A+ TIPS ON HOW TO WIN A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT

Being the single largest consumer of products and services, a lot of small business

owners are aiming to win a business contract with the

federal government

Given the tight competition, how

can you win a deal with the government?

Know your business’ niche.

Knowing your business’ niche can help you determine on what

federal agencies can you potentially do

business with.

For instance, if you are a manufacturing of steel, then you may want to

know what kind of projects will be in need

of your product and what federal agencies usually operate these

projects.

Study your target federal agency

O Once you’ve identified your business’ niche, you can easily make a list of federal agencies that can be your potential market.

O Make sure that you study their organization’s goals and objectives.

O This will be helpful when you create your business proposal later on since you can gear it towards the attainment of the agency’s goals and thus giving you an advantage.

Research on past bids and procurement records

Research on past successful bidders of your target federal agencies.

O What were the business strategies of these successful bidders?

O What kind of products/services do they offer?

O What made them win the contract?O Are these successful bidders your

competitor?O Can you build partnership with these

successful bidders?

Researching on the procurement records of your target agencies also gives you an idea on

O How much do these agencies are actually spending/willing to spend on procurement?

O What kind of projects do they usually do?O What kind of business do they usually

engage with?

Enhance your business’ visibility

O Make sure that your business have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number

O Register at the government’s System for Award Management (SAM)

These are basic requirements before you can bid for a government contract and by doing these, different agencies will be aware of your products and services.

Build your online profile

O Provide all necessary data in your online business profile.

O Make sure that your phone numbers/fax/mailing addresses are updated so you can be easily contacted by federal agencies

O Highlight your business’ milestones and achievements.

Read tender documents thoroughly

O Once you’ve finally received an invitation for bids, make sure that you read the tender documents thoroughly.

O Study the conditions of the contract and evaluate if you are indeed capable of providing the needed resources of the federal agency.

O Make sure that you follow all tendering instructions carefully.

Create an impressive and realistic business proposal

O In creating your business proposal make sure that both your business’ goals and the federal agency’s goals are met.

O Make sure that your bid is competitive but reasonable.

O Be client-centered: Make sure that your business proposal stands out among the other bidders by gearing the content towards the attainment of the federal agency’s goal.

Consider other options

O If you were not awarded with a government contract during your first try, you can still get a piece of the work by subcontracting or considering partnership with competitive bidders later on.

O This will allow you to gain more experience so you can land your own government contract later on.