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The Amtower ReportVolume 6, #13, August 13, 2007(The Amtower Report is an e-journal on the Business-to-Government market featuring the opinions of Mark Amtower, and occasionally reader comments. This newsletter is only sent to those who request it. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this newsletter, please pass it along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, see directions below. The newsletter is posted each Monday at www.FederalDirect.net, and the latest “Off-Center Observations” is on the home page. All back issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)
Item: If you sell products to government (as in commodity products, including IT), the place to be this November 5-6 is The Sixth Annual Amtower Summit on Selling Products to the Government. This is the only event focused exclusively on selling products to the government and we offer information you can act on immediately. We have a great lineup of speakers and we are in a great new Hilton hotel, the BWI Hilton, 5 minutes from Baltimore-Washington International airport. Join us for good food, great speakers, excellent networking and more. This is a limited seating event, so register NOW. See Events below for the link. Corrected Item: (Here is what I had last issue) I understand that it has been warm in our area recently, but the next time you start to complain about the weather, think of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq in 100+ degree temperatures in full combat gear. Remember them with a prayer and a donation to the USO – www.USO.org . And this is what Johnny Wilkinson sent me: correction: 125 degrees + !!!!!!!! (one of my employees is a reservist that got called up to Iraq and sent me this picture) – the photo was a digital thermometer that registered 126 degrees. Item: While I have been occasionally linked with various forms of verbal controversy, sometimes more information occurs when I have a great conversation with someone. This has been the case recently while doing one-on-one interviews with Steve Charles and Chris Dorobek on Amtower Off Center (Friday at 2 PM on WFED, AM 1050; shows are archived at www.FederalNewsRadio.com ). Item: Yes, I have a new book coming out. No, it is not the 2nd edition of Government Marketing Best Practices. The book is Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes and it will be out in early September. You can take a look and preview listen at www.EpiphanyBook.com . The first cartoon you see will be on the cover. Not that I have an opinion. THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY: A TALE OF TWO VARs In late 2004, two companies selling information technology entered the B2G market. One had huge resources backed by a Fortune 100 (number 72 in 2007) company, the other had a guy with tremendous experience, but not much in the way of resources. David and Goliath. In the summer of 2005, Goliath comes out publicly in an interview in Government VAR stating it is rolling out a GSA Schedule, web site, plans to and partner with small businesses. It also claimed to have strong military sales. David, meanwhile, very quietly had struck bargains with a select group of manufacturers and started building sales teams for each product line it chose to represent. The results, as seen through the GSA Schedule: 2005 2006 YTD 2007 Total revenues for David, as reported in CRN magazine (July 9, 2007): In this issue of CRN David, aka Carahsoft, placed second in The Fast Growth 100, second only to Groupware Technology of San Francisco. Carahsoft, is run by perhaps the best salesperson in this market, Craig Abod. All Carahsoft revenue is government, and the ramp is $0-200 million in sales in four years. As I predicted in VAR Wars 2004, Craig Abod has returned to take his place in the top tier of government resellers ( www.federaldirect.net/offwhite23.html ). My next prediction for Carahsoft - $500 million in FY 2009. Goliath, AKA Best Buy Government, recently announced a change of management in its Government subsidiary. While Best Buy cannot be called a true VAR, it is the category it fits best, at least by description, and it does have a contract through GSA Schedule 70. You could not tell it was a VAR by the results after four years in the market and two years on Schedule. Can small companies win in the government market? You bet. What does it take? Stamina, intelligence, knowing what the government is buying and how to sell it to them. Not that I have an opinion. Beware of the SCHLOCK EVENT PRODUCERS, producing minimal value events that eat your money with no significant return! The events listed below are among those I think are worth your time, money and effort. Just because an event is not listed below does not imply it is not worth attending. If you want my opinion on a specific event or producer, call me. This topic is addressed more thoroughly in the members section at www.GovernmentMarketingBestPractices.com. October 18, 7:00PM - 11:00PM, GIT ROCKIN' 2nd Annual BATTLE OF THE GOVERNMENT IT BANDS, The State Theatre, Falls Church, VA www.GitRockin.com October 23-25, Federal Information Assurance Conference 2007, University of Maryland at College Park http://www.fbcinc.com/fiac/ November 2, Heroines in Technology, Hyatt Regency Reston, www.WomenInTechnology.org November 5-6, 2007 – The Sixth Annual Amtower Summit on Selling Products to the Government, BWI Airport Hilton. Save the date – details to follow at www.FederalDirect.net/2007summit.html November 7-8, The Coalition for Government Procurement Annual Fall Conference, Hilton Arlington, http://www.thecgp.org/
Amtower Off-Center airs Friday at 2:05 PM on WFED 1050 AM in Washington, DC and is simulcast and archived on www.FederalNewsRadio.com. Tune in!
*** Thanks The Amtower Report is published by Amtower & Company, and is written for companies targeting the government marketplace. The opinions expressed are those of Mark Amtower unless otherwise noted. Contact us at Amtower & Company, PO Box 314, Highland, MD 20777-0314 (301-924-0058). This material is copyrighted and may not be duplicated, reprinted or otherwise replicated without written permission of the publisher. Email subscriptions are free by request: sign up at www.FederalDirect.net |
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