Federal Sales Guide/Senior Executive who Builds Industry Intel & Customized Winning Federal Sales Action Plans for Contractors through her ‘Three-Step Program.’ Over 10,000 people and 350 companies trained since 2002.
Federal Contractors - how do you end an engagement with a federal client? Do you complete the job with a flourish they didn’t expect? Did you include a level of quality throughout they’ve never experienced before? Did you tell them what to expect in the beginning or just do it as part of your process? Did you provide surveys along the way? Did you talk about it or ask if they noticed? The federal government has a Grading system and ‘Exceptional’ is the highest form of compliment. Do you know how to give ‘exceptional’ service? Exceptional ratings have to be earned and prepare yourself, some agencies never give out more than a ‘Satisfactory’ so know from the very beginning your client’s way of rating vendors. These ratings are so important, you may not even be able to bid for exclusive future opportunities without proof of ‘Exceptional’ Past Performance in the government’s CPARs rating system for certain opportunities. Why? Because the feds want to only invite the ‘best-in-class.’ Either way, find your company’s ‘Exceptional’ levels of service so you can keep the entire team providing it…. Every Single Day. Make ‘Exceptional Service’ your motto. Written by: Eileen Kent
Julie T.
4mo
Chocolate and grand pianos: now THAT'S "Exceptional" service! Thanks for the insightful tip regarding some opportunities that require vendors to have "Exceptional" ratings for bidding. I liked your Five Questions To Ask Yourself list!
Kevin Duncan
4mo
This is a GREAT reminder, Eileen! I think we need to always remember that, though in the Federal space, we are still working with humans. People, who just like us all, want good customer service, a good product, and a good experience. The "Planning" is a great point, as we should in any project; create predictability; Know thy client; and execute accordingly! Thanks again for this post! Cheers!
Under promise but over deliver - this is my MOTTO. I hammer this into my team and partners everytime in every project. Leading with value is paramount in working with any customer. Do more than you are asked to and watch it compound. My differentiator is to be unforgettable.
Lucy Carpenter
4mo
This is very nice - you designed this? Its quite impressive.
Richard Martin
4mo
Words to serve by!
Barbara Gollon
4mo
Well-done, as usual!
Eric M.
4mo
Calories
Federal Acquisition SME (35+ Yrs of Federal Service (Retired)), Small Business Advocate, & President | Founder of FedSubK, a SBA-Certified WOSB Helping Small Businesses Expand Their Federal Contracting Knowledge.
4moImportant to note that FAR 42.15 has the definitions of each rating and the criteria for each in Tables 42-1and 42-2. Satisfactory means you are performing as required. But, if you know what it takes to achieve the Exceptional rating, you can plan for that rating and track achievements to it (while owning up to any performance issues). Schedule a pre-CPARS meeting with the CO and COR about 60 days out from your annual cut-off or prior to closeout to "gently remind" the Government of those achievements and discuss how you can achieve that Exceptional rating if you didn't quite reach it this rating period.