Federal Sales and Government Contracting (Neil McDonnell)
With over 25 years of hands-on government contracting experience, Neil McDonnell is a leading small business advocate in the federal marketplace. As a small business owner, he has personally won and supported government contracts for the US Army, Navy, US Air Force, HHS,VA, Transportation, Interior, Energy and the Executive Office of the White House. As president of the GovCon Chamber of Commerce, Neil hosts daily LinkedIn live training and teaches the strategies and skills required to build relationships with federal buyers and teaming partners that lead to federal revenue. Neil also brings together leading experts in federal government contracting in order to help small businesses grow as government contractors. Neil is famous for making complicated topics easy to understand, helping businesses 'find their niche' and for providing specific, achievable, actionable steps any business owner could follow. Discover how small businesses can research opportunities, build relationships, promote their capabilities, request small business set-aside (SBSA) opportunities and secure government business contracts. Find out more at https://www.GovConChamber.com HOST: Neil McDonnell Neil is a small business owner, mentor, coach and trainer committed to helping small businesses achieve their goals. He is a motivational speaker, trainer and vocal advocate for the potential of American small businesses. His passion is drawn from his personal experience serving in the US Army, from providing contracting services to various government agencies, and from the many successful and failed companies he has founded since his youth. Connect with Neil: https://LinkedIn.com/in/Neil-McDonnell
Episodes
You need to make it so easy to remember what you do… in just 3-4 words.
Can you do that?
Join me and I'll show you how.
In this training, you'll learn:
• The power of known for one thing
• How FOMO (fear of missing out) kills your chances for success
• Steps to become unforgettable in federal buyer eyes and with your potential teammates
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Too often small business are when working with large primes
But this is a known risk with subcontractors that can be easily avoided.
Kate Ostdiek joins me to talk about post award and how to make sure you get the money you deserve.
In this training, you'll learn:
• Steps to take to avoice prime contractors not paying you what they should
• Why large prime federa contractors don't pay...
That's just not the truth…
They buy from the best of those who show up during their market research.
It's vital you are visible wherever federal buyers or possible teammates look.
In this training, you'll learn:
• When federal buyers search for small business government contractors
• Where federal buyers look to find small business vendors
• How federal buyers choose which small businesses ...
Every day, DCMS delivers 1.5M+ items to U.S. military forces.
If you support the War Department and/or US military services like the Army, Navy and Air Force, then understand who supports them.
In this training, you'll learn:
• What the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) does and why they exist
• How DCMA is organized to support its mission partners
• Top reasons small businesses ...
Every buyer has a pattern, and every prime has a history.
FPDS shows you all of it if you know where to look.
Let me show you my top 10 FPDS tips for uncovering revenue.
In this training, you'll learn:
• How FPDS searches really work; the fields, filters, and tactics most people overlook
• Discover the FPDS data that reveals buyers, primes, competitors, and expiring contracts
• Walk away with 10 actionabl...
Selling to multiple federal agencies spreads you too thin, confuses buyers, and kills your pipeline.
The fastest way to grow as a small business is to pick one agency and dominate it.
Let me show you how to pick that agency.
In this training, you'll learn:
• Understand why selling to multiple agencies is killing your federal sales efforts
• Learn where to start (e.g., ...
Here's exactly how I helped her build a list of 200 people.
These are folks from the government and industry who can help, guide, introduce or even buy.
These are the people who will get her in the door to have sales meetings.
In this training, you'll learn:
• The exact method I use to build a 200-person VA target list in under 30 minutes
• Discover where the real VA stakeholders “li...
It's probably because you are not following a process.
When you follow a proven process, you'll have repeatable and predictable results.
You should expect that in your sales efforts.
In this training, you'll learn:
• The simple 7-step process that removes chaos from federal sales
• Discover which step is currently blocking your revenue, and how to fix it
• Walk away with a clear roadmap to grow fede...
But YOU know they have a problem your product or service can solve.
So, you need to start by helping them ADMIT they have a problem.
In this training, you'll learn:
• Learn why federal buyers won’t care about your solution until THEY admit a problem exists
• Discover the exact questions that move a buyer from unaware, to problem aware, to ready to engage
• Walk away with a repeatab...
Join me in this series and become an expert at using the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS).
This is the second of a planned series about FPDS.
In this training, you'll learn:
• Why searching FPDS is vital to your sales success as a government contractor
• Basic search techniques to find 'slam dunk' opportunities you can pursue
• Advanced search criteria to narrow your search re...
Program Executive Office Enterprise (PEO Enterprise) is at the forefront and delivers enterprise solutions driving Army dominance.
In this training, you'll learn:
• What PEO Enterprise is and how it is organized
• Top priorities and key challenges industry can support
• How to request meetings with key leaders within PEO Enterprise
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You can have similar success if you 'write for the win' during federal buyer market research.
In this training, you'll learn:
• How I my initial review of a Request for Information (RFI)
• My step-by-step process for quick planning around an outline of the page layout
• Ways I find to engage with the federal buyer before responding to an RFI or Sources Sought Notice
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Join me in this series and become an expert at using the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS).
This is the first of a planned series about FPDS.
In this training, you'll learn:
• What FPDS is and why it is helpful to small business government contractors
• Major sections of FPDS and how they help you find opportunities
• Top information that can be found in FPDS
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At some point you must have meetings with federal buyers to have success.
In this training, you'll learn:
• Why it starts with having a clear set of objectives you want out of the meeting
• How setting a purpose gets everyone on the same page as you
• To control a meeting for your success and that of the other participants
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This new strategy affects every contractor, including small businesses.
If you want to stay ahead in FY2026, you need to know exactly what’s changing.
In this training, you'll learn:
• The biggest shifts in the Department of War’s FY2026 Acquisition Transformation Strategy
• Where the new opportunities will emerge first
• How to...
I use them as ways to identify opportunities that can be won.
In this training, you'll learn:
• What information is shared during industry days.
• How I 'scrub' industry day slide decks to find the most valuable information
• Steps I take to turn slides into opportunities
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It can seem overwhelming until you know the steps… here's mine. In this training, you'll learn:
• How I identified almost 100 'staffing' contracts to pursue in FY2026
• How I determine which are the best fit for me
• What I do after identifying opportunities that look like a good fit.
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This is not my opinion, it is a fact based on awarded contracts.
And this isn't a complaint, it's a recognition driving me to train WOSBs how to have success despite the certification.
In this training, you'll learn:
• The facts about the WOSB program
• How the SBA gaslights WOSBs
• What to do to win contracts as a woman-owned small business
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Doesn't mean you won't write a decent proposal, but it does mean you won't appear any different.
But it's not that hard to stand out from your competitors by writing better proposals.
In this training, you'll learn:
• Why starting early matters most
• Being success must begin with being clear and compliant
• Compelling requires you identifying more than explicit paint points ...
That's bad for you and them. You both end up losing too often.
Instead, team up with the best company to help you win the contract.
Of course that might sometimes be your friends, but often it really is not.
You both deserve to win more.
In this training, you'll learn:
• How to set the criteria needed for a perfect teammate on each opportunity
• Why it is important to vet possible teammates before committin...
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