Key takeaways
- Start with the problem. "We can't get meetings" and "agencies can't buy from us easily" call for different partners.
- Demand or paperwork? SDR firms, marketers and reps create demand. Resellers, contract consultants and proposal writers help you transact and compete.
- Free help exists. APEX Accelerators counsel companies that are new to government contracting at no or low cost.
- Where KSG fits: outsourced sales development. Our SDRs find, call and qualify public-sector buyers and book meetings for your team.
Start with the problem you need solved
"Help selling to government" can mean ten different things. Before you call anyone, name the problem. The right partner for a company that can't get meetings is the wrong one for a company that keeps losing bids.
| If your problem is | Look for |
|---|---|
| We don't know which agencies to target | A consultant, a market research firm or a data platform |
| We can't get meetings with the right people | An outsourced SDR or appointment-setting firm |
| Agencies like us but can't buy from us easily | A reseller, a cooperative contract or a contract-vehicle consultant |
| We keep losing formal bids | Capture and proposal specialists |
| A law, budget line or regulation decides our market | A lobbyist or government relations firm |
| Nobody in government has heard of us | A government marketing or PR agency |
| We need someone in the field in one region | A manufacturers' rep or a full-time hire |
| We're brand new and don't know where to begin | An APEX Accelerator, then a consultant |
The 10 types of help, compared
| Type | What they do | Best when | Usually paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Outsourced SDR and appointment-setting firms | Research accounts, call and email buyers, qualify interest and book meetings for your sales team | You have a product and people who can close, but not enough conversations | Monthly fee |
| 2. Government sales consultants | Advise on markets, positioning, contracts and team design; some also run the outreach | You need a plan or an experienced outside view | Project fee, retainer or hourly |
| 3. Resellers, distributors and aggregators | Hold contract vehicles, quote, take orders and sometimes co-market | Buyers want to purchase through a contract you don't hold | Margin on sales |
| 4. Manufacturers' reps and independent agents | Sell several manufacturers' products in a territory | You need field coverage and local relationships | Commission |
| 5. Contract-vehicle consultants | Prepare and maintain GSA Schedules, state contracts and cooperative bids | You need a contract of your own | Project fee, sometimes with a success fee |
| 6. Capture and proposal firms | Track opportunities, shape win strategy, write and manage proposals | You compete for formal RFPs | Project fee or hourly |
| 7. Lobbyists and government relations firms | Work on legislation, appropriations and relationships with officials | Policy or funding decides whether you have a market | Retainer |
| 8. Government marketing and PR agencies | Content, events, advertising and media for public-sector audiences | You need awareness and credibility | Retainer or project fee |
| 9. Market intelligence and data platforms | Software showing budgets, bids, contracts, contacts and meeting minutes | You have people ready to act on the data | Subscription |
| 10. APEX Accelerators and small-business programs | Counsel companies on registration, certifications and finding bids | You're new to government contracting | Free or low cost |
What each one does
1. Outsourced SDR and appointment-setting firms
These firms do the outbound work that fills a sales team's calendar: building target lists, calling and emailing decision-makers, qualifying interest and booking meetings. Generalist firms serve any industry. Specialists work only on public-sector buyers and know budget cycles, procurement rules and who actually decides. This is what KSG does. See outsourced SDR teams, our comparison of Fed and SLED appointment setting companies and how to vet a government lead generation company.
2. Government sales consultants
Consultants are often former agency executives or public-sector sales leaders. They help with market selection, positioning, pricing, contract strategy and hiring. Ask whether the engagement ends with a plan or includes doing the work. See government sales consulting.
3. Resellers, distributors and aggregators
Many agencies prefer to buy through a contract that has already been competed. Resellers, distributors and aggregators hold those contracts, quote and take the order. They make you easier to buy. Most don't create demand for any single product. See selling through resellers and channel partners, Carahsoft + SDRs and cooperative purchasing contracts.
4. Manufacturers' reps and independent agents
A manufacturers' rep carries several complementary product lines in a territory and is paid commission when deals close. Reps are common in equipment categories such as water, utility and public safety products. They bring relationships, but your product shares their attention with every other line they carry.
5. Contract-vehicle consultants
A GSA Multiple Award Schedule, a state term contract or a cooperative contract can shorten purchasing. Specialist consultants prepare the offer, pricing and compliance paperwork and help you keep the contract in good standing. A contract is a way to buy, not a reason to buy, so plan for demand too. See federal contract vehicles and the cooperative purchasing directory.
6. Capture and proposal firms
For formal solicitations, capture managers track the opportunity and shape a win strategy before the RFP is released, and proposal teams write and assemble the response. See how to respond to a government RFP or RFI.
7. Lobbyists and government relations firms
Lobbyists work on legislation, appropriations and relationships with elected and appointed officials. They matter when a law, a budget line or a regulation determines whether agencies can buy what you sell. Lobbying is regulated, and in some states and cities contacting officials about a specific purchase counts as lobbying, so use registered professionals.
8. Government marketing and PR agencies
Agencies that specialize in the public sector run content, webinars, events, advertising and media relations aimed at government audiences. See government marketing, public sector demand generation and the government marketing guide.
9. Market intelligence and data platforms
Software platforms collect budgets, bids, purchase orders, contracts, contacts and meeting minutes. They show where to look. Someone still has to make the calls. See government sales intelligence tools and why government sales data still needs people.
10. APEX Accelerators and small-business programs
APEX Accelerators, formerly called Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs), are a nationwide network supported by the U.S. Department of Defense. They counsel businesses on registering in SAM.gov, finding the agencies that buy what they sell and tracking bid opportunities, at no or low cost. The Small Business Administration also runs contracting programs and certifications. If you're new to government contracting, start here before you pay anyone.
Most companies need more than one
The types fit together. A common setup for a technology company is a reseller or cooperative contract for the transaction, an SDR team for demand and a proposal writer on call for the occasional RFP. A manufacturer might pair regional reps with an SDR team that books meetings for them.
Decide which gap costs you the most this year, fix that first, and add the next piece when it becomes the bottleneck.
Questions to ask any partner
- Which public-sector segments have you worked in during the last two years?
- Who will actually do the work, and are they dedicated to our account?
- How will we see activity and results, and how often?
- What do you need from us to start, and how long until the first results?
- What happens to the contacts, notes and data if we stop?
- What don't you do?
Where Kensington Sales Group fits
KSG is the first type: an outsourced sales development firm that works only on public-sector and utility buyers. Since 2016 our SDRs have booked more than 10,000 qualified meetings for clients.
- Phone-led outreach backed by email and LinkedIn, under your brand.
- Qualified meetings booked onto your account executives' calendars, with notes from every conversation.
- Market intelligence gathered by phone: budgets, timing, incumbents and decision makers. See market intelligence.
- Event prospecting before and after public-sector conferences. See event prospecting.
- Coverage across Federal, SLED, K-12 & Higher Ed, Healthcare, Tribal, Special Districts and Utilities, in English and Spanish.
- A fast start: programs can be up and running in as little as one week.
Our work is the front of the funnel. For proposal writing, contract-vehicle paperwork or lobbying you'd use a specialist in that field, and our SDRs can work alongside them.