Ep 10 Federal Government Marketing with TargetGov's Gloria Larkin
In today's discussion, we delve into the pivotal topic of marketing strategies tailored for the federal government marketplace. Gloria Larkin, the esteemed CEO of TargetGov, speaks to the nuances of successfully navigating the complexities of federal procurement. We explore the significance of employing specific language and keywords that resonate with government agencies, thereby enhancing visibility and engagement. Furthermore, Larkin shares insights on the transformative role of artificial intelligence in streamlining procurement processes, emphasizing its criticality in modern contract acquisition. Our conversation also highlights the necessity for businesses to adopt a proactive approach in cultivating relationships with decision-makers, thereby positioning themselves advantageously within this competitive landscape.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- 00:07 - Introduction to Aqua Talks
- 03:46 - AI in Federal Government Procurement
- 09:49 - Understanding Government Procurement Marketing Strategies
- 15:29 - Navigating Federal Procurement Changes
- 21:05 - Common Mistakes in Federal Contracting
- 25:23 - Transitioning to Success Stories
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of understanding federal government procurement processes to succeed in marketing.
- Listeners are encouraged to utilize specific keywords that align with agency missions to enhance visibility.
- It is crucial for businesses to engage with decision-makers before formal opportunities arise to shape contracts.
- The discussion highlights the rapid changes in federal contracting due to technology and government policies.
- A unique consulting process known as FAST is presented as a means to expedite results in federal markets.
- The podcast advocates for a proactive approach in marketing to federal clients as a strategy for sustained success.
RESOURCES:
GUEST BIOGRAPHY:
Gloria Larkin is a recognized leader in government contracting, serving as the President and CEO of TargetGov, which celebrates its 28th anniversary in 2025. Under her leadership, TargetGov has been instrumental in helping clients secure over $25 billion in federal contracts through its specialized consulting services, including the exclusive Federal Acceleration Strategies and Tactics FAST® Process, the KickStart Program®, and expert business development strategies. A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Gloria has shared her expertise globally, with speaking engagements in Oxford, Tokyo, and Dubai, and has been featured in major media outlets such as MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She is also the author of The Basic Guide to Government Contracting and The Veterans Business Guide, both widely used resources in the industry.
Her influence extends beyond her company, as she has held key leadership roles with Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and has served as an advisor for American Express’s National Procurement program. Recognized with numerous awards, including Maryland’s Top 100 Women and the Enterprising Women of the Year honor, Gloria continues to drive impactful change in the government contracting sector. As the founder of the Government Contracting Institute and the Government Business Development Webinar Series, she remains dedicated to educating businesses on the complexities of federal procurement. A former adjunct professor at George Washington University, she has also contributed over 250 articles on business development to national and international publications, cementing her legacy as a trusted expert in the field.
Aqua Talks podcast, federal government marketing, marketing strategies for federal contracts, AI in government procurement, federal contracting opportunities, federal government procurement process, decision makers in federal contracting, keywords for federal contracts, business development in federal space, marketing to federal agencies, Target Gov consulting, Fast process for federal marketing, small business federal contracts, successful federal contract bids, mission critical in government procurement, marketing techniques for government contracts, federal procurement trends, avoiding mistakes in federal contracting, sole source contracts in federal government, building connections in federal government marketing
Transcript
Welcome to Aqua Talks where marketing meets bold game changing ideas.
Speaker A:Join your hosts, Larry Aldrich and Maddie Dudley as they explore the art and science of cutting through the noise, capturing attention and fostering meaningful connections with your audience.
Speaker A:Whether you're a destination marketer, government contractor, or simply passionate about the transformative power of marketing, aqu, Aqua Talks offers engaging discussions, fresh insights and actionable strategies designed to inspire and inform.
Speaker B:Hi and welcome back to Aqua Talks, the podcast for marketers.
Speaker B:Whether you're just getting started or you are a seasoned pro within the industry.
Speaker B:I'm Maddie.
Speaker B:I'm the public relations director for Aqua.
Speaker B:This is a podcast that is brought to you by Brensys Technology, a service disabled veteran owned business.
Speaker B:I am joined today as always by my co host, Larry Aldridge.
Speaker C:Hello, I'm Larry Aldridge, President and CEO of Brentsys Technology and Aqua marketing and communications.
Speaker C:Today we're joined by the owner and CEO of Target Gov, Gloria Larkin.
Speaker C:Hello, Gloria.
Speaker C:How are you today?
Speaker D:Hey Larry.
Speaker D:I am doing fabulous.
