Public Spend Tips: Prep for All Types of Meetings to Help Land Government Contracts

I’ve called this meeting about government contracts with you, the reader, to check in with Public Spend Forum, a sister site of our, to see what’s going on in public procurement.

PSF has a list on something that seems simple but is widely derided: having a meeting.

The article contends that meetings can be successful if you know what you’re trying to accomplish. And that takes knowing the different types of gatherings that acquisition pros might attend in a week: staff meetings, customer meetings, informal meetings with prospective contractors, formal meetings with suppliers and contractors, negotiations, source selection meetings, post-award contract kickoff meeting, and contract closeout meetings.

Whew! That’s a lot of meetings. You’ll want to read the full article for the details on each type.

And you’ll also get tips on planning for these meetings because you’ll want to succeed if you’re putting in this much time.

The helpful pointers include the basics: plan, limit the number of participants, start and end on time, and keep a written record.

But then the advice gets very specific for what procurement professionals can do to hold successful meetings.

For pre-award planning, learn about what you’re buying; list the category codes, keywords and contract vehicles that can help define your acquisition strategy; and prepare questions that will help you accomplish key contracting tasks. (The PSF article lists five questions and has details for each.)

But wait, there’s more.

Don’t forget about prepping for the post-award meeting. Before that gathering, re-read your contract; get on the same page as your internal contracting team; have an agenda to keep the discussion on track; and be ready for meetings on contractor performance (several paragraphs are dedicated to this topic).

Read the full article at Public Spend Forum, and check out GovShop, the tool that lets you connect and research government suppliers.