SEWP staff put together a great program, chock full of stuff people could use as soon as they got to the office.

Finally - the content guy as keynoter. As soon as I hit the stage I felt at home. I knew some of the attendees from before, met several others at dinner the night I arrived, and I just felt good. It is not for me to say how I did, so I will ask some of the folks who attended to comment - but I had about 20 people come up to me after the speech to say how much they enjoyed it. As I was only there for about 20 minutes after I was done spoeaking, I think that I must have been OK.

All things considered, I am honored to have been a small part of the event.

Beware of the B2G Institute

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:04:00 +0000

I have had several calls lately asking me if I knew of the B2G Institute.

I do not.

Then I got this google alert aiming me at an article highlighting the same B2G Institute as a company to avoid.

http://www.sandiego6.com/mostpopular/story/B2G-Get-Rich-Scheme-Targets-San-Diego-Business/naLrwamJG0yVGJpNkBaAfg.cspx

Make your own decision - but read the article!

Content guy as a keynoter

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:35:00 +0000

I am a good speaker, but not a great speaker. I am known for content - stuff you can use, either right then and there, or whenever (if ever) you get to it.

But I am a content guy, not a polished platform guy.

Overall, I think it's fair to say that I am not your usual conference speaker. I dress in all black, wear cowboy boots (or black sneakers), and don't wear ties. I am easy to find as I am not small and dress this way all the time.

Yet I am the keynote at the SEWP conference next week. For those of you who don't know what SEWP is, the NASA SEWP (Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement) GWAC (Government-Wide Acquisition Contract) provides the latest in Information Technology (IT) products for all Federal Agencies. It is a truly great government contract and it hosts it's own event every year, and they asked me to keynote.

Who was I to say "no"?

So when I speak in Austin on Tuesday to kick off this event, I will tell them up front that this is not your typical keynote and that note taking is encouraged. I will give them some info they can use, if they so choose, or ignore. You can lead a horse to water....

And I will report back here next week to let you know how I did and what I told 'em.

Some Tech Blogs to watch, and one to ignore

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Patting oneself on the back isn't a bad thing. I have been known to do it myself. But starting a separate "independent" company whose main job seems to be patting you on the back is something else, especially when you make the assumption that people will either not find out or will not care.

The creation of an artificially inflated food chain in an environment like the web is begging for public humiliation. The transparency of the web is real, and the Lincoln adage that "you can fool some of the people all of the time..." may well be passe in an environment where, when they have not heard of you, they can google you in a heartbeat...

TechCrunch references a survey from PR Sourcecode that ranks the tech blogs allegedly used and preferred by PR agencies. The only problem is the #7 ranking...Meritalk, which is owned by the same company that owns PRSourcecode.

Follow the interesting discussion here:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/04/survey-says-pr-people-love-our-no-embargo-policy/

Draw your own conclusions.

Not hat I have an opinion.

Some current and upcoming B2G Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Federal Direct) — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:14:00 +0000

A couple items of interest to the B2G community.

My friends at World Wide Technology are hosting a webinar on Putting Stimulus Doallrs to Work:
http://www.wwt.com/external_content/stimulus_registration.html
WWT is a major provider of Cisco, Sun and other high-end IT products to the government.

The Montgomery County (Maryland) Chamber and its GovConNet program is hosting a Procurement Conference and Expo Wed May 13 - here is the link:
http://www.montgomerycountychamber.com/pubs/main/Procurement_Confer_1.cfm
The lineup is very impressive.

My friends at Onvia are hosting a webinar on May 20, 2009
https://onviaevents.ilinc.com/perl/ilinc/lms/register.pl?activity_id=pwmyvmp&user_id=
This is regarding the economic recovery initiatives that are under way. Onvia is always a good source for this information. Onvia Webcast: Recovery Projects are Underway – How to Secure your Success.

I am back on StartUpNation
http://www.startupnation.com/articles/9439/1/government-contracting-gsa-schedules.htm

For those of you not familiar with http://www.startupnation.com/, is is an information portal for new and small businesses, filled with articles, podcasts, etc, from a variety of niche experts. Take a little time to browse the site.

I am also in the current Maryland Daily Record in an article regarding private business clubs - see
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=11411&type=UTTM