May 2019 - In This Issue:
ABOUT US

The SBTDC/PTAC Program's purpose is to generate employment and improve the general economic condition of the state by assisting  North Carolina companies including those eligible for business development programs for local, state and federal government contracts. We provide procurement technical assistance by offering no-fee and confidential counseling on selling your products and/or services to the appropriate local, state or federal government agency.

THE TEAM
MARK MILLS
PTAC Program Director
919.600.6096


SCOTT BARKER
PTAC Counselor 
Elizabeth City / Greenville / Wilmington
252.737.1369


PAM RACER
PTAC Counselor 
Asheville / Hickory / Boone / Cullowhee
828.251.6025


JOEL GUGE
PTAC Counselor 
Raleigh / Chapel Hill / Durham
919.513.0623


ROBIN LIVINGSTON
PTAC Counselor 
Fayetteville / Pembroke
910.672.1359


MARK ROBINSON
PTAC Supply Chain Counselor
Raleigh
919.600.5397


DONNA WARREN
PTAC Counselor
Wilmington
910.962.3566


BROOKLYN DELLINGER

PTAC Counselor/Events Coordinator
Statewide
828.322.5379

UPCOMING EVENTS
May 14, 2019
Webinar
May 28, 2019
Webinar
"Other Contracting Vehicles"
Learn more
ADDITIONAL SBTDC RESOURCES
ACCELERATE: A BLOG FOR CEOs OF MID-SIZED FIRMS
SBTDC's Strategy and Growth Services blog, Accelerate, helps CEOs of mid-sized companies make business and leadership improvements through helpful insight, resources, and tools.
Learn more »


TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION SERVICES
The SBTDC's Technology Commercialization Services team provides business counseling to small to mid-sized business owners, university researchers, and entrepreneurs looking to advance their innovations to the marketplace.
Learn more »


INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The SBTDC's International Business Development Specialists assists small and mid-sized businesses with export planning and exporting.
Learn more »
Director's Corner: 
Marketplace 2019
By Mark G. Mills, PTAC Program Director at North Carolina State University
Marketplace is a reverse trade show being held on May 29, 2019 at the Sheraton Imperial, Durham, North Carolina. Marketplace provides small business owners the opportunity to meet contracting representatives from over 50 federal, state and local government agencies as well as large prime contractors. You will also have the opportunity to attend "contracting educational sessions" throughout the day. Check out the Marketplace website www.sbtdc.org/events/marketplace

Preparing for Marketplace:
  1. Register to attend MARKETPLACE www.sbtdc.org/events/marketplace/register
  2. As the date gets closer, review the agencies and primes scheduled to attend and determine those that are a best fit for your products and services www.sbtdc.org/events/marketplace
  3. Review the prime and agency websites and small business programs for additional information on their mission and needs. Bring government-focused marketing materials including business cards and your capability statement (contact a PTAC counselor for assistance with your capability statement) www.sbtdc.org/pdf/ptac_map.pdf
  4. Have your elevator speech ready as you never know who you might run into
  5. Review the scheduled seminars and attend those that will benefit your business most www.sbtdc.org/events/marketplace/agenda
  6. Remember to network and share information about your business with potential customers, suppliers or partners
  7. If possible, bring two people from your business/company to maximize your benefit (meet with vendors and attend seminars, attend two seminars in the same time slot, etc.)
  8. Follow up is critical, review the business cards you picked up and reach out right away don't wait for a week to go by make contact
The entire team looks forward to seeing you at Marketplace on May 29, 2019!

Federal Proposal Writing Workshops
By Brooklyn Dellinger, PTAC Counselor/Events Coordinator at Appalachian State University
Chapel Hill
May 7, 2019, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
The Chamber
104 South Estes Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.
Sharonetta McIntyre | smcintyre@sbtdc.org | 336.256.9302
 
Pembroke
May 15, 2019, 9:00am - 12:00pm
UNC Pembroke, Thomas Entrepreneurship HUB, 
Conference Room
202 Main Street, Pembroke, NC 28372
Robin Livingston | rlivingston@sbtdc.org | 910.672.1359

Marketing to the Federal Government

By Joel Guge, PTAC counselor at North Carolina State University
As we approach Marketplace 2019, being held at the Durham Sheraton Imperial on May 29th, now is a good time to revisit the vendor's vitally important foundation block of successfully selling to government agencies: the marketing of a business' goods and services to those government agencies. With the United States' Government scheduled to spend an all time high $560 billion on goods and services, and, with multitudes of businesses vying to get a piece of the government pie, the importance of a business intentionally promoting its goods and services is also at an all time high.