Speaker D:I am super excited today to chat with you and Maddie about all these things that are happening in the federal government.
Speaker B:There's a lot going on there sure is.
Speaker B:To get started, we'd love to know a little bit more about your background as well as how you came into the position that you have now at Target Gov.
Speaker C:And before you start, Gloria, I just like to let everyone know I've been working with Gloria for quite a few years now.
Speaker C:She really helped us out at Brensis when it came to marketing to the federal government, helping us build a business development platform.
Speaker C:It was an amazing program you have.
Speaker C:As you go over your background, please throw in a little bit about the program that we work together with.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker D:Oh, Larry, you're the best.
Speaker D:So, Gloria Larkin, as president of Target Gov, I started the company 28 years ago.
Speaker D:Even I cannot believe it's been 28 years.
Speaker D:And we focus 100% on helping companies like Brensys see results in the federal government marketplace.
Speaker D:We only work in federal government.
Speaker D:We live, eat and breathe it.
Speaker D:And gee, things are changing every day as we speak.
Speaker D:And so we help our clients pivot and still win no matter what the situation is.
Speaker D:If it's a Covid, if it's an administration change, no matter what, we've helped our clients win over $25 billion in US federal prime contracts.
Speaker D:So we bring an expertise to the table that I don't think anybody else has in this marketplace on how to market even before the capture process starts.
Speaker D:And the product and service that Larry mentioned, we have actually developed a unique consulting process.
Speaker D:We call it Fast F A S T for Federal Accelerated Strategies and Tactics.
Speaker D:And the whole point behind it is to help companies small, mid size or large start seeing results as quickly as possible in the federal government marketplace.
Speaker B:That's wonderful.
Speaker B:Well, diving into your expertise, we do like to talk about trends at the beginning of the podcast.
Speaker B:So we'd love to hear your take on AI within the federal government and how it's being used and maybe some red tape that's going on as well.
Speaker D:Well, this is something that actually started about eight years ago.
Speaker D:And most people did not realize that the federal government was an early adopter of utilizing artificial intelligence throughout the entire procurement life cycle from the very beginning.
Speaker D:And when they're just thinking about the services and products they need through selecting contractors, through the process of managing the contract, even all the way to contract closeout.
Speaker D:So we call that the life cycle of a contract.
Speaker D:And artificial intelligence has been used aggressively by the federal government.
Speaker D:And now with the new administration, it's even become more critical, especially at the very beginning when contractors are trying to get themselves inside the door.
Speaker D:If you cannot be found by the AI tools that the federal government is using, you're going to have a very difficult time getting in the door.
Speaker C:Yeah, we've spoken at length about that.
Speaker C:You've mentioned from the very beginning, like you said, when you were doing the SAM's, make sure we have keywords in as many places as we can in the SAMs, in the DSBS.
Speaker C:Make sure that we have keywords in as many places as we can in the dsbs in certain areas and utilizing space that wouldn't be utilized, but utilizing that space for keywords.
Speaker C:And also you mentioned using keywords that you would originally see from the agency, from the solicitation, how they their language, how they they speak and taking those words and creating keywords.
Speaker C:Do you want to just go on a little bit about that?
Speaker D:Sure.
Speaker D:You know, matter what kind of service or product that you want to sell to the federal government marketplace, every customer in the federal government has their own ability to buy.
Speaker D:So if you want to sell to the army, they buy directly.
Speaker D:If you want to sell to Social Security, they buy directly.
Speaker D:So it's important for a business to understand how does that customer talk about your services or products.
Speaker D:And they all have their own perspective.
Speaker D:That perspective is related to the mission of that agency.
Speaker D:We're going to talk about mission critical a few times today.
Speaker D:And if you're selling to the army and their mission is to support the army war Fighter.
Speaker D:That's a very different mission than if you're selling to Social Security, whose mission is to maintain the secure funding of the Social Security program.
Speaker D:So this is why keywords describing your services in their vernacular is so important.
Speaker D:So if you're in, if you manage projects.
Speaker D:Think about that for a second.
Speaker D:Project management is very normal in the federal government marketplace, but those two words as a phrase really are too generic.
Speaker D:So if you're managing submarine decommissioning projects, they're going to use very specific keywords.
Speaker D:If you're managing cybersecurity projects, they will use their own cybersecurity keywords.
Speaker D:So that's what we mean by finding the keywords and phrases that the federal government agencies use to describe your own services and products.
Speaker B:And earlier you mentioned that there's a variety of AI tools that the federal government is using.
Speaker B:Do you mind diving into which ones those may be?
