Any company that bids for the Federal Government knows that oral presentations are often a part of the game. Unfortunately, because giving a Government contract presentation is so different from a typical business presentation, many companies do not receive as many contracts as they would prefer to win.

Realize that the federal government is not your typical audience. They may or may not shake hands and greet you. All the federal government members will likely stoically sit on one side of the table, and you and your team sit on the other. They cannot react to anything you say, and they cannot comment on anything until the question-and-answer time. Essentially, while you are presenting, you get no feedback, no body language, and nothing to indicate whether you are doing okay.

Additionally, the federal government sees many different groups of people present to them each day. And they often watch the same kinds of materials being presented repeatedly. They score you with a point system every step of the way, and they reward the contract to the company with the most points. To stand out, catch their attention, and get the highest score, you need to present materials that are different and unique.  

If you are tired of continually presenting for federal contracts and rarely getting picked, perhaps it is time to brush up on your presentation skills. While the actual specifics of presenting to the federal government are complex and the topic goes very deep, the following are some initial tips to get you on the right path.

Three Steps to Presentation Success

Government contract bid oral presentations have three distinct informational phases: the people who will work on the project, the project’s management, and the company’s problem-solving abilities. Let us go over each in detail.

Present the people behind the project

During the first phase, you need to talk about the individuals who will be working on the project. These are the actual hands-on key personnel who get named in the proposal and whom the government will be interacting with, not the ghostwriters who crafted the proposal in the background.

Make sure you present information that is new and different, not the same data you already covered in the written proposal. Remember, in the written proposal phase you have likely already given the resumes of the key personnel. You have already covered each person’s past accomplishments and educational background. Now you want to give the federal government insight into the people behind the team.

Have each key personnel member speak for him or herself, with the focus being on how your past personal experiences translate to your current professional life, and how that specifically impacts the project you’re now presenting on. When you are finished, always talk about the features of your value proposition and the benefits of why you bring savings of time, money, or resources to this project. Give insight about yourself that cannot be gleaned from an electronic file or piece of paper. Show how your experience has significance to the project and, most of all, how you will be a financial savings and technical innovator. Most organizations that present orals to the federal government never go beyond what they supplied in the written proposal, and that is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Present the project management aspect

The next phase you will present is how you will manage the project. Some things to consider and include in your presentation are: How is your organization set up? How are you set up to handle problems? Who are the players who handle problems? How do you draw on other pieces of your organization, not just the key personnel? How do you draw on other strategic alliances or subcontractors? How does everyone, internally and externally, work together? What are some of your established processes? What have you done on other projects that are like the one you are proposing to this Government contract now? In essence, the federal government wants to know about “you the organization”—what you have contributed to the past that proves what you can do in the future.

You may have covered much of this information in your written proposal, but now you are revealing the live, in-person part. One of the deadliest things to do during this phase is present your materials in a “humdrum” kind of way. You need to exude excitement about the organization and show your passion for the project. You need to talk about not only everyone’s commitment to the project but also how the organization as a whole and the management team are committed to the project.

Present the problem-solving process

For many companies, this final phase—the problem-solving simulation—is the most difficult. It is also the one piece most organizations do not spend enough time preparing for and practicing. As such, they lose a lot of points here, often resulting in missed opportunities.

The challenge is that many people presume that because their team has tackled many problems together in the past, they do not need to practice problem-solving now. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even if you are a group of seasoned problem solvers, you still need to practice how you solve a problem so that this presentation part goes smoothly.

How can you practice problem-solving? Quite simply, you have someone from the outside who knows your team well and can be a knowledgeable colleague to present you with case study problems that you have typically faced in the past. It could be a technological problem, a community problem, a staff problem, a financial problem, or even a terrorist problem. There are so many different problems that can come up during project performance. You then simply need to practice how you would solve the problem with the entire team.

When you do a case-solving problem in front of your potential customer, they will present you with a possible problem, give you some time to talk about the problem, ask questions, and then they will watch how you solve the problem. Realize that the federal government does not care what your final solution is but rather they care about your approach to the problem. They watch how you solve problems and how you work together as a team. That is why you need to practice this problem-solving simulation daily for two to three weeks straight before going live in front of the federal government. The more you practice problem-solving, the better you will do as a team.

Secure Your Future with Government Contracts

Working on a Government contract can be both professionally and financially rewarding. The key is knowing how to give a winning oral presentation that earns you the contract. By recognizing how these presentations differ from typical business presentations, and then practicing accordingly, you can land more contracts quickly and easily, and positively impact your company’s bottom line.

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Marsha Lindquist