A basic premise of marketing is to know your customer. This building block of marketing holds true as a business moves ahead with marketing to government agencies and prime contractors. Knowing who performs the purchasing functions, those that influence purchasing decisions, and who is the ultimate end user of a product or service, are important in presenting both your business and its product/service in the best possible light. Making a connection with a particular government agency, or prime contractor, and allowing that agency or contractor the opportunity to make a connection with you are two of the most rewarding benefits of attending the Marketplace event. People buy from people. By forging a personal connection with a customer that your business is seeking, you are setting the stage to bring your company the recognition that can prove to be the deciding factor in a contracting officer's or prime contractor's decision on an award that could have significant impact on your company.
 
Supply Chain
 

By Mark Robinson, PTAC Counselor - Supply Chain at North Carolina State University
The supply chain function is so rooted in the business process that we often overlook it in favor of individual business operations because the term "supply chain" is so broad. Employees will often identify as working in finance, operations, customer service, or manufacturing... when they in fact work in the supply chain. The supply chain is the entire network of entities, directly or indirectly interlinked and interdependent in providing goods and services to a customer. It is comprised of vendors that supply raw material, producers who convert the material into products, warehouses that store, distribution centers that deliver to the retailers, and retailers who sell to the customer. In short, the supply chain is everyone and all the processes involved in getting the end product or service to the consumer.
 
This is important to the United States Government and critically important to the Department of Defense because they are both concerned with the development and growth of small businesses. According to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), all government contracts awarded over a certain amount require small business subcontracting plans. Aside from the monetary benefit, this regulation has afforded small businesses participation, growth opportunities, and supply chain alignment in terms of fully understanding the Department of Defense requirements through the prime contractor.


PTAC Client Success Story
DeWhit Facility Services
By Joel Guge, PTAC Counselor at North Carolina State University
DeWhit Facility Services is a minority-owned facilities cleaning services company that has been in business for over 35 years. The company is the only ISO2001:2015 certified minority-owned cleaning business in the Carolinas. In 2015 the company was purchased and the ownership team, with Charles Epps as majority Owner and President, relocated the business to Durham, NC. In the years immediately prior to purchase, the company had lost contracts and revenue as the previous owner began to look toward retirement. At this time DeWhit had 33 employees. Owners Charles Epps and Pam Karriker determined to regrow the business and, as such, they saw the need for the company to expand its efforts in pursuing and winning government contracts - including local, state, and federal.

In 2016, in recognition of the need to increase the business' government contracting efforts, Ms. Karriker contacted the Procurement Technical Assistance Center located at North Carolina State University. She and Mr. Epps were interested in the business entering the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business development program and were seeking information and assistance in completing the process to enter the 8(a) program. In addition, DeWhit was interested in learning all possible government procurement opportunities that the business could participate in. The PTAC counselor, in discussing the business with Ms. Karriker, also enlisted the services of a Small Business and Technology Development Center Business Counselor to join the client sessions. This initial session began a connection between DeWhit Facility Services and the North Carolina PTAC that continues through today.

In the years since the initial contact with the North Carolina PTAC, DeWhit Facility Services has grown dramatically. The company now employs over 100 people with 2019 revenue projected at $2.5M. The company has existing federal, state, and local contracts and is currently aggressively pursuing subcontracting opportunities with a national prime contractor. DeWhit's downstream vendors benefit as DeWhit purchases new equipment to help sustain their expansion. DeWhit Facility Services continues to benefit from its relationship with PTAC and seeks to utilize as many of the training and growth opportunities offered by PTAC as possible.
 
With designs on attending both a Federal Proposal Writing Workshop and the Marketplace event, DeWhit Facility Services plans to expand its government contracting focus. Utilizing the North Carolina PTAC is a major component of executing that plan.

General Manager Dub Karriker says, "We saw the large potential market that exists in government contracting for a business like ours but we didn't know how to negotiate the on-ramp. The North Carolina PTAC helps us to successfully make inroads into this market. We are grateful for their assistance. DeWhit has, and will continue to, depend on the North Carolina PTAC to help us achieve our goals for the company, for our employees, and for the communities where we live, work, and play."
 


SELLING TO THE GOVERNMENT

5 West Hargett St., Suite 600
Raleigh, NC 27601
919.600.5998