Increase Your Sales to Uncle Sam, Meet the Buyers Conference for Government Contractors March 20, 2020

Omaha, Nebraska – Nebraska Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) a program of Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is accepting registrations for their annual Meet the Buyers Conference on March 20, 2020, located at UNO’s College of Business. The conference is open to Nebraska businesses looking to contract with federal, state, and/or local government agencies.

Meet the Buyers Conference is an annual event hosted by the Nebraska PTAC that provides an opportunity for businesses to connect with agency representatives to learn more about how these agencies procure various services and products.

This year marks the fifth conference held in Omaha. Sessions offered will cover a range of topics specific to government contracting, from winning strategies to teaming and joint venturing. This year’s conference will also host a panel on Disaster Recovery Planning. Businesses will hear from top agencies on how to develop a disaster continuity and recovery plan for their business. The panel will also highlight what buyers are looking for in a business that wishes to pursue contracts to help with clean up and recovery after a disaster.

Brett Walton with Ironhide Construction, an attendee at last year’s conference, stated, “Meet the Buyers was very beneficial to our business. The presenters offered insight into government contracting and the speed dating exercise allowed us to hear other vendor stories. We followed up with a few of the vendors and have partnered on projects with them”.

The impact on the participating agencies is also valuable. Matthew Hibbert, Small Business Specialist with USACE Omaha district, states, “For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District Small Business Program, the 2019 Meet the Buyer conference was a huge success! It is a fairly common occurrence that the public just isn't familiar with what it is we do. It was an absolute honor to be able to meet with over 30 different Small Business contractors to clarify the breadth of work the Omaha District is involved in. These relationships are so important for the Small Business concern. Many times contractors are selling a product that simply the Corps just doesn't purchase, instead of sending them along their way, I have a name and number to give”.

Currently, the 2020 Meet the Buyers Conference will host 18 federal, state, and local agencies and three prime contractors as exhibitors. For more information and the full conference agenda, visit NBDC’s website at nbdc.unomaha.edu/conference.

To prepare for the conference, Nebraska PTAC is hosting a free workshop on How to Effectively Prepare a Capability Statement on February 28, 2020. For those who are unable to attend the workshop, PTAC consultants are available to go over capability statements during a free consultation session. To register for the workshop, or to schedule an appointment with a consultant, visit ptac.unomaha.edu/events.