Speaker D:Maddie, this is really interesting because the federal government has developed their own.
Speaker D:So Department of Homeland Security has the Procurement Innovation Lab.
Speaker D:You know, everything's an acronym these days.
Speaker D:They call it pill.
Speaker D:So the department, dhs, pil, has developed its own artificial intelligence tools to handle the entire life cycle of procurement.
Speaker D:GSA for General Services Administration has also invested in their own AI laboratory and developed their own tools.
Speaker D:So they're not using the publicly available tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, Claude, and any of the newer tools.
Speaker D:Instead, they're all developed in house.
Speaker B:Fascinating.
Speaker B:That's cool.
Speaker C:Yeah, you've mentioned you, you've been in this industry for a long time and I know you help a lot of businesses without giving away too much information.
Speaker C:And when I say that I've been in business development and capture in the federal space for over 10, 15 years and I still came to you and still come to you that just a little bit of how helpful you are and how you help with work with other businesses, small businesses.
Speaker C:But again, what are some of the opportunities that you think are being overlooked in government procurement today?
Speaker D:For experienced contractors, the concept of capture is old school.
Speaker D:And if anybody knows old school, it's me being around 28 years, however, what that leaves out totally.
Speaker D:And this is where new contractors and those who want to be successful, the marketing, what happens with marketing before capture starts is really the difference between success and failure.
Speaker D:So let me tell you what I mean before capture starts.
Speaker D:The old school capture started once you've identified an opportunity.
Speaker D:And that's normal through the Shipley process, if you're familiar with that term.
Speaker D:Larry, thank you for bringing that up earlier this is a well known capture process.
Speaker D:50 some steps in what you should be doing.
Speaker D:Once you've identified the opportunity, however, then you're just responding along with everyone else to what's already been determined are the needs of the agency.
Speaker D:We've been very successful in helping our clients market to decision makers, sit down with them, talk to them and shape the opportunity around their specific offerings and how they'll be acquired.
Speaker D:Meaning what kind of contract vehicle is the government going to use?
Speaker D:Could it be something that is a GSA schedule contract vehicle, maybe a purchase card or a credit card?
Speaker D:What is the way the government's going to buy it?
Speaker D: s is the secret to success in: Speaker D:If you can identify the decision makers, proactively reach out to them even before the RFP is written, then you have the opportunity to educate them about what you do, what you can bring to the table, whether it's services or products, and how they can buy from you quickly without going through an extensive drawn out competitive process.
Speaker D:This is the way to win small, mid size and very large contracts.
Speaker B:Gloria, what brought you into the business of marketing for the federal government?
Speaker B:And Sorry, go ahead.
Speaker D:I was drag kicking and screaming.
Speaker D:I started my business 28 years ago and it was marketing in the business to business environment that was my expertise.
Speaker D:I was not a government employee ever.
Speaker D:And my ability to quickly identify targets, the methods to reach out to them and convert them into clients is what attracted my customers to working with us as a consulting firm.
Speaker D:And we had two of those customers that said what you're doing is really working well.
Speaker D:Can you do the same for us in the government?
Speaker D:You know, and this is 20 some years ago.
Speaker D:So I thought for about five seconds and I said the government, how tough could it be?
Speaker D:Sure, we'll help you with that.
Speaker D:And that became the tail that wagged the dog, meaning that we segued out of the B2B business to business environment and we focused every moment of every day understanding the federal customers, the uniqueness of the federal customers, and then developing this plan, process, tools, everything that a company would need to be successful in the federal government marketplace.
Speaker D:And it took a few years because this was before, believe it or not, databases and computers, I can't believe I'm that old.
Speaker D:But the idea of helping clients reach out and build those relationships is really the key to success.
Speaker C:Yeah, that really is.
Speaker C:Which brings up.
Speaker C:You're an expert marketer.
Speaker C:We are expert marketers.
Speaker C:We market Brentsis to the federal government, we market programs working with the federal government.
Speaker C:How to help the federal government do their marketing on their programs where Target Gov works with companies like I us to help us learn how to work with the federal government.
Speaker C:So it's, it's marketing, but it's two different aspects.
Speaker C:You're very valuable in what you do and what the service you provide to companies like branches to the thousands of other small businesses out there.
Speaker C:I really think that needs your service.
Speaker C:Especially now with a lot of the changes that are coming in federal procurement.
Speaker C:And if, without having to say too much, if small businesses that are watching right now that are going to be spinning in circles and lost when it comes to how federal procurement may be going forward through the gsa, is there anything top of mind that you would want to be able to say to them or a way to help them pivot to the new form of federal procurement before the new far is written?
