Thank You for Joining Us, The Webinar Will Begin Shortly. Using Your Capability Statement to Open Doors Gloria Larkin, President, TargetGov

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1 Thank You for Joining Us, The Webinar Will Begin Shortly Using Your Capability Statement to Open Doors Gloria Larkin, President, TargetGov While you are waiting please check out the Upcoming Webinars on

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3 Using Your Capability Statement to Open Doors Presented by: Gloria Larkin, President, TargetGov m

4 Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) is a nonprofit, membership organization working to increase the economic power and public policy clout of women entrepreneurs by providing essential business skills education, leadership opportunities for business and personal growth, and a seat at the table among policymakers in Washington, D.C. WIPP was founded in 2001 and is recognized as a national, nonpartisan voice for women business owners, advocating on behalf of its coalition of 4.7 million businesswomen including 78 business organizations. WIPP identifies important trends and opportunities and provides a collaborative model for the public and private sectors to advance the economic empowerment of women.

5 Give Me 5 National program from WIPP & American Express OPEN designed to educate women business owners on how to apply for and secure federal procurement opportunities. Give Me 5 works to increase the representation of Women Business Owners that win government contracts. We provide accessible business education tools to assist both new and experienced federal contractors. Women Business Owners could gain more than $4 billion in annual revenues if the 5% contracting goal set by Congress was reached.

6 Using Your Capability Statement to Open Doors Presented by: Gloria Larkin, President, TargetGov

7 Gloria Larkin President, TargetGov, and creator of Government Contracting Institute Educational Foundation Board Chair for WIPP Nationally recognized federal contracting business development expert Clients have won billions in federal contracts Quoted in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, INC Magazine, Bloomberg (866)

8 3 Types of Capability Statements 1. Door-opener a. Used to begin relationship-building process b. Obtain decision-maker meeting c. Tool to use during meetings 2. Requested as part of a Sources Sought or RFI response 3. Required in a RFP response

9 First Impressions Are Critical Be professional Ex: , web site, typos No clip art, stock graphics Know your niche! Do not try to be all things Lead with your expertise Prove it! Mitigate risk

10 Where to Use a Capability Statement Person to Person Conferences Vendor outreach sessions Agency and base events Matchmaking Associations, social events Referral From decision-makers Virtual , web site, blog, LinkedIn

11 Identifying Targets Your Company Possible Target You as a Prime contractor AGENCY You as a Subcontractor PRIMES You as a Team member Other VENDORS

12 Layers of Decision-Makers Small business representatives OSDBU, SADBU, SBLO Contracting and acquisition staff CO, KO Program and technical managers PM, COTR, end-user

13 A Poor Capability Statement Slams doors on you Highlights your weaknesses Proves that you are not competent Highlights the risk to hire you Proves you don t have a clue...and you DO NOT understand the customer or the market!

14 5 Key Elements 1. Call it a Capability Statement 2. Core Competencies 3. Past Performance 4. Differentiators 5. Company Data

15 Capability Statement as Title Call it what it is! First words are Capability Statement Then your logo Then your contact info A mini business card across the top of the document

16 Core Competencies Section title: CORE COMPETENCIES Laser-focused on the target! Short introduction statement mentioning the target Ex: ABC Company provides the services [agency] requires to meet its mission of by providing. Relate your company s core competencies to the target s specific needs Followed by key-word heavy bullet points

17 Past Performance Section title: PAST PERFORMANCE List past customers for whom you have done similar work. Prioritize by: 1. Internal to that agency 2. Related agency 3. Other government entities: federal, state, local 4. Commercial contracts Show the benefit to the customer This is NOT a resume! 17

18 Past Performance: Example 1 If you were the Prime: [Customer Name]: Provided x-y-z services to enable the effective use of a-b-c thereby reducing costs by $xxx,xxx over three years. Name contract vehicle & amount. Give contact reference, name, title, phone and . Note: If past projects do not relate to the targeted agency s needs, do not list.

