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Government cleaning contracts can be some of the most lucrative contracting opportunities out there. Their longevity in contract length is highly attractive to janitorial companies of all sizes. And for some folks out there, bidding for such a procurement giant can be daunting.
Fortunately, you’ve found Hudson. We know a thing or two about government cleaning contracts, and through this blog, you’ll receive our insights. By the end of this blog, you’ll know how to become eligible and then win these contracts. Stick around until the end for our top 5 tips for improving your cleaning proposal!
Before we get into the details of how to bid on cleaning contracts, you need to ask yourself a question. Which contract is correct for you? The most common types of bids for cleaning contracts are:
Now, where can you find a contract that is right for you? There are a few places you can go:
Before you press a letter on that keyboard or pick up a pen, look at the evaluation criteria. This will let you know what, in particular, to focus on. Some may let you know what the weight of each component is. That way you know if there is anything that you should show in greater detail.
To properly bid on cleaning contracts, most of the weight may be based on the pricing you give. Or it could be the past performance and the experience you will be bringing to the job. You might even be asked to include the expertise of the personnel. This is for the buyer to see the overall experience of the team.
There is no standard of how a cleaning bid will look. Each criterion is unique to that specific buyer on that bid.
When it comes to bidding for a cleaning contract, an important piece of the bid is the experience section. The buyer wants to make sure that you can do what they are asking. One big way to do this is via past experiences that are relevant or very similar in scope.
Most buyers will ask for at least three examples. They will give a timeline as to how far back you may use these examples. For example, some buyers might not take anything past the past three years. Also, adhere to the language, and be sure that it is either a minimum or a maximum. Sometimes, if you have just two great examples, that might be able to satisfy the buyer.
If you are lucky, some buyers will also lay out what needs to be in the example. Think of this as a checklist that you can use when you are looking for the perfect response to the question.
This section can be called the most important section of the entire RFP. This is where you stand out from your competition. This is where you outline what you can provide for the buyer over the allotted time. You need to go into as much detail as possible. Sometimes, it might not be called the scope of work. It can say ‘specifications’, or it might even be in an attachment or appendix.
When you are answering this piece, be sure that you have covered everything. Bullet points or questions on the side may even help you. This will ensure that you can provide everything that the buyer is looking for. Be sure to include keywords from the RFP to draw the attention of the buyer to your work.
If you can go above and beyond then do it. This is not just a “caged-in” proposal that you must produce. If you have an approach that adds value to the buyer, write about it. But be sure that you can carry out the plan you are proposing. The buyer is looking to for the MEAT – the most economically advantageous tender, or bid.
Don’t forget the ‘who’ in your bid for a cleaning contract! Your employees are extremely important. When you bid on cleaning contracts, the buyer wants to know who will be carrying out all these tasks. Attaching CVs or giving a paragraph summary (depending on how many staff you have) could boost your scores as well. This shows the buyer that your people know what they are doing. If you can highlight that they were in these past jobs, it can increase confidence in your company and proposal.
In the finance section, you should be as detailed here as you are in the scope of work section. They know that the work you will be providing is not free. Here is where you show that you provide the most cost-effective plan of all the suppliers. What needs to be included is:
The buyer will ask for a list of license numbers for you to provide. Business license number, federal tax ID, state license, and county and/or city licenses are also important to have on file. Each contract may ask for something different. Once you have decided that this is the bid for you, take time to find the licenses. Begin the process immediately because it can take anywhere from a few days to get to a few months.
This is a common question, and a good one too. In most cases, the government requires you to be in operations for two years. If you wish to be a sub-contractor, this might not be the case.
IFB – This document places value on the lowest bid. This document generally serves contracts over $100,000. For IFBs, the product or service is almost universal in quality, and due to this, the main factor is price.
Ultimately, it’s not a case of the best vendor and more a case of the most economical one. In contrast to an RFP, an IFB requires a selected vendor process.
RFP – Short for the request for proposal, this document means that the buyer wants more information. The service/product they require is specified and so requires guarantees of quality. They require consultation and advice on how to tackle the project. RFPs can often be more customised and unique to the contract. Technology, price, and quality are all equally valued in selecting the bidder. Ultimately, the lowest bidder isn’t guaranteed to win the bid.
If your business is included in the above, then you’ll be prioritised by the government. So, highlighting this in the bidding process can help secure you a win.
