Follow Government Orders

Although often time-consuming and sometimes difficult, government accounts can be well worth the extra effort.

By Janet R. Gross

Government and paperwork. The two seem to go hand in hand—and someone has to supply all those forms and documents. Although many government jobs must be bid, making account loyalty uncertain, such customers are still courted by some distributors.

Reno, Nevada-based Intraform services Nevada's workmens compensation department. According to President Doug Clary, the state's threshold for competitive bids is $12,000. "That's a pretty good printing order," Clary

noted. "There's a lot of printing under that amount."

Department heads want to avoid the state's cumbersome purchasing process when they can, Clary explained. "They will request a particular vendor for a new order, with the idea that they get the consultation and design for free. Then they bid out the repeat order. But those opportunities are few and far between," he said.

Most jurisdictions have far lower bidding thresholds, which makes winning government jobs tougher. SBF (formerly Systems Business Forms), Savannah, Ga., services federal, city and county accounts and must bid on any order over $500, said President Chip Grayson.

"They don't have to go with the low bidder, but if they don't, they have to be able to back up why they chose another vendor," he explained.

To help win such jobs, SBF plays up its reputation as well as its line of furniture products and services such as storage, free local delivery and a forms management system with extensive reporting. Still, Grayson noted that it's a more difficult sell than retail accounts.

Another approach to winning government customers is offering specialized services. FORMost Graphic Communications, Rockville, Md., has won a growing business producing and mailing tax bills for local municipalities.

"We like to do things that are very complicated, as that limits the competition," explained President Jim Feldman. FORMost's full-service approach and extensive experience in direct mail "demonstrate to people whose jobs depend on a foolproof system that we're able to get the job done," said Feldman.