HOW SPEAKERS
CAN CASH IN ON
GOVERNMENT
SPENDING
BY DOÑA STOREY
re you interested in
$476 billion?
How about part of
$38.6 billion or a mere
$5.1 billion dollars?
You might be thinking “I’ve heard some
really big lines before, but this one tops
them all.”
This is a genuine opportunity. Let me
introduce you to the world’s biggest cus-
tomer. This customer is not for everyone;
only those who are willing to dig in and
make things happen.
The astounding larger figure represents
what the federal government spent overall
on contracting in fiscal year 2011. The
smaller figure is what was spent through
General Services Administration (GSA)
Schedules. The GSA “catalog” lists those
commercial items the government buys.
And you can be listed as one of GSA’s
products and/or service providers when
they decide they want to place an order.
A schedule is like a blanket purchase
agreement. There is one schedule that
allows speakers and trainers to win billions in contract awards. Don’t believe
me? Go to www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov and
type “keynote speaker” in the search box