As you’re bidding for government contracts, your competition is going to be tight. So, staying organised is beyond important. This is where progress meetings come in. Get your team together to track where you are up to. This can help with team morale as everyone sees their contributions towards the larger goal. Organizing internal goals can do wonders for getting both your team and you organized.
Once you have found the contract that is for you, the next step is to understand what you will need. The most important piece of information that you need to know is the due date. Most RFPs will put this information at the top to ensure that everyone knows when to submit their response. If you are late, 99% of the time, the buyer will not even open the documents that you sent over.
The next deadline that you should be aware of is the questions deadline. This is for you: the client. Bidding on a cleaning contract can be a little challenging. You may need clarification on the specification. Most buyers will allow you to submit to an online portal. While others will allow you to submit written questions in the mail. You may even have a meeting to discuss any questions that you or others may have. Now please note, this deadline is usually NOT the same as the bid submission. It can be anywhere from two weeks to further away from the date of submission. So, be sure to have this marked on your calendars.
Look out for anything mandatory. To bid on cleaning contracts, you may ask for a mandatory site visit. This allows you to see the location and ask questions in person that you might have forgotten to submit.
When you are looking to bid on the contract, be sure that you are available when the contract commences. The buyer will let you know when you will start the contract and how long it will be. They will also include when you learn if you have secured the contract. This will allow for you to see how much time you get to prepare for the job.
The government will need precise evidence that you can perform what is required of you. If you have more than two years’ worth of experience, you’ll be in higher favour with the buyer. Alongside this, your case studies should sing your praise. A solid method of collecting good reviews is by providing incentives for leaving a testimonial. What we mean by this is offering discounts and other sales incentives to help build your collection of testimonials. The more you have, the more you can tailor your bid to the buyer.
Imagine for a moment that you’re the buyer. You’re working through numerous bids for your contract, sifting through them and none of them are standing out to you. Some are filled with colour, being somewhat headache-inducing. Others are bland, with little to no color or design. How could you succeed in that type of that environment?
Balancing all the elements in your bid to something that speaks of well-considered, customised design. Things such as color palette, readability and comprehension are so important in piquing the buyer’s attention. Once you have that covered, you’ll be closer to impressing the buyer and subsequently winning the contract.
Look into the table of contents to know where in the RFP you need to search for these documents. The attachments can include:
These documents can be anywhere from one page to 10 or more.
Though every attachment, or appendix, may not ask for information, ensure that there are no signatures required at the end. In the table of contents, you can find out which attachments are most important to helping you succeed. In turn, those attachments may lead you to other places to ensure that all your bases are covered.
To say that you bid on a cleaning contract means you submitted a bid. Step one, create a bid checklist. On this checklist should be:
Make sure that you know how to submit via an online portal, an email or mailed to the buyer. Be sure that the zip file is the right size! Some buyers will not open your documents because they are too big.
Something else to double-check is your word count. If there are any specifications that the buyer asks for such as a 1,000-word limit or page count. Be sure that you are abiding by that! Nothing like the simple mistake of being over the limit to get your bid thrown out of consideration.
Also, if there are attachments that need to be added to the document, do not put them in the proposal. Rather keep them as attachments on their separate page so as to not confuse the buyer.
Finally, don’t be late! Allow yourself enough time to check through your work. In case you have any technical difficulties, you have time to fix and get through the problem by submission time. After, you await the results and hope for the best.
Now you’ve got a good grasp on what it takes to win government cleaning contracts. You may want a recap…Hudson has your back!
You may be wondering what the GSA advantages are, or why should you bid on government contracts.
These are common questions we receive from our clients, particularly if they’re just starting. So, to help, we will cover what the GSA is and the GSA advantages for vendors.
GSA stands for the General Services Administration. They are an independent agency of the United States government. The GSA is in charge of all federal government solicitations and contracts awarding for commodities. They also support the basic functioning of federal agencies.
Securing a GSA contract can have many advantages. Here are just a few GSA advantages for your business:
The GSA contract experience is a lot more simplified than other federal business development processes. This can save you time when securing new business for your company. If you don’t have the time to complete a 50-page proposal, this is a good alternative solution.
A GSA schedule contract allows for terms and pricing to be negotiated upfront.
