VA small business director shares tips for winning contracts

Veterans Affairs small business director went beyond the boilerplate in offering advice to companies that want to do business with VA.

High on Chantel Bankston -Carter’s list is to not overlook subcontracting opportunities especially as contracts get bigger – too big for a small business to prime. Bankton-Carter is the director in the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at VA.

“These contracts are getting larger and so complex. They have so many moving parts,” she told the audience gathered for the Oct. 23 Washington Technology Power Breakfast on health IT. “But we must ensure that we make space for small businesses.”

Subcontracts can be a vital avenue for small businesses looking to grow, she said.

One reason that Bankston-Carter likes subcontracting opportunities is that the relationships between the prime, sub and the government customer has evolved.

“It's not your father's way of doing or your grandpa way of doing subcontracting,” she said.

Increasingly, subcontractors have a seat at the table because customers want to know who is doing the work. They are there answering questions like Who is responsible for? How does the pricing look? What are the goals?

“It's changed greatly and it is sexy now. It used to not be, but it is now and you want to get involved,” she said.

Whether pursing subcontracting roles or prime contracts, Bankston-Carter said small businesses need to look at customer engagement as more than handing out business cards. It needs to be an ongoing part of how a company works.

Every company develops capability statements, but she urged small businesses to treat those statements as résumés that are tailored to a specific agency.

“What VA is doing in IT is not always something that someone else may be doing,” she said.

Capability statements need to lean forward. Don’t talk about past performance but explain what the mission impact was. “What did you do? What was the cost savings? What was the change you made?” she said.

And when you get in front of decision maker, don’t tell them what their problems are. “We know what our problems are,” she said. “I want you to provide me with a solution.”

Bankston-Carter also shared several upcoming opportunities including the National Veterans Small Business Engagement event in Cleveland on Dec. 8 and 9. The event will feature over 300 VA acquisition staffer and 45-50 IT program managers. Other agencies will be present as well.

There are two parts to participation. Online participants can learn more about opportunities, competitors and agency needs. “It gives you the opportunity to say, I can do this or I need to partner, or I need a joint venture,” she said. “Then you meet with people in person and you’ve already don’t your due diligence.”

Bankston-Carter also advised small businesses to keep track of the electronic health record initiative at VA, which is rolling out to more sites. She’s working on increasing small business opportunities with that program.

VA is also working on a cloud brokering opportunity, digital modernization, a new ERP effort and the replacement of its contract management systems.

“Don’t sleep on VA,” she said.