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Are you new to bidding for contracts and want to know what’s involved in the bidding process? Keep reading this blog to find out more!
Before we explore the RFP process, it’s important to understand the different types of contracts out there.
An RFP is probably the most common type of solicitation out there. RFPs are released by federal, municipal, state and local governments looking to procure goods and services. There are government RFP solicitations for every industry, including logistics, healthcare and construction.
With an RFP, a contracting authority is looking for high-quality responses to their questions. Typically, you’ll be expected to demonstrate your experience in your RFP response, using engaging language and relevant examples.
Businesses of all sizes can submit an RFP response. However, they’re particularly attractive for small businesses.
If you’re a small business and wish to bid for a contract, you must meet certain size criteria. These requirements are set by the Small Business Association (SBA). These standards define the maximum size of a business hoping to qualify as a small business. This includes:
While not as common, another form of solicitation that you might encounter during the bidding process is an IFB.
With an IFB, the buyer knows exactly how they want the contract to be delivered. This means that vendors are unable to negotiate. In most cases, the buyer awards the contract to the lowest-priced bidder that meets the necessary requirements.
If the buyer issues an RFQ, this requires a much simpler bidding process. This is because RFQs are focused primarily on pricing rather than quality and experience. Therefore, your pricing should be competitive.
So, let’s take a look at the bidding process for businesses responding to a government RFP.
The first step of the bidding process is to actually make sure you’re ready to bid for contracts. It’s important that you do this early and before you get too far into the process.
According to the General Services Administration (GSA), the following assets will increase your chances of winning a government contract:
As part of the bidding process, you’ll be asked to submit your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. The federal government uses this code to classify businesses.
If you’re unsure how to find your NAICS code, you can visit the NAICS Association website. They offer a free tool to help you identify your code.
Once you’ve identified your code, you should check the Small Business Association (SBA) website to determine your business size standard. This is important, as different industries have different standards for what qualifies as a small business.
You need to know this information before proceeding with the bidding process. This is because certain contracts are only offered to small businesses.
There are several ways for you to find government contracts for your business. These include:
Businesses can find government contracts on the beta.SAM.gov website. It is a requirement for government agencies to advertise all contracts over $25,000 on SAM. Because of this requirement, SAM is a good place to find government contracts for your business.
With SAM, businesses are able to view previously awarded contracts too. This will be useful for businesses that are preparing an RFP response for a similar contract.
Another way for businesses to find government contracts is through the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS). Government agencies use this database to final small businesses.
When your small business registers with SAM, your information is automatically uploaded to the DSBS. Once your information has been uploaded, government agencies may contact you if they think you’re suitable for their project.
The DSBS can also be used by small businesses to find other small businesses to work with.
To find government contracts, you could also make use of the US General Services Administration (GSA). The GSA is a government agency that connects vendors with government buyers.
When a business secures a solicitation with the GSA, it’s known as getting onto the GSA schedule. Getting onto the GSA schedule means that your business is approved to work with the government.
In order to benefit from the GSA schedule, you should apply for a Past Performance Evaluation from Open Ratings. This will evaluate your performance against other businesses in your industry. Many government agencies make this a requirement for vendors bidding on their projects.
To do this, you’ll need to register your business and provide 6 – 20 of your previous or present clients.
As we’ve already established, depending on the type of solicitation notice, every buyer will have different requirements. Therefore, the next part of the bidding process is to understand what the buyer is actually asking for.
To do this, you should read the contract specification in great detail. Whether the specification is 1 page or 100 pages, you need to digest all the information before producing the bid.
By doing this, you will know how much time and resources are needed for every step of the bidding process. So, when it comes to producing your RFP response, you’ll be prepared for the amount of work involved.
The next stage of the bidding process is to actually produce your RFP response. To increase your chances of success, you should produce a high-quality, engaging and persuasive proposal. You need to show the buyer that you’re the best business for their project.
An RFP can be complex. It will require much more work than the RFI stage. In fact, in terms of solicitation types, an RFP will have the most requirements.
This is why many businesses outsource their solicitation responses to an RFP Writer. RFPs usually encompass the entirety of the project, in which companies are required to provide long and often complex answers. In our experience, we have seen word count requirements range from 5,000 to 50,000+.
Depending on your industry, buyers may specify the required formatting for your answers. This could simply be a box and a word count per question, or it could be more free-flowing and allow for design. If you work in the creative industry, it is likely that buyers will publish an RFP and expect a well-designed proposal.
The final stage of the bidding process is to submit your response. How, when and where you submit your response will depend on the buyer. If you’re unsure, the buyer should outline this in the specifications.
No matter how you’re asked to submit, you must follow the buyer’s instructions. If you don’t, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll win the bid.
So, now you know what’s involved in the bidding process. However, do you know how to increase your chances of success when bidding for contracts?
Here are our top tips for bidding success:
It’s really important that you only bid on suitable projects. If you have little to no chance of winning the work, you’re just wasting your valuable time and resources.
To ensure the opportunity is right for you, ask yourself the following questions:
To help you navigate the bidding process, you should create a bid management plan. This will help you keep track of the buyer’s requirements, the work involved and any important dates to remember.
Here are some examples of what to include in a bid management plan:
The bidding process can be very complex, and the buyers often have very specific requirements. Therefore, it is crucial that you thoroughly read through the documents to understand the buyer’s demands.
Doing this will allow you to establish how much time needs to be dedicated to certain parts of the bid.
To increase your chances of bidding success, it’s vital that you give yourself plenty of time to complete the work. The deadlines for bids are extremely strict. If you miss the deadline, you’ve missed out on that opportunity.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, you should give yourself several hours before the deadline to submit. That way, you’ll have time to fix any technical issues that arise and still submit on time.
So, if the deadline is 12pm, don’t wait until 11:59am to submit.
One of the easiest ways to improve your chances of success is to proofread and edit your response. Many businesses overlook this stage of the bidding process, but it’s crucial for submitting a winning bid.
Submitting a bid that includes spelling mistakes and grammatical errors won’t impress the buyer. In fact, the buyer might assume that you’re lazy and unprofessional, which is the last thing you want.
To ensure the buyer has the best possible impression of your business, make sure your RFP response is completely error-free.
Here’s a top tip! It’s easy to overlook mistakes in our own work, so you should ask someone else to proofread your response for you. A second reviewer will be able to spot any errors that you might have missed.
So, now you know and understand the bidding process in full. To start with, you should ensure you’re ready to bid, find your NAICS code and identify your business size. Next, you need to find a suitable contract for your business.
Once you’ve found a suitable contract, you need to understand the buyer’s requirements and produce your response. For the final stage of the bidding process, you need to submit your response to the buyer. Remember, it’s crucial that you follow the buyer’s instructions if you want to increase your chances of success!
Not got the time to write winning bid responses in-house? Don’t worry, our Bid Consultants can help. We provide three bid and RFP writing support services.
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 bidding or those in need of rejuvenating their content. Our Bid Consultants will create:
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Because the information on this blog is based on Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s own opinion and experience, it should not be considered professional financial investment advice. The ideas and bidding strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional. Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s thoughts and opinions will also change from time to time as the market changes and as Hudson Outsourcing LLC develops.