There are only 18,000 registered GSA contractors. In comparison, there are over 500,000 registered government contractors. This means you have a higher chance of being selected to fulfil a contract.
As there are fewer GSA contractors compared to federal government contractors. Fewer competitors increase your chances of success. This can allow you to strive to demonstrate your unique selling points to the commissioning agency.
One of the GSA advantages is that securing contracted work can increase your experience. Demonstrating case studies of past contracts is essential when bidding for government contracts as a small business. To progress onto larger contracts, you need to build up experience. You’ll likely need to detail up to three past case studies of work similar in scope and style.
Securing contracts, such as set-aside contracts, if you’re a small business can build your experience. The more contracts you win and deliver, the more experience you have. The more experience you have, the bigger the contracts you can go for. The bigger the contracts you go for, the bigger your business will grow.
Another GSA advantage if you become a GSA contractor, is that agencies will trust you as a vendor. This is because you will have already gone through the GSA vetting process. As the GSA is an important part of government solicitations, being vetted by them makes you a trusted business. This can help strengthen your proposal when securing new business contracts.
These alone are worth getting involved with GSA contracts. Now, let’s take a look at it from the other side of the fence.
Government agencies that use the GSA Schedule will see one of the GSA advantages, which is lower administrative costs. This is because vendors are already vetted, they don’t need to do this themselves. This saves administrative costs that would be needed to set a minimum eligibility criterion. These would then result in responses that would need to be reviewed.
There are even easy payment options that also lower administrative costs. For those smaller contracts under $3,000, they can be paid using GSA SmartPay.
Allowing for competitive pricing can enable vendors and buyers to negotiate further discounts and deals on their purchases. Competitive pricing leverages the buying power of the federal government. This ultimately drives down the cost of goods and services.
There’s no denying that one of the biggest GSA advantages is the amount of choice available for a buyer. Due to the vast selection of contractors, there’s a wide variety of highly qualified vendors.
Commissioning authorities also can customize the terms and conditions for their order. They can choose what type of purchasing agreement they can use. This could be a Blanket Purchasing Agreement (BPA), or Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) – the list goes on.
As briefly mentioned above, another of the GSA advantages is that there is an increased choice of experienced vendors. They have already passed a vetting process, so buyers know they’re qualified to carry out the contract. These vendors are experienced and ready for work.
Another one of the GSA advantages that government agencies get is efficiency. Commodities can be purchased faster through a more transparent process. Contracts can be awarded in a matter of days compared to a matter of months. This is a great GSA advantage compared to the more traditional solicitation processes.
Furthermore, buyers can communicate directly with vendors, resulting in delivery and lead time being reduced. This is undoubtedly one of the many GSA advantages for both sides of the solicitation.
If you’re wondering why even bother if you’re a small business as contracts go to big businesses, you’d be mistaken. Your opportunities are increased as the GSA is a major purchaser of commodities sold by smaller businesses. Roughly 80% of GSA Schedule holders are small businesses.
Almost every federal government purchase between $10,000 and $250,000 is set aside for small businesses. The GSA works with the Small Businesses Association (SBA) to create equal opportunities for small businesses.
The GSA advertises federal government solicitations both locally and nationally. Also, the GSA reserves a percentage of all federal contracting dollars, and is an advocate for businesses that are:
The 8(a) Small Business Certification was designed to help create equal opportunities for small business owners. This is particularly useful for business owners who are ‘socially or economically disadvantaged’.
To qualify, you must be:
The Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) is a program to grow businesses in historically underutilized areas.
To qualify, you must:
If your business is majority-owned and operated by one or more women, you may qualify for this program. There are two types of women-owned business certifications available:
To qualify, your business must:
A B Corporation is a for-profit business that is driven by a social mission. To become a B Corp, your company must have a positive social impact. To certify, you must complete the B Impact Assessment (BIA) and meet the legal requirements.
The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) is an organization committed to integrating minority-owned business enterprises (MBE). The NMSDC defines a minority as “an individual who is at least 25% Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American.”
To qualify for an MBE certification, your small business must:
There are three different certifications you can apply for as a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.
To qualify, you must be a small business that is:
The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) created a certification program to help the LGBTQ+ community. It was created to gain them greater access to contracting opportunities.
To qualify, your small business must:
Now you know some of the GSA advantages, you may be wondering where you can find bidding opportunities.
