Federal, state and local governments spend an estimated $120 billion annually on IT products and services. In the federal market, the Top 20 systems integrators and value- added resellers get 50 percent of the spending. The Top 100 contractors snare nearly 70 percent. Yes, smaller vendors can and do get prime contracts, but the reality is that the bulk of vendors doing business with federal agencies must also partner with the major solution providers. Consequently, the key to success for most vendors is getting powerful systems integrators and value-added resellers to make them part of their teams.

            But partnering isn't just a one-way street: Solution providers need vendors too. The Bush administration's emphasis on measurable savings and results has contractors scrambling to find vendors who understand how their technologies can plug into the larger solutions and deliver the results sought by government. In fact, Karen Evans, OMB's administrator for the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, has said she wants future budget requests for IT spending to include estimates of cost savings. “What are the results and how much money have we saved?” Evans said, describing the benchmarks for measuring success at a recent gathering of federal IT executives reported in the press.

            But in a government market crowded with vendors—each one claiming to have just the right technology or solution—how do you catch the attention of systems integrators and value-added resellers who are committed to your company and its products?

            Over the years, as I've advised companies on how to create meaningful partnerships, I've uncovered five keys to success:

•  Strategy: Approach systems integrators and value-added resellers like you would any potential market. For example, you wouldn't take a scatter-shot approach to government by trying to sell into every agency. You would first identify which agencies need and are buying your technology. Then you would create a sales and marketing plan to reach those agencies. That's what you need to do with your potential partners. Identify promising partners either by the solution sets they sell or by the agencies they serve.

•  Preparation: Know your potential partners inside and out. This requires thorough and ongoing research. Who are their government customers? Where are they looking for new business? What solutions are they selling to government? How does your technology plug into those solutions? Most important: How can your technology help them win business?

•  Tactics: Develop a sales and marketing strategy for reaching the targeted systems integrators and value-added resellers. Create presentations, brochures, white papers and other sales materials that will help you connect with solution providers. Does your Web site answer the questions and have the information they want? That's the first place potential partners will go to find out about your company. Prepare your 30-second elevator speech. And make sure you know what you're going to say when you land that 30-minute meeting with a solution provider.

•  Perspective: It's not about you. One of the biggest mistakes a vendor can make when meeting with an integrator is expecting the integrator to figure out how the two companies can work together. You should already know that before the meeting. Want to have solution providers chasing you? Show them how you can help them win new business on specific projects with specific government agencies.

•  Timing: Don't wait for solution providers to find you. And don't wait to join a team bidding on a contract. If you've done all your homework, you'll be positioned to partner with a top integrator or value-added resellers long before the RFP comes done the pike.

      Why should you focus your sales and marketing efforts on solution providers? Because they represent your channel to government buyers. Treat them like you would any valued customer. Understand their problems. Show them how you can help them achieve their goals. These are the keys not only to surviving, but also to thriving in today's competitive government market.

For more information on how PS Partnerships can help your business, contact:

Scott Lewis, President & CEO
PS Partnerships
571-218-0288
slewis@pspartnerships.com
www.pspartnerships.com

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