Why even become involved in government contracting if you aren’t going to market your business? That is the number one thing I tell business owners over the phone right after they have been certified to work for the United States Government. There is no special secret, if you do not market your business to government agencies, you will not win government contracts. Plain and simple. There are many, many ways to begin your federal marketing efforts, and believe it or not they are simple. In fact, some of these strategies are as easy as checking your email and making a few calls. Not preparing your business for the federal marketplace will result in zero activity. Every vendor must become properly registered in all the recommended databases and begin a solid government marketing campaign.
Register in System for Award Management (SAM)
Every business looking to become active in the federal marketplace must first become registered in System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is the required government registration that every business MUST be registered in to be awarded contracts. SAM replaced CCR/ORCA in August 2012 as the main contractor registration database. However, many businesses still find the process difficult and choose to use a third party registration. US Federal Contractor Registration is the world’s largest third party registration firm that assists businesses with the SAM registration. Every business is assigned a Case Manager that lends year long support for their government registration.
Create Government Formatted Website
Many businesses understand the importance of creating company website and driving traffic to it. However, most websites due to construction issues can not reach federal procurement officers. The reason why is because the computers government buyers use have federal firewalls and spyware protecting them. Businesses must design a website that has the ability to reach buyers. GovKinex, a division of US Federal Contractor Registration has created hundreds of websites for businesses looking to by pass government spyware and firewalls. GovKinex’s websites provide all of the important data government buyers like to see such as a Vendor Profile, Capabilities Statement, Services, Pat Performance, Photo Gallery and Contact us page. With a vendor’s federal informaiton all in one easy to find location it makes it much easier to be awarded contracts and speed up the marketing process. Website examples can be viewed at http://govkinex.com/.
Register in FedBizOpps (FBO)
FedBizOpps (FBO) accounts for 1/3 of all the available government contracts over $25,000 in the United States. This is one of the major locations contractors can log in to view, bid and win available government contracts. FBO posts everything from full solicitations to RFQs. Businesses are encouraged to create a profile on FBO, add their business to several Interested Vendor lists and pre-set contract terms to receive frequent email bid notifications. If you would like to learn more about registering in FBO, please download our free FBO packet. In most cases, FBO also supplies the contact information (phone # and email) of contracting officers. This makes it easy for contractors to contact the buyers to ask questions and inquiry about the award.
Register in Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS)
DSBS is considered to be the a procurement officer’s Google Search for available small business government contractors. Once a business registers in DSBS, procurement officers will search the database looking for businesses that meet their criteria for small business set-aside contracts. The U.S. Government must spend 23% of their contract budget on small businesses. The more set-asides a business qualifies for will help that business become selected and gain past performance. Creating past performance from awarded contracts will ultimately lead to more awarded contracts. Businesses that are woman owned, veteran owned, service disabled veteran owned, minority owned, economically disadvantaged, socially disadvantaged, or located in a HUBZone have a greater chance at winning these set-aside contracts.