Government contracting offers immense opportunity, but successfully securing these lucrative contracts requires strategy and diligence. In this guide, I'll walk through the key steps to evaluate if government work is right for your business, register and certify your company, identify opportunities, and market yourself effectively. Follow this advice to determine if government contracting is a good fit and set your business up for success in the public sector marketplace.
Why Government Contracting?
With a collective spend of nearly $650B across all government levels, statistics show there’s a vast opportunity for making government your customer at any level.
Is government contracting right for your business?
The key to success is understanding that the government does not want to hold your hand. It needs to be confident that work will be done efficiently and well. So how do you know if you’re the right fit?
Three Elements of a Responsible & Responsive Vendor:
Past Performance. Your business history is proof that you can get the job done. Be sure that you have at least 3 – 4 past customers who can give excellent recommendations.
Organizational Capacity. One way to make sure your business can complete government work is by establishing a defined process for identifying, pursuing, and managing government contract opportunities. You should also have adequate and intelligent staff to deliver.
Financial Capacity. When it comes to stability, you must be able to cover the upfront costs of a contract. You will be asked for financial statements and taxes for certifications to determine whether the company is financially capable of government work - and sometimes they might even do audits.
How do I know the government buys what I sell?
The government buys almost everything from responsible and responsive vendors. This means the opportunities for lucrative work are endless, but that also leads to the danger of being overwhelmed and chasing jobs that might not be a good fit.
Conduct Preliminary Research.
First, it is important to make sure that there are sufficient opportunities for your type of business in government contracting. Here are some ideas to get a lay of the land:
Register Your Company
Government agencies often use registration sites for research and to identify businesses that can deliver. Registration is a crucial part of government contracting because it tells the government who you are and that you are interested in working with them.
Registrations are applicable to the City and Federal governments. One thing to keep in mind is that NYC has its own registration, but there are authorities like NYCHA, MTA, and Port Authority who have their own registration and portals separate from NYC.
The Federal registration is SAM, which stands for System for Award Management. This is the one site you need to be registered in order to do work with the Federal government.
Apply for Certifications
Government certifications are jurisdiction specific. Federal certifications like 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, etc. only apply to federal contracts. State/local certifications like NYS MWBE only apply to state and city contracts. Certifications can provide contract access, networking, and lending programs, but are not mandatory for government contracting success. Even if certified, you must prove capability and capacity to win contracts.
Market Your Business to the Government
Target and build relationships with key agencies buying your products or services. Get to know their culture, needs, and procurement processes. With a more focused approach, you can market yourself effectively. Apex can help you identify 5-10 priority agencies.
Have a capability statement summarizing your credentials, certifications, capabilities, and past performance. Most importantly, communicate what makes you different and valuable. Highlight specialized expertise, modern facilities/technology, ability to service multiple regions, or other unique attributes that set you apart. Continuously improve your capabilities to stay competitive.
We covered a lot, but I’ll leave you with a simple list of “Do’s and Don’ts” to help you get started:
Top 5 Do’s
01 Do market research and understand your industry
02 Identify problems and solutions – Do you know customers, understand what and how they buy, and learn the culture and process of each agency
03 Do the work! Get registered and certified.
04 Do network, build relationships, and continually market
05 Do make sure your corporate documents are up to date
Top 5 Dont’s
01 Don’t sell everything!
02 Don’t forget to keep your registrations and certifications up-to-date
03 Don’t meet with decision-makers unless you have an outstanding capability statement, past performance references lined up, and a pitch
04 Don’t use any personal info (email, phone number) – Keep it professional!
05 Don’t wait until the last minute – be proactive and prepared.
If you’d like to learn more about free government contracting assistance, please reach out to me at Apex@lagcc.cuny.edu. I can answer your questions and help guide you to figure out if government contracting is right for you.