Maine APEX Newsletter October 2023

Helping businesses find, win and perform on government contracts • maineptac.org

October 2023 Newsletter

Free Webinars

The Maine APEX team hosts free webinars for those interested in learning more about government contracting.

Introduction to Teaming Agreements

10/24/23 • 11:00am

Click here to learn more

Selling to the State of Maine - Collab w/ L/A Metro Chamber of Commerce

10/31/23 • 12:00pm

Click here to learn more

Selling to Municipalities & Counties

11/30/23 • 10:00am

Click here to learn more

Is Your Company Ready to Explore & Pursue Government Contracting Opportunities?

12/07/23 • 09:00am

Click here to learn more

View all events

PM’s Corner

A monthly feature from the ME APEX Director

Pro Tip for SAM.gov

We’ve seen a high volume of issues recently from businesses navigating through the Entity Validation stages of SAM.gov. At its core, the site has been functioning in the same manner for over a year. But the look and feel of the website seems like it’s changing on a daily basis.

Entity Validation is the first step in getting your Unique Entity ID (UEI) or registering in SAM.gov for financial assistance or contracting opportunities. SAM.gov uses an entity validation service (EVS) to independently verify the existence and uniqueness of an entity. Your EVS review time will depend on whether the site can make a match between the information you provide about your business and their database, or if you’ll need to provide additional documentation.

Our Pro Tip. If you’re aware of an upcoming grant or contracting opportunity, and you need a UEI or SAM.gov registration, get the Entity Validation process started now. Now, as in today. Maine APEX counselors have seen this process take a single day, and we’ve seen it take four weeks. It’s tough, if not impossible to predict.

The validation process is a critical piece of the federal awards ecosystem. It prevents improper payments, procurement fraud, and helps ensure the integrity of federal contracts and grants, representing trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year.

Maine APEX can assist you and your business with Entity Validation or SAM.gov registration. If you are a current client, reach out to your counselor. If you’re not sure who to reach out to please see the team page of our website.

Determining Your Proposal Strategy

Miranda Pelkey, Deputy Director and

Central Maine APEX Counselor

It is a common misconception that preparing a proposal strategy for government contracts is an activity that happens only once the solicitation is released. In reality, in order to write a winning proposal that will stand out from the competition, small business owners must begin preparing long before the solicitation comes out. Preparing proposals can be a time-consuming task so you want to make sure you are putting yourself in the best possible position to win. The first step in doing this is to complete your pre-solicitation research. Effective research will include:

• Reviewing history with this client, their projects

• Researching client’s funding source or CIP

• Becoming familiar with their selection process

• Assessing incumbents and/or competitors

• Honestly assessing your workload, key leadership, your strengths & weaknesses

The next step in your proposal strategy should be your capture planning efforts. Here you will focus on exploring new opportunities, assessing your ability to succeed in the current environment and then implementing your strategy to the specific buyer you are pursuing. Key capture planning activities include:

• Identifying customer, program and procurement organizations

• Defining the customer’s buying cycle

• Creating a Customer Contact Plan

Once you have gathered this valuable information, you will be far more prepared to respond effectively once the solicitation is actually published. While your competitors are playing catch-up, you will be able to dive right in to writing the proposal, focusing on why your business is prepared to provide the best value for the agency’s dollar.

And remember, putting in the prep work prior to every solicitation is essential as each solicitation is unique. From your pre-solicitation research to executing the proposal itself, your friendly local APEX Counselor is here to help you every step of the way!

Client Quote of the Month

“Representatives at the Maine APEX organization are always quick to respond to our inquiries and an excellent resource. In our experience, staff at APEX is pleasant and goes to great lengths to provide helpful information."

-Rhonda Cox, Auburn Manufacturing, Inc.

SBA 8(a) Program is BACK!

Morgan Rocheleau, Southern Maine APEX Counselor

For the past several months the SBA 8(a) Development Program has been on hold due to a decision that came from a Federal District Court in Eastern Tennessee. The decision required the SBA to reevaluate the program and address some issues with the presumption of social disadvantage. As of October 3rd, the SBA has reopened the portal, there has been some updates that companies should be aware of moving forward.

In the past, some (not all) applicants needed to supply a social disadvantage narrative. If you have already applied, you should check on the status of their application to see if anything is needed due to the current changes to the program. SBA has made it fairly clear that if you have already submitted a narrative, companies won’t need to submit a second narrative. Moving forward, every individual applicant is required to prove their social disadvantage. It looks like there will be two methods to demonstrate the social disadvantages of the business. One will be the traditional narrative supplied within the application or applicants can complete a questionnaire that is a part of the application process. The questionnaire will have prompted questions and they will need to speak to at least 2 different experiences.

It is wonderful to have the program back open as it is a great opportunity for small businesses. If you are interested in learning more about the SBA 8(a) Development Program, please contact an APEX Counselor.