The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) produced an excellent brochure on how to do business with them. In summary, here are the steps (1) Register your company in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/. (2) Introduce yourself! Send your capability statement to dea.small.business.hotline@usdoj.gov. (3) Respond to advertised solicitations and requests for information on (FBO) http://www.fbo.gov/. (4) Establish a federal supply schedule for your products and services on http://www.gsaadvantage.gov/.
We wanted to encourage other contractors to follow the steps and do not get discourage in the process. U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) awarded JP Investigative Group, Inc. (JPI) a five-year government contract effective May 28, 2010 through May 27, 2015 for workers’ compensation surveillance services and pre-employment background screenings. Our GSA Contract Number is GS-02F-0178W under Schedule Number 738X and Schedule Title: HUMAN RESOURCES AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO) SERVICES.
The most important items to acknowledge when preparing to get a GSA Contract are: (1) Make sure that the federal government actually buys what you are selling and research a solicitation relevant to your products and/or services. (2) Do your homework to see if it is better to work with a Prime Vendor vs. obtaining a GSA Contract. (3) Be prepared to invest your money, time and lots of energy into marketing your GSA Contract. (4) Whenever you hire consultants, please do your research. Research the company name, the owner, and the individual consultant. Conduct a background check and call their references. Should you discover negative reports, DO NOT utilize their services. The process to obtain a GSA Contract can be done for free, however, hiring a consultant may give you a little more insight of how to navigate through it. Again, you can do it yourself for free should you have the time to read the instructions/solicitation and write about the services and/or products that your company sells.
FINALLY, just because you are awarded a GSA Contract does not mean you will make money right away but do not give up; keep trying!
JP Investigative Group, Inc. developed JP Government Investigations to provide services to the federal government.
