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Some small businesses can be put off competing for state government contracts. Although it can be a challenge, you can overcome these and win business for your company.
Often state government contracts are misunderstood, and a lot of businesses don’t even know where to begin. Luckily for you, our guide to state government contracts can help get you on the path to success.
The local, state and federal governments release contracts to procure goods or services. They are essentially outsourcing to external vendors for them to provide a good, service, or product they need.
Let’s start off with the basics. Every location in the U.S. has two types of authorities they deal with: local and federal. Many companies overlook the fact that both county and municipal governments are local governments. State government contracts also fall under the term of local government contracts.
Each local, state and federal government has its own procurement process and procedures. The requirements can be different for each. Therefore, it’s important that you check their websites, or go into their office to get your affairs in order.
It may be worth having meetings with departmental heads in various state and local governments if bidding in different states. This might help you gain some valuable information about the available state government contract opportunities.
If you’re unable to travel across states or don’t have the time, there’s another way you can stay up to date. Procurement opportunities should be posted on the local government’s business opportunity website.
The state government has a need for virtually every product or service you can imagine. However, they do require you to be an expert in the area you’re bidding in. There are three types of government proposal:
An RFP is the most common form of solicitation you’ll come across when bidding for state government contracts. Here, a contracting authority is looking for high-quality responses to their questions. Quality matters here. The questions will usually ask for you to demonstrate your experience and have a tactical approach to the contract.
A lot of businesses will outsource their RFP response to an RFP Writer. They are experts in writing winning bids and know how to best convey your company to the contractor. An RFP Consultant can help optimize your success.
For an IFB, a commissioner knows how they want the contract to be delivered. Therefore, they only require suggestions, meaning vendors can’t negotiate. Often, in this case, the contract is awarded to the lowest priced bidder that meets the minimum requirements.
This type of solicitation is focused primarily on pricing. An organization may require you to answer questions about your experience. Your pricing should be competitive.
In order to be eligible to bid on a state government contract, you’ll need to do a few things first. These include:
You will need to have your organization’s DUNS number to hand to bid on government contracts. This can be found on the Dun and Bradstreet website. This nine-digit identification number is for the physical location of your business.
In order to start bidding on state government contracts, you’ll need to match your services/products to a NAICS code. The NAICS code stands for North American Industry Classification System. A business will have a primary NAICS code or multiple depending on if they have multiple services or products. To find your NAICS code, view the list on the U.S Census Bureau.
You must register with the government’s System of Award Management (SAM) to participate in government contracting. Becoming a registered vendor with SAM eliminates the need to enter the same information over and over. This streamlines the process and increases efficiency when doing business with the government. You will need both your DUNS number and NAICS code to register with SAM.
Before you decide to get underway with your RFP response, you must read the documents thoroughly first. It is vital that you read every page to make sure that you are eligible (even if it’s 80 pages). There may be certain qualifications or pre-requisites required for the contract. If you don’t have them and apply anyway, it could be a great waste of time and resources.
Each state government agency sets its own specific set-aside goals in accordance with the SBA. The Small Business Administration works with government agencies to ensure smaller vendors can have a swing at government opportunities. Within the broader term of small businesses, there are subsets including:
Not only this, but you should question if you have the resources to actually deliver the contract if successful. You’d be surprised at how often this is overlooked. Does the contract require you to deliver goods or services cross-state? Do you have the infrastructure in place to do so? You need to be sure you can deliver 100% of the contract.
You will need to be able to prove that you have fulfilled other contracts similar in scope and complexity. A buyer wants to be reassured that you know what you’re doing. They can ask for up to three past case studies within the last 3 – 5 years. You should demonstrate how you overcame any challenges as this will show your flexibility and problem-solving skills. The more in-depth the better (although sticking to the word count).
The state government will always be looking for bid responses that present added value. They want to get the most value for money from a vendor. Do you have any innovative solutions? Will hiring you enable them to achieve any targets/objectives/aims they have? Do your research and see if there are any stated that you can or do meet? This will give you a boost when it comes to reviewing your proposal. This can help you get one step ahead of your competitors.
Contractors have included word/character/page counts for a reason. They want to be fair and expect them to be met. If a question is asking for a 1000-word response, simply writing two short bullet points won’t suffice.
Another pet peeve of contractors is when RFP responses include overly technical jargon. A lot of the time, the contracting awarding body won’t be experts in your industry (hence the need to outsource). Your proposal should be in Laymen’s terms, and you should explain any abbreviations you include or technical details. You should write it as though the person reading it has no idea about your industry/product/service.
At the end of the day, you should be convincing the buyer why you’re the best vendor for the job. Why are you better than your competitors? What’s your USP? Sell yourself and your business.
Our RFP Writing service is the perfect solution to ensure that you submit a high-quality bid, even when you’re busy. Our writers will break down the solicitation documents, allowing you to see what the bid and the contract involves. This will help to ensure that you have all the specified evidence and meet the requirements of the contracting authority. Our RFP Writers will then craft persuasive, high-quality responses, attach supporting evidence and even submit the bid on your behalf. Upload the solicitation documents for a free quote.
Have you already written a bid but need a second pair of eyes to review your work? Our RFP Mentor service will do just that. Simply send over your bid responses and the solicitation documents. Our writers will then assess your work, ensuring that your responses are in line with the specification. They will also check for any spelling or grammar errors. You can then submit your bid with confidence. Upload your work for a free quote.
Do you need help with preparing a bid proposal? Proposal Ready can help businesses that are new to tendering or those in need of rejuvenating their content. Our Bid Consultants can offer you proposal writing services, creating:
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