State and local government bids and RFPs are notoriously difficult to locate. Unlike the federal government, which makes most of its purchases through the GSA schedules or FedBizOpps.gov, state and local offers are found in a multitude of sources on the Internet: on government websites, construction sites, websites, third-party websites for hire, and newspaper classifieds. .
To locate these deals, you may want to keep an eye on newspaper classifieds or the websites of specific government entities near you. If your business operates only in North Dakota, this is easy and takes less than an hour a day. However, if your business operates in a larger state, across multiple states, or if you don’t have an hour a day to spare, a service like BidPrime.com is a cost-effective and time-effective solution to reduce the burden of locating these valuable and often overlooked opportunities.
So I’ve identified a qualified lead, but now what? First, check the qualifications and deadlines related to the offer in the offer document or request for proposal.
What to consider:
- Make sure your company qualifies for the offer. Some offerings are reserved for minority-, women-, or veteran-owned businesses.
- Look for the pre-offer conferences listed and make a note of the required ones.
- Is it necessary to be a registered seller to make an offer?
After verifying these initial qualifications, it is advisable to follow the website of the entity where the offer was published to see the addenda or amendments. Some entities will notify you of the changes if you have already expressed interest in the offer. Checking this website every few days during the bidding process may be a good idea.
Some entities will post sign-up sheets for a pre-bid conference or have a utility to view previous awards. This information can be used as valuable intelligence to develop a competitive offer. If the entity does not post this information online, you can sometimes request it from the agency’s procurement officer. This contact should be your primary point of contact for any questions regarding the offer, offer document, specifications, addenda and amendments. This information must be in the bidding document or on the website; however, if you are unable to find this information, the BidPrime support team can help.
Your proposal is your sales pitch for your company. Make sure you are thorough and meet the requirements and make a competitive but profitable offer. Listing why you are the best candidate is also an effective route, as sometimes contacts are not awarded to the lowest bidder.
There are plenty of resources on the web for filling out responsive templates that will be for another post. The most valuable resource for questions like these is your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).
Finally, it’s important to remember that companies often lose more government contracts than they win.