How Small Businesses Get Recognized in Federal Contracting | The Introduction Tax with Will McCormick

Your capability statement gets you into the room. Then you spend the first 20 minutes introducing yourself anyway.

It's called "The Introduction Tax", and small firms pay it in every meeting and at every event. The cost comes out of the two resources they have least of, which are time in front of the customer and the budget to show up.

Chelsea Roberts sits down with Will McCormick, Editorial Director at Set-Aside Alert and creator of GovCon Games. Will has been a writer for about 20 years and covers federal small business policy for Set-Aside Alert, which has been publishing since 1991. Will explains why he built GovCon Games to help firms lead with personality and expertise before they lead with past performance. He also walks through the problem, cause, consequence, and solution sequence that turns a single conversation into content that keeps working for a year.

The two also cover the policy picture small firms are working in right now. They talk about why HUBZone is holding up better than other set-aside programs, the quieter pressure on WOSB, and why the CMMC Phase II suspension does not take NIST SP 800-171 off anyone's plate. Chelsea shares what separates a post-event follow-up that gets a reply from one that gets ignored.

If your BD plan still depends on handing out cards and hoping someone calls back, this episode will change how you budget your next event.

Resources:

Connect with Will McCormick

Connect with Chelsea Roberts

Other Resources:

Set-Aside Alert LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/setasidealert/

GovCon Games Instagram https://www.instagram.com/govcongames

Personal Email: will@setasidealert.com

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