In this episode, Carroll and Michael share examples of deceptive and misleading information, which unfortunately is plentiful in the government marketplace. But how do you know who to trust? Here are a few tips:
- Check the domain of the website claiming to be a government site - is it .gov or .com? Some websites will make you believe they are official government sites, but only a government website will have a .gov extension at the end of its domain name (e.g., sam.gov).
- Not all companies (.com websites) are bad - many provide valuable services. Also, sometimes federal government uses websites with .net and .com extensions, such as Fedconnect.net and Fedbid.com (now Unison Marketplace). A lot of government spending goes through these websites.
- The bottom line - you need to trust your gut and check with your trusted advisor - e.g., PTAC, MBDA, VBOC, private coach, etc.
- Watch out for "easy money" claims. There is no easy money in the government marketplace. Winning takes time, knowledge, effort, resources, and relationships.