"Understand Agency Missions

Common sense and intuition can direct you to starting points for further research concerning who buys what.

Unique or Specific Products and Services

The more specific a product/service is, the easier it is to pinpoint potential customers. Firefighter hoses, for example, are specific. Thousands of firefighting agencies nationwide buy firefighting equipment, and it doesn't take long to figure out which agencies in your area are involved in firefighting.

Another example: suppose that you sell a device to reduce the time needed to fill a sand bag. The Federal Emergency Management Service (FEMA), the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Army Corp of Engineers would be places to start. Further research, usually on the Internet, will point you to other agencies that fill sand bags.

At the state and local levels, you'd look for towns, cities, and counties near rivers that have experienced flooding. You'd dig into FEMA records by making telephone calls and if necessary written requests under the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to find where the emergency funds flow.

Commodities and General Services

In contrast, almost every government agency purchases office supplies, so you would need to focus on geographic areas that you can reach economically, both from sales costs and shipping costs viewpoints. Office equipment and supplies, office furniture, reproduction equipment and supplies, and office leasing would all fall into this category. Again, the Internet can be helpful in finding agencies within your geographic area of business. Look at your state website and, for federal information, try FirstGov, http://www.firstgov.gov. In the case of office supplies, you'll have more potential customers, but the downside is that for each one of them the competition will be keener.

The Department of Defense Internet site, Selling to the Military, http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/doing_business/index.htm, provides information on military buying by purchasing office. Go to Part 2: Products and Services Bought By Major Military Purchasing Offices.

Our CD-Rom of Government Internet Sites is helpful in locating agencies within your state. More information about this new product can be found at http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/buyerContacts/cd_urls.php.