I love when sports interacts with one of my other interests! Here, it’s the MLB trade deadline and federal contracting.
The CO is just like a member of the front office of your favorite professional baseball team. For what it’s worth, mine is the St. Louis Cardinals.
The road to respect closing business deals is the exact same as making baseball trades in late summer.
The CO should never insult the vendor’s lack of knowledge or vice versa. I’ve relied on the vendor’s subject-matter expertise on market research so I didn’t compare apples to oranges and made absolute certainty that the potential awardee knew exactly what they were agreeing to during negotiations. I was thorough in my explanation of standard operating procedures, time frames and instructions. Both sides of a deal need to be comfortable with what’s at the table. Neither side should be scared to admit they don’t know what they don’t know. Be honest. Belittling and bullying won’t get you anywhere. Negotiating is not a game of poker. It’s creating a win-win situation.
I would always ask my chain-of-command if they would sign off on an unorthodox decision or my intent to move forward with no intent to award. This is because time is of the essence, and I could not afford to prepare unnecessary paperwork if any other co-signers did not concur. Some misconstrued that behavior as trepidation. I simply considered it good business practice. So does Major League Baseball.
A contract is not a contract until the SF-1449 is signed and it’s awarded in eCMS. I had one small business get cold feet right before negotiations, but my open honesty as a CO made everybody else feel comfortable. Likewise, a deal is locked in when the FPR is acknowledged by both parties. There’s been tension when I’ve made a typo on that particular document or when the vendor forgets what they’ve negotiated. However, I’ve only experienced cold feet once. It wasn’t a big deal.
Wasting time happens more in federal contracting then one would think. Businesses or even other agencies submit a proposal to gauge business practices or more easily obtain information. There’s really no way to stop it. COs just field proposals as they are assigned. No sales or sales reporting, especially if it’s done multiple times, is usually a strong indicator. Nobody likes wasted time. Chiefly because at Major League Baseball’s trade deadline and in federal contracting there’s ample amount of business to be conducted and deadlines to meet which determine a certain level of success.
I work the same way as a consultant as I did as a CO.
If you think I can help you then email nicholas.s.robertson@outlook.com for your introductory email and free consultation. 
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