Lora Morrow, NAVFAC, Provides Insight on Government Contracting for Small Businesses

Tips for selling to NAVFAC. By Mike Sabellico, Business Consultant, Orange County SBDC

This month's edition of Contracting Central features the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) and specifically their Deputy for Small Business, Lora Morrow. She has over twenty years of small business experience working for the Navy and has served in virtually every contracting position during that period. She has been in her current position for two years. NAVFAC is a global military Command with a Headquarters element and Component Commands that work together as one team providing facilities engineering, contingency engineering, and expeditionary support to the Navy, Marine Corps, Federal Agencies, and other Department of Defense Clients. NAVFAC provides Systems Command (SYSCOM) support to all Warfare and Provider Enterprises, serves as the lead SYSCOM for the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, and provides warfighter support, including contingency engineering, expeditionary operations, sealift support programs, and ocean facilities. The local NAVFAC Command, NAVFAC Southwest, is located in San Diego and is one of ten facilities engineering commands in NAVFAC. The command is comprised of over 3,400 Federal employees (civil service, officers, and enlisted). NAVFAC Southwest is responsible for the public works, planning, engineering/design, construction, real estate, environmental services, and acquisition / disposal of facilities and real estate in a six state area on the West Coast. NAVFAC Southwest contracts with commercial businesses to produce and deliver construction for the military such as housing, piers, airfields and hospitals to name a few. The command also provides public works services such as transportation, maintenance, utilities/energy delivery, facilities management and base operations support to the Navy and Marine Corps Installations within its geographic area of responsibility as well as support to other federal agencies in California.   Most of these services are performed by ROICC & Public Works Teams composed of Seabees and Sailors with different levels of expertise in construction trades. Their annual operating budget is in excess of $3 billion in client work on the West Coast resulting in huge economic impacts for many communities. I recently spoke with Lora Morrow and asked her some questions regarding small business and NAVFAC. OCSBDC: How do you like working for the NAVFAC and how would you describe the current atmosphere for small businesses who want to work with the NAVFAC? Lora: I really enjoy working for NAVFAC. I believe strongly in our mission and work with a really great group of dedicated individuals. There is always something new to learn due to constantly changing regulations. The current atmosphere for small business is challenging due to recent budget constraints, but I don't think it's any easier for large businesses either. We were able to get a lot of work done in the past few years with stimulus funding and those funds are gone and our normal funding levels have been cut. We had about $4 billion in our executive portfolio for the last 3 to 4 years and the outlook for 2014 & 2015 is closer to $1Billion. OCSBDC: What is the best way for a small business to track upcoming opportunities for your agency? Lora: There are two avenues to track opportunities for NAVFAC Southwest: First as a prime contractor you need to monitor our website https://www.neco.navy.mil/ and also FedBizOps. On the FBO site look for our unit ID code N62473. I recommend not relying on the FBO email notification alone, get on the website and conduct active searches once or twice a month. The second way to look for opportunities to work with us is via a subcontracting role and you can find information about that on our website on the NAVFAC Southwest Small Business portal. OCSBDC: What is the best way for companies to market their products or services to the NAVFAC? Lora: First and foremost, they have to understand how NAVFAC works - do your homework! The best way for companies to learn about how we operate is to schedule a one-on-one meeting with myself or another Small Business Specialist or attend one of our various outreach events. You can always check with your local SBDC and find out what events we'll be attending or you can find the information on our website. Also make sure that you tailor your capability statement to the targeted customer. In a similar fashion to resumes, tailored capability statement are more likely to get you a call than a generic statement. OCSBDC: What are some of the common mistakes you've seen small businesses make when working with the NAVFAC? Lora: There are several mistakes that I've seen small businesses make over and over again. #1. Capability Statement - Make them succinct, eye catching, and tailored to the individual opportunity. #2. Don't drop in for a visit with the SB office or any technical POC. Everyone is busy and drop in appointments can't be supported. I feel awful when someone has driven down from Temecula and I have to tell them that I have no time for them today. Make an appointment and send your capability statement via email so I can have some feedback ready for you when you visit. #3. Not doing your homework - When I ask you what you sell or what service do you provide and you answer with whatever you need, I get the impression that you're not ready to work with NAVFAC. At matchmaking events never ask the agency or prime contact what they need or what they do...You want to make them your customer so do your homework and know those details in advance. #4 Performance - Once awarded the contract you NEED to perform on that contract. The worst thing a small business can do is to win a contract and then not be able to perform the work. The company will likely lose money on that contract and then it will be nearly impossible to get another contract. This may mean saying no to a larger opportunity that you're not ready to support. Winning a contract that the company is not ready to support can result in overextending the company and possibly watching it unravel. #5 Business Cards - Use the back and have all important information on the card. It may be worthwhile to have a card for commercial work and one for government work. On the Government card ensure you have the DUNS number and any federal certifications with their associated expiration dates. OCSBDC: Any last comments for our readers? Lora: Use the outstanding resources available to small businesses like the agency SBLO's and the Orange County SBDC consultants who have incredible experience and knowledge available to qualified small businesses at no cost! Last Word: Lora Morrow is an exceptional advocate of small business in a variety of facets and I want to thank her for taking the time to conduct this interview. We have several Orange County SBDC clients who have achieved incredible success both from a contract awarded and jobs created perspective working closely with Lora and supporting NAVFAC on a variety of projects.