Speaker C:If the new far gets written.
Speaker D:Larry, you are hitting many nails on the heads here because key concept to keep in mind is pivot ability.
Speaker D:And this is something that small businesses are very agile.
Speaker D:Small businesses can respond and change course, whether it's a small change or a major change.
Speaker D:And along with that pivotability right now is understanding that with change comes incredible opportunity if you're willing to pivot.
Speaker D:So that trend that is taking place for those businesses who are already federal contractors and may be seeing their contracts being stopped or reduced in scale, this is where you want to start looking in other agencies for the funding to make sure that that will be there for the work that you want to do and maybe even adjust your capacity or the work that you're able to perform based on what that customer's needs are.
Speaker D:So if I can give you an example, would that be okay?
Speaker C:Absolutely, please.
Speaker D:So today with the new administration, the focus is on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, also in increasing efficiency and the use of artificial intelligence.
Speaker D:So no matter what product or what service your company is providing to the federal government, if you start thinking about how you can shape or frame the discussion of your company's abilities around those major goals, eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
Speaker D:If you don't do that, how can you help that agency increase efficiency and address the mission directly?
Speaker D:You know, I mentioned earlier the example of the army versus Social Security, two entirely different missions.
Speaker D:So by addressing those mission needs, you'll be able to then be very adept at looking at new and finding new opportunities to pursue, win and perform.
Speaker B:Gloria, do you only work with clients that are in the federal space?
Speaker D:We only help clients win in the Federal space.
Speaker D:However, many of our clients also have commercial clients.
Speaker D:They also work in city, county, state or federal government.
Speaker D:So what we do translates across those various targets.
Speaker D:But when we help our clients, we are going to be very focused on helping them pursue and win business with federal related contracts.
Speaker C:I can definitely say what you've consulted with us on the federal space.
Speaker C:We've taken that and used it again on the states as we go after state contracts.
Speaker C:So it does correlate, it does map over if you follow that process, the fast process, which we do, we fell behind a little bit as I was mentioning to you when we, we spoke a few weeks ago.
Speaker C:And that, that really does work because it affected some of the losses that we've had.
Speaker C:I mean, we're not, we're not experts or excuse me, we're not perfect.
Speaker C:So we've had some losses when it comes to writing proposals and going after contracts.
Speaker C:And a lot of those losses was because of the gaps that we skipped in that FAS process, which is a very unique process and thank you for that.
Speaker C:But it did help us win a couple state contracts.
Speaker C:So it does correlate.
Speaker C:Even though, like she mentioned working helping companies like Brent says win the federal contracts, it does connect.
Speaker C:If you're going after state.
Speaker C:We haven't really tried it too much on, on the private sector yet, which we are.
Speaker C:But on the, on the state side, the fast process, really, it still is really helpful.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you talk so much about pivoting too.
Speaker B:And that's, that's a helpful way.
Speaker B:It sounds like it's a tool that can be utilized in any space.
Speaker B:So that's great.
Speaker C:Can you, can you speak on any common mistakes that small businesses make in the federal space?
Speaker C:And I know one big one you told us at the begin is pick three to five agencies and do your research and learn.
Speaker C:But other, and you can actually jump onto that if you want also.
Speaker C:But any common mistakes that you see small businesses making in federal procurement.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker D:And frankly, these aren't exclusive to small businesses.
Speaker D:Any size business can be forewarned to try to mitigate these mistakes.
Speaker D:One of the first mistakes is to not understand the differences in federal contracting.
Speaker D:The rules and regulations are massive and I know the new administration wants to simplify them, which frankly would be, I think, welcome for virtually anybody who doesn't want to read 2,000 pages of regulations.
Speaker D:However, the complicated nature, for instance, it can be simple in tactics, meaning you cannot take somebody out to lunch in the federal government.
Speaker D:You can't buy them a little gift and take it to have them remember you, even something as simple as a pen could be suspect.
Speaker D:So the rules and regulations are there to keep waste, fraud and abuse as low as possible.
Speaker D:And then they're also there to help small businesses get their fair share.
Speaker D:So how do you understand what your fair share is for that particular target, as well as who are the people, the decision makers, attached to the opportunities that you want to go after?
Speaker D:Meaning that this is not just a bid, bid, bid, bid, bid world.
Speaker D:That's the other big mistake I see businesses make.
Speaker D:They think all they have to do is submit 10 bids and they're bound to win some.