19 Past Performance: Example 2 If you were the Subcontractor: As a subcontractor to PRIME [company name], provided the x-y-z services to enable the effective use of a-b-c thereby reducing costs by $xxxxx over three years. Give contact reference, name, title, phone and . Note: If past projects do not relate to the targeted agency s needs, do not list.

20 Past Performance: Example 3 If you were an employee: As an employee of [company name], provided the x-y-z services to enable the effective use of a-b-c thereby reducing costs by $xxxxx over three years. Give contact reference, name, title, phone and . Note: If a reference is not available, do not list.

21 Differentiators Defined #1 Unique features and/or benefits of a product, or aspects of a brand, that set it apart from competing products or brands.

22 Differentiators #2 Identify what makes you different from your competitors Location Training ISO Exclusives Relationships Experience And how this benefits the targeted: Agency Prime Team

23 Differentiators Defined: #3 Government Contracting A succinct statement Focused on Customer needs Specific decisionmaker Upcoming contracts Highlights benefits Incorporate metrics Separates you from Real Competition Wanna-be s

24 Differentiators are NOT Socioeconomic certifications Generic statements Static, never changing One type fits all Quality people, services, products 100 or xx years of experience Solutions provider Best in class, world class, best of breed or other superlatives

25 Sample Differentiator Questions Why did your biggest customer want you? How and why is your company the best choice for the needs of this opportunity or agency? What is it about your services/products that make you stand out from the rest? What is it about your people that give you the advantage over your competitors? Why are your products better solutions than the others that are available? Is your business located near the targeted agency?

26 Ideal Differentiators Speak EXACTLY to requirements Speak exactly to that decision-maker CO, COTR, PM, OSDBU, SBLO Are benefit-focused Include metrics Are straightforward, easy to understand Are branded to your company Better to have only 2 or 3 strong differentiators than an entire list of mediocre or poor

27 Company Data Federal: DUNS & CAGE Code NAICS (grouped) DOD: PSC & FSC codes GSA Schedule Contract Number(s) BPAs and other contract numbers Contract Numbers Socio-economic certifications: WOSB, 8(a), HUB Zone, SDVOB, Small

28 Company Data (Cont d) 1 or 2 sentence summary of highlights Financial stability Number of employees Capacity Teams YOUR contact information: Name Phone: office, direct Printed on the Capability Statement, not attached as a business card

29 Graphic Design Elements Use your own branding elements Your logo Your colors Your style Your fonts Complement your web site, business cards Use up the entire page, do not think letterhead Spare the graphics: usually large file size Keep it in Word, save as a PDF Do NOT save as graphic file: tif or jpg

30 Tips for Success Tailor the Capability Statement to the target Use their terminology You will have many versions, one for each target Make sure the file size is small, under 1MB Save the PDF as YourCompanyNameCapabilityStatement.pdf Follow similar format for your website Follow same format for capability briefings

31 What is Your Score? What does your business look like to the government decision makers? your Capability Statement PDF to: for your company s complimentary Capability Statement score

32 Review & Questions First impressions are critical Accurate representation Easily understood Capture the interest of agency contracting personnel Capture the interest of prime contractors. Tricks to target your capability statements to a specific audience Key elements you must include Common mistakes Omissions that cripple

33 Contact Gloria Larkin President, TargetGov

34 Thank You For Participating Following this call you will receive links to the podcast of this session, or you can find the links on For questions, please contact Lin Stuart at

35 Get Involved! Join a policy issue committee and learn how policy can impact your business growth Make your voice heard - become a member of our national Instant Impact Advocacy Team Participate in our educational series unlimited opportunities for you and your staff Receive weekly policy updates and briefings WIPP Questions? Contact WIPP Staff Program & Education Coordinator: Lin Stuart LStuart@wipp.org (415) Membership Coordinator: Lynn Bunim LBunim@wipp.org (415)