There are a few things you need to do before you start bidding on opportunities. It’s best to get there before you begin looking for any business opportunity. You don’t want to come across the perfect business opportunity, only to realize you can’t go for it because you need to complete registration.
Your DUNS number is a nine-digit identification number for the physical location of your organization. This can be found on the Duns and Bradstreet website.
The NAICS code stands for the North American Industry Classification System. Your company will have a primary NAICS code or multiple, depending on if they have multiple services or products. You’ll need to match your services/products to a NAICS code. To find your NAICS code, you can refer to the U.S. Census Bureau.
To use a government bid site, you must be registered with SAM. SAM is the government’s System of Award Management (SAM). Your registration as a vendor will eliminate the need to enter the same details over and over. This improves efficiency when doing business with the government. You will need both your NAICS code and DUNS number to register.
If you secure a solicitation with the GSA, it’s referred to as getting onto the GSA Schedule. This means you’re approved to do business with the government. It’s almost a type of approved vendor-buyer list in a certain way. It can be greatly beneficial for your business if you secure a place on a GSA Schedule.
To get onto the GSA Schedule, you may want to report for a Past Performance Evaluation from Open Ratings. This can assess your performance relative to other businesses in your industry. It’s often required as part of the bidding process if you’re a vendor. You need to register and provide the names and emails of 6 – 20 of your clients.
If you’re searching GSA advantages on Google, you likely came across GSA Advantage! GSA Advantage! is an online government purchasing service that’s run by the GSA. It’s used by government agencies as an online shopping and ordering service to buy commercial products and services.
GSA Advantage! was created to provide a more streamlined purchasing portal for federal agencies to acquire goods and services. Anyone can browse the service to compare and view the commodities on offer.
Federal government employees can make purchases on GSA Advantage! State and local government entities can also now use GSA Advantage! to purchase commodities.
There are many GSA advantages. When applying for GSA contracting opportunities, they can help increase your experience. Federal agencies are more likely to trust you as a vendor as you’ve gone through the GSA vetting process. Another one of the GSA advantages is that it is a more simplified process than your standard RFP.
If you’re looking to apply for a GSA contract, it may be worth getting an official certification from the SBA. They can help you if you’re a small business. The certifications may also help you when you apply for more traditional forms of solicitations including RFPs and RFIs. There are GSA advantages for both the vendor and buyer when purchasing commodities.
These can all help your business grow. If you follow our advice, you’ll be well on your way to securing your next contract. Increased work means increased experience. Increased experience means you can go for bigger contracts, expanding your business. However, if you’re struggling with this aspect of your business, there is help out there.
Submitting commercial cleaning bids is pivotal to winning commercial cleaning contracts.
Getting registered on S.A.M. is a great start to any cleaning bidders’ aims. For those who don’t know, S.A.M. is the government’s official contract portal. To win these bids you’ll need to:
Too many commercial cleaners send a boilerplate bid response and hope for the best. The magic lies in understanding the buyer’s needs. Tailor your response to them. For instance, if the buyer owns an underground research facility, window cleaning might not be a priority. The closer you tie in what you do, the more attractive you’ll become to the contracting commission. If you’re going to win commercial cleaning bids, this is a must.
It’s somewhat assured that the companies who’ll be looking for your services won’t be well versed in cleaning terminology. It comes with experience but, eventually, you find a distinct balance between using jargon and laymen’s terms. The closer you get to communicating your competence, the better you’ll appear to the contracting commission.
If you’re going to be cleaning offices, schools, and government facilities, you need a definitive price system. It can be based on square footage or hourly/daily rates. Be aware that the buyer will have a competitive selection to choose from, so knowing your worth is vital.
This can’t be understated. A poor level of grammar can ruin a fantastic bid, no matter how enthralled the buyer is. A good method to use for proofreading is text-to-speech, as this will highlight any mistakes. Another method is having someone else check it out, whether that’s a colleague/friend. If the need is great enough, you can outsource the proofing to a professional. We provide this service with an RFP mentor. It doesn’t matter if it’s commercial cleaning bids or any other sector, proofreading is vital to proving professionalism.
This stage in the process is undeniably important. It gives you time:
You’ll likely have quite an arsenal of cleaning products. So, it’s best to know what each job will require so that you’re prepared to write the most relevant bid. Your commercial cleaning bids will be of a higher quality once you have this down.
