From a memo issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Misconception: The best way to present my company’s capabilities is by marketing directly to contracting officers and/or signing them up for my mailing list.

Fact: Contracting officers and program managers are often inundated with general marketing material that doesn’t reach the right people at the right time. As an alternative, vendors can take advantage of the various outreach sessions that agencies hold for the purpose of connecting contracting officers and program managers with companies whose skills are needed.

Misconception: It is a good idea to bring only business development and marketing staff to meetings with the agency’s technical staff.

Fact: In meetings with government technical personnel, it’s far more valuable for you to bring subject matter experts to the meeting rather than focusing on the sales pitch.

Misconception: Attending industry days and outreach events is not valuable because the agency doesn’t provide new information.

Fact: Industry days and outreach events can be a valuable source of information for vendors and are increasingly being used to leverage scarce staff resources.

Misconception:Agencies generally have already determined their requirements and acquisition approach, so our impact in the pre-RFP phase is limited.

Fact: Early and specific industry input is valuable. Agencies generally spend a great deal of effort collecting and analyzing information about capabilities within the marketplace. The more specific you can be about what works, what doesn’t, and how it can be improved, the better.

Misconception: If I meet one-on-one with agency personnel, they may share my proprietary data with my competition.

Fact: Agency personnel have a responsibility to protect proprietary information from disclosure outside the government and will not share it with other companies.

Misconception: Agencies have an obligation not to share information about their contracts, such as prices, with other agencies, similar to the obligation they have not to disclose proprietary information to the public.

Fact: There are no general limitations on the disclosure of information regarding existing contracts between agencies within the government. In fact, agencies are encouraged to share pricing information to ensure that we are getting the best value for our taxpayers.

Misconception: To develop my proposal, I don’t really need to tailor my solution to the specific solicitation since the government won’t read my proposal that closely anyway.

Fact: Offerors should tailor each proposal to the evaluation criteria, proposal instructions, and specific requirements of the solicitation to which they are responding. Contracting officers and evaluation team members read proposals closely for compliance with the proposal instructions and must evaluate them against the evaluation factors and the statement of work in their solicitation.

Misconception: If I lose the competition, I shouldn’t bother to ask for a debriefing. The contracting officer won’t share any helpful information with me.

Fact: Unsuccessful offerors should ask for a debriefing to understand the award decision and to improve future proposals.