DSBS Incomplete – Don’t Get Excluded. Episode 6

In this episode we will continue discussing the importance of your DSBS, and why it is important to have it complete and optimized so you do not get excluded from government contracting opportunities.  

Your DSBS marketing profile can help separate you from other your competitors.  The Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) maintains the DSBS database that government agencies use to find small business contractors for upcoming contracts.  Small businesses can also use the DSBS to find other small business to work with or to be found by prime contractors.

The DSBS is important because federal buyers are required to do market research to find small businesses to fulfill federal contracts.  This is part of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR 10) that buyers are required to use “commercially available market research methods in order to effectively identify the capabilities of small businesses.”

Many small businesses do not realize the value of their DSBS profile. They do not understand what it is for. They do not know where to find it. They do not know why it is so important. 

One consideration to ensure your DSBS is done correctly is to use an experienced professional to complete your registration and sync your SAM information.

Businesses may believe, well SAM and DSBS are free and must be easy to do myself.  But, these are the same people that are registered for years just waiting for a phone call or email from a government buyer that never comes.

A good analogy is a small business filing their own tax return. It is free to file a tax return.  However, it is advisable that they should pay to use an accountant to ensure their tax filing is done correctly and in full compliance.

Another analogy is if a business has a job opening to be filled and runs an advertisement.  For this example, the business gets two applicants.  Each applicant is required to complete a five-page application with detailed information to better assess their qualifications.  

Applicant One fills out the application completely and thoroughly.  All their skills in detail, their experience, past jobs, references, all of it, every question addressed and answered.

Applicant Two fills out their basic contact information, where they went to school, puts one or two skills down, but did not feel the need to provide details of their experience, or references, or where they worked before. They did not think that was important. Applicant Two left several questions blank and obviously did not apply much effort into the application.

Both applicants return their application.  Which do you think will be selected for a call back?

As a business owner, how important it is to be that Applicant One?  You want to be that business that the government call back.  Do not allow your business to be disqualified for a simple error, omission, or ‘none given’ response that can be easily addressed.  Let the government know you are an expert in your field by having your registration completed in a thorough and professional manner.

FedBiz Access’ fulfillment team takes the time to understand the client’s business and asks questions to pull information from the client to ensure their SAM registration and DSBS profile are complete, compliant, optimized, and competitive in the eyes of contracting officials and prime contractors.

This podcast is sponsored by FedBiz Access - https://fedbizaccess.com

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Transcript

DSBS Incomplete – Don’t Get Excluded – FedBiz5_Episode 6

Miles Mnich  0:00  

This podcast is sponsored by FedBiz Access - Government Contracting Made Simple. 

Miles Mnich  0:05  

I am Myles Mnich, and I do marketing for small businesses. You are listening to FedBiz'5 where you get informed, get connected, and get results.

Miles Mnich  0:16  

Hello, hello, and welcome back FedBiz'5 family.  We are back. Today we have a special guest, Ms. Tracy Plant. How are you doing today Ms. Tracy? 

Tracy Plant  0:26  

Very good. 

Miles Mnich  0:26  

Great! We thank you for being here, and we thank you for joining us today. Ms. Tracy, before we actually begin, can you just tell us what you do?

Tracy Plant  0:38  

I am the Vice President of Sales here at FedBiz Access, and I oversee our consultants as well as make sure our client family is taken care of from initial investment to fulfillment. 

Miles Mnich  0:50

So it's a really big territory to navigate. And so if you think about that, so would you say for small businesses, you would need a professional to do it?

Tracy Plant  1:01  

I would say, well of course I would say yes, I would just like, you know, and I don't like to use this, I know it is a little cliche, but you know, you can do your taxes for free, but you pay an accountant.  As a small business, you do not want to try to do your own taxes.  You are a small business; you pay somebody to do that. 

Tracy Plant  1:20  

Paying for somebody to do your registration, and I do not want to just say your SAM, because again, SAM is one part then Dynamic Small Business Search is a different part.  Which again, it is worth calling a company, a professional, somebody with experience that has a good name, like FedBiz Access.  I have to throw that in there. You know, to give them a call, it does not cost anything to talk to a consultant, have them review your registrations, see what you may be missing, see why it is important. 

Tracy Plant  1:51  

Most small businesses do not even know the DSBS exists. They do not know what it is for. They do not know where to find it. They do not know why it is so important. 

Tracy Plant  2:01  

Everybody thinks well, SAM is so easy to do, but those are the people that sit in SAM for years, and never get a phone call or an email from a government buyer to procure their goods or services.

Miles Mnich  2:11  

So Tracy, could you give us an analogy to better understand this? You know, if you're a small business, and you don't know really how to navigate it, what would be a good example or an analogy to kind of compare it to?

Tracy Plant  2:28 

Sure, I'll make it a simple one, and this is something that I think anybody any small business owner can definitely relate to. If you are a small business owner and you have a job that you need filled.  You have one position in your company that you need filled, and you put out an ad and you get two applicants.  Let us say for the case of this argument, you get two applicants.  You give them the application, which of course the company, your small business put together an application that has questions on it that are obviously important to you. 

Tracy Plant  2:57  

So, we will say it is a five-page application. Applicant one and applicant two get the application. Applicant one turns it back in.  They filled it out completely.  All their skills, their experience, their past jobs, their references, all of it, every question you had on that application, they filled it out.  Applicant two, they filled out their pertinent information.  Let us say their contact information, their address, their phone number, their name, maybe you know, where they went to school, put one skill down, but did not feel the need to put references, or where they worked before. They did not think that was important. So, they had a couple of you know, maybe a page or two that they left blank because they did not think that was important enough to do. Both applicants give you back their application. Which one are you going to select to probably call back first?

Miles Mnich  3:46

Applicant one all day, they have everything filled out?

Tracy Plant  3:49 

Absolutely. So, that is an easy way to think of it as a small business owner.  How important it is to be that applicant one, to be that person that the government selects.   To not get disqualified because of silly omissions, or something that you really did not know about because you know, you are a professional in your field, and we are professional in this field. 

Miles Mnich  4:07

Amazing podcasts, amazing information. With that being said, this is the end of today.  And, if this is you and your DSBS is not finished, maybe you had no clue about DSBS, and you need help.  Ms. Tracy, could you guide them on how to get this help and what number to call?

Tracy Plant  4:24

Absolutely, you can go to www.FedBizAccess.com. Of course, take a look at our Services tab up at the top right. We do everything from registrations to contracting vehicles, GSA schedule. We also have a lot of marketing we do, and even coaching on how to talk to the people in the government that buy what you sell. 

Tracy Plant  4:51

If you want to give us a call, you can give us a call at 888-299-8266.  One of the representatives will answer your call and are there to help listen to see if there is a need that you have that we can provide a solution to.

Miles Mnich  5:06 

Beautiful. Thank you for being here. Miss Tracy. With that being said, this is FedBiz'5 where you get informed, get connected and get results on government contracting. 

Miles Mnich  5:15

That is it for today. Have an amazing day!

Miles Mnich  5:17

This podcast is sponsored by FedBiz Access - government contracting made simple. For more information visit FedBizAccess.com. That is F-E-D-B-I-Z Access.com. Our phone number is 877-376-4249. The extension code is 407. 

Miles Mnich  5:38 

Thank you guys for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.