Speaker D:Well, we all know if you've been in this market, you could submit 100 bids and win zero.
Speaker D:So the key is understanding your customer, what's important to them, using their keywords and phrases, their mission, and understanding the pricing structure that would be critical for winning contracts in the federal government.
Speaker D:You can't charge exorbitant prices and expect to win.
Speaker C:And that's exactly right.
Speaker C:And that's one of the reasons why we went back to look at the fast process that you developed for us.
Speaker C:And you developed your fast process specifically to each individual business you work with based off of their needs, their goals, and what they're trying to do.
Speaker C:And with that said, we were at a point where we were getting out three to five proposals a month.
Speaker C:Actually, three to six proposals a month.
Speaker C:And our win percentage wasn't that great because we got away from everything you just spoke about, which was developed in that fast process.
Speaker C:And I can definitely attest that following that process, putting together a better plan and only writing the proposals that we did all of the work ahead of, or you're wasting your time.
Speaker C:Pretty much.
Speaker C:Just like you said.
Speaker D:Exactly.
Speaker D:I did not know that you were going to say that, but I'm glad to hear that the proof is, in reality happening.
Speaker D:The best thing to do is only bid those opportunities where you already have a high percentage of winning, because that will save you money.
Speaker D:First of all, you won't waste time and money pursuing opportunities that you don't have a good chance of winning, and instead focus on the few opportunities where they know you, they like you, they trust you, and they want to do business with you.
Speaker D:That's when you have the best chance of winning.
Speaker C:Before we let you go, Gloria, and thank you for being with us, do you have any success stories, any success campaigns that you would like to shout out?
Speaker D:Yes, yes, I do.
Speaker D:As a matter of fact, this one is just.
Speaker D:I'm so proud of our clients.
Speaker D:This is a small business who has been doing business with the Department of Energy in a couple of different locations and we worked with them through our fast process as you mentioned Larry, and we help them understand this idea of sole source contracts.
Speaker D:This means that your company does something different than all of your competitors or it has a unique product different from your competitors.
Speaker D:We were able to help them frame their service offerings, not a product, service offerings, even branding them and trademarking them.
Speaker D:So clearly that the US Department of Energy ended up awarding a $191 million direct award contract meaning no one else shared that contract with this small business out of Tennessee.
Speaker D:They're not even in the middle of the DC area, they're located in Tennessee and they won the largest direct award or sole source contract that the Department of Energy has ever awarded to a small business.
Speaker D:At the end of this contract they won't be small anymore, but that's their growth goal is to grow into a mid size or large business and understanding the whole idea around technical sole source ability or direct awards separate from getting a sole source from Hubzone or 8A or women owned or service disabled veteran.
Speaker D:Those are wonderful ways to get sole source contracts if you have those certifications.
Speaker D:But this technical sole source is not limited by dollars as $191 million will attend to.
Speaker D:So that is something that we're very proud of our clients for pursuing and winning.
Speaker C:Well yeah, that's great.
Speaker C:That's fantastic.
Speaker C:Actually we are at SDVOSB and hopefully soon to be in 8A, so we haven't gone after any soul sources or even started that yet.
Speaker C:But I'm sure we'll be having some conversations with you on the best way to approach soul sources in the future.
Speaker C:Thank you for being with us Gloria.
Speaker C:We really appreciate everything you've done for Brensis.
Speaker C:We want to continue to work with you as a consultant and hopefully a lot of other companies will definitely start reaching out to you.
Speaker C:Also you have a lot to offer.
Speaker D:Thank you so much.
Speaker D:It's been an honor to work with you and thank you for your service.
Speaker D:I am not a veteran.
Speaker D:I try to be the kind of citizen that earned your service.
Speaker D:So thank you my friend.
Speaker B:Thank you, thank you Gloria.
Speaker B:If you're interested in learning more about Target Gov or Gloria, Please go to aquatacs.com Gloria's information will be on there as well as some info about Target Gov.
Speaker B:You can follow us on social media.
Speaker B:Please subscribe to the podcast if you enjoyed today's episode and like it too.
Speaker B:If you liked it.
Speaker B:I'm Maddie again with Larry.
Speaker B:And thanks for joining us again.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:You've been listening to Aqua Talks where marketing innovation takes center stage with bold ideas and actionable insights.
Speaker A:Ready to take your strategies to the next level?
Speaker A:Visit aquatacts.com to book your free consultation and explore resources that empower you to thrive in today's fast paced marketing world.
Speaker A:Until next time, stay bold, stay inspired, stay imaginative.
