The federal government is falling short on its goal to award contracts to small businesses. While numbers have improved slightly, there are still millions of dollars to be had by winning one of these coveted contracts.
The Obama administration has recently mandated a government wide push to connect small businesses with these opportunities. Perhaps the largest problem hindering the government from meeting their small business quota is that qualified companies are ill informed of these opportunities. The following guide will provide some wisdom to help you secure a government contract.
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Identify areas of government that may be interested in your products and services. This can take some research, but can be more than worth your time in the long run. The federal government is bigger than ever and requires a wide range of goods and services that you may be qualified to provide. Get your companies name on the registers of any and every branch of government that you feel qualified to service.
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Network with key decision makers in the offices you’ve targeted to serve. Once you are on the register, then you have to get picked. Lobbying is how things are accomplished in government, and if you want that big contract for your business, you will have to learn to lobby. Perhaps forming a team to strategize around this new goal for your company would be highly beneficial. Put your heads together and practice schmoozing.
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Craft the perfect bid proposal. Larger companies have specialists and entire departments just for this task. You may not be able to devote the same type of resources, but you can stress the importance of being able to relate the strengths of your business to the needs of the government branch to whom you are proposing. Get your hands on some examples of winning bid proposals and study them.
The federal government is having a hard time living up to the standards it has set for itself for contracting work to small businesses. However, there are valuable opportunities to be had in the way of government contracts for your organization. The right combination of research, persistence, and savvy could lead to Uncle Sam taking your business to the next level.
