January 9, 2024. 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM. How To Competitively Respond to a Sources Sought and Influence the Acquisition
Competitively respond to a sources sought or request for information. Ten years ago, the government did not utilize Sources Sought as a primary acquisition tool. In fact, only about 1% of opportunities were sources sought. Jump forward to 2022 and between 8% – 10% of opportunities in SAM are sources sought. This indicates the government is more focused on achieving the right balance in terms of acquisition strategy AND this is positive for government contractors as well. Most companies respond to a sources sought by only answering the given questions and providing the information requested by the government. There are several key strategies for responding to a sources sought. The first is creating a standardized response format with cover page, corporate overview, and capability statement. The second is recognizing that you should utilize a sources sought to “influence the acquisition.” You influence the acquisition by making recommendations and “ghosting” your strengths and the weaknesses of the competition. This seminar will be heavy on examples to maximize understanding of the various techniques and strategies for responding to a sources sought in order to influence the acquisition.
Mr. Frank will discuss the following strategies:
• Understanding how a sources sought can impact acquisition and never to assume that other companies will respond when you’re too busy.
• How to differentiate your company; marginalize and bar-entry to the competition and influence the acquisition.
• How to ghost your strengths and the weaknesses of the competition in order to influence the acquisition.
• Understanding that a sources sought is pre-acquisition and that you don’t have to answer every question and understanding what information you should cautiously protect.