Posts In Government Contracts

How To Get Government Contracts

 Many countries have put in place massive stimulus packages in the last 12 months and are increasing government contracting opportunities. It is, therefore, time to evaluate what portion (if any) of your business is in government contracts. In the US, the federal government, by law, must aim to award 23% of contract dollars to small businesses each year. This is also similar in many other countries. However, a recent NY Times article reported that, of about 20 million small businesses in the US, only about half a million are in a position to do business with the government .

I recently wrote an article on Emarketservices aimed at helping e-marketplaces update their website to ensure government contracting opportunities are being represented on their websites. See: http://www.emarketservices.com/start/Knowledge/E-business-Issues/Strategic-Issues/index.html . The more websites and marketplaces that advertise government contracts or provide advice on submitting government bids, the easier it will be for you to find and win them.

Aside from the accessibility issue, a number of other factors impact the ability of small businesses to bid on and win government contracts. Here are a few.

• You must have a good track record. Generally, the government won’t give a contract to a business without positive cash flows and several years of operations.
  
  

• You need to familiarize yourself with the legal and regulatory intricacies of doing business with the government. Dealing with the government is NOT like dealing with private industry. Public procurement is highly regulated and you need to stay on top of contractual and regulatory requirements.
  
  

• You need to prepare yourself before you can even submit a government bid. There are often a host of ‘to do’ items before you can bid on government contracts. For example, in the US, you must be registered with a D&B DUNS Code, registered in the CCR (Central Contractor Registration) database etc. Here is a good list of things you need to do. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02EEDB153DF93BA35753C1A96F9C8B63
  
  

• You need patience and you need to learn the ropes. It may take weeks or months to find out if you’ve won a bid after submission. In addition, writing a government bid is not easy. There are often a number of supporting documents to collect and include, there might be a complex contract or solicitation to read and comprehend. Spend time browsing through a few websites that provide guidance on writing government bids.
  
  

• Finally, you still need to network with purchasing agents at government agencies in order to build a good relationship.

Let us know what experiences you have had with government contracting. Do you have any tips or advice you can give other businesses thinking about government contracting?

Sabra Easterday
Founder and managing member of MatchB2B, LLC
Bid To Win Work



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