Now we’ve got through this information on commercial cleaning bids, you have a clearer idea of how to win them! For those who need it, here’s a recap:
Are you writing cleaning proposals but aren’t seeing success? Luckily for you, we’re experts in writing winning proposals. We’ve put together a list of ways to improve your cleaning proposal.
If you’re new to solicitations, you may be wondering what a bid proposal is. You may also be wondering how bidding for work can grow your business. You’re not alone!
A bid proposal is a detailed document explaining exactly what your cleaning business will do for the buyer. A buyer releases a bid proposal when they want to solicit a good or service. Vendors will then complete a cleaning proposal detailing how they will meet the buyers’ requirements. They will also state why they’re the best business for the job, including previous contract examples and unique selling points.
A good cleaning proposal will often detail the following information:
When compiling a cleaning proposal, you want to be demonstrating how you’re different from your competitors. What makes your business unique? What are your USPs? The buyer may have to evaluate tens to hundreds of proposals depending on the size of the bid. Why should they hire you over the others?
Finding an answer to this early on can help you form your response. Decide on your win themes. This can help you convey why you are better than the rest. You want to be persuasive in your cleaning proposal.
It’s important that you keep up to date with relevant policy and procedure changes. After the COVID-19 pandemic, cleaning has obviously ramped up across the globe. Your cleaning proposal should state that you are updated with all the necessary procedures needed. This may be the use of certain PPE, or chemicals to do the job thoroughly. This will demonstrate that you are current, reliable, and professional.
In order to write a winning cleaning proposal, you need to demonstrate that you have past relevant experience. Having a bank of strong past examples of fulfilled contract work can also save you time when submitting your response. Especially if you select past examples that are similar to the proposed project at hand. They can strengthen your response and reiterate your ability to fulfil the scope of work.
Buyers want to see how successful you have been in the past when fulfilling similar contracts. When providing your case studies, you could also note any obstacles encountered and how you overcame them. This shows your initiative and flexibility.
You may be required to provide up to three past examples that demonstrate your technical capability in the market. When answering, remember that each bid should be tailored, compelling, and fitting with the specification. It’s also worth noting the timeframe when presenting your previous examples.
Including testimonials from previous clients in your cleaning proposal can help demonstrate client satisfaction. You need to make sure your cases studies are:
When writing your cleaning proposal, you should state how you can benefit the buyer. Do your research on the buyer. This can help you plan your response, especially in the public sector. The commissioner may have certain targets or objectives they need to meet each year when doing business. This gives you an advantage as a small business. This is because many businesses and public entities have targets to work with SMEs.
Additionally, smaller businesses are likely to be more sustainable. You may be using environmentally friendly cleaning products or working towards being carbon neutral/negative. Working with businesses that do this is a big bonus for bigger businesses or public entities.
Can you arrange a site visit with the buyer where you can visit the facility and assess it first-hand? If so – great! You’ll be in a much better bidding position. Site visits can be a very useful tool while tendering for janitorial cleaning bids.
As we’ve just mentioned, the more information you have before bidding, the better. Physically seeing the floor types, for instance, gives you a clearer view of the scope of the work. There’s only so much you can envisage from the black-and-white words of a tender specification. In a site visit, you can physically assess all parts of the building(s) where the job will take place. In doing so, you may want to consider:
A first-hand assessment of the site allows you to create a much more meaningful proposal. You can note the difficulty levels of different areas and better prepare for how the job will unfold, for instance. This helps you to finetune your timescale and workforce, to be as accurate as possible.
Remember to follow all necessary safety precautions during site visits, such as wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing.
Hopefully, you have a better idea of how to tackle your cleaning proposal. If you break it down, it can seem a lot less daunting with multiple benefits. Remember to demonstrate why the buyer should choose you over your competitors. Be persuasive in your writing.
It’s important that you keep up to date with relevant health and safety procedures. This will show that you have your finger on the pulse. Including relevant contract, examples can demonstrate your capabilities. Keep them relevant and don’t exaggerate as they may be contacted by the buyer. Where possible you should go on a site visit. It can help you get a better idea of the environment you may be working in.
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 involve. 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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Hudson Outsourcing LLC will not be responsible for any material that is found at the end of the links that may be posted on this blog site.
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.
