Articles

The US government is the largest vertical market in the world and spending at the state and local level is improving. States are one of the first areas to see spending increase as federal budgets are reduced. As a result, competition for contract opportunities is intensifying. There are myriad opportunities for companies to capture a share of the government business. However, in this competitive environment, it is critical to have a full understanding of government procurement so you don’t miss out on your share of the business.

Responding to bids and RFPs is mandated if you want to pursue government work, but 80% of the public procurement happens informally. This means agencies go directly to the vendors if the purchasing amount is under the threshold. Do you know your targeted agencies’ threshold? Click on a state to find out more information.

It’s not always a level playing field when it comes to government contracting. This is especially true for A/E/C companies that go after large infrastructure projects, or equipment manufacturers that need to get spec’d in years ahead of the RFP. Vendors in this space cannot rely on the projects to be published to pursue the opportunity. Instead, they need to be building relationships with the agencies years ahead of time. This is challenging because how do you identify projects way ahead of time and find the decision makers to build relationships with?

Vendors who wish to successfully take advantage of term contracts need to avoid several common errors. Selling to the government via renewable, recurring term contracts is a proven approach for development of a stable, long-term revenue stream. However, developing the best strategy for selecting and competing for term contracts is critical to process success. At times, the world of term contracts seems like a paradox.