Many companies, especially small businesses, make the all-too-common mistake of surveying market data once and assuming it will stay the same. A surprise might be nice on your birthday, but when it comes to your business opportunities, a surprise is the last thing you want. With adequate market intelligence, it’s entirely possible to plan ahead so that your business is primed to rise to any upcoming challenge – or seize any upcoming opportunity.

Step One: Competitive Market Research

If you’re going to go head-to-head with other bidders on government projects, it’s important to know who you’re up against. Regular competitive market research helps you plan your strategy. Chances are, there are few companies out there that are exactly like yours – each business has its own strengths and weaknesses, and its own value proposition. Being honest with yourself about your own company’s strengths and weaknesses will help you use them to your best advantage. Once you have a good idea of who your competitors are, you can better position your company when writing proposals for projects you know they’ll be bidding on, too. Accessing competitive market research will also give you early insight into emerging new competitors.

Break out your competitive market research by your competitors’ overlap with your own products and services, but also consider conducting your competitive market research by region. This will give you more visibility into areas that are currently under-served in your market, cluing you in to expansion opportunities. After all, the best defense is a good offense!

Step Two: Market Intelligence

The other side of competitive research is ongoing market intelligence. A lot of companies turn to government projects as a reliable source of work; the government will always need goods and services, and a government agency is less likely to fold under economic pressure than a private business. However, government spending fluctuates with the economy just like private-sector spending: lean times are lean for everyone. In an economic downturn, that means fewer opportunities for the same amount of competitors.

Keeping that in mind, it’s easy to see why keeping track of market intelligence is so important. With fewer opportunities available, planning ahead becomes integral to your government contracting strategy. Tracking market trends, purchasing activity and other market intelligence by both time of year and region will help you make the smartest decisions possible. Having a solid overview of the current state of your market helps you allocate time and resources and target the contracts you have the best shot of winning, as well as allowing you to plan for the lean times that might result from downward trends.

Tracking Down Market Intelligence

Naturally, getting a hold of this kind of data can be difficult – most businesses don’t even know where to start. Having a solid awareness of your market can make a big difference. That’s why, starting in May, Onvia subscribers will receive a market trends report with their subscriptions. This report will have up-to-date, ready-to-use data on things like year-over-year growth, purchasing activity, and much more. If you’re ready to start receiving the business intelligence Onvia collects from over 73,000 government agencies, click here.

The GSA is always trying to streamline and simplify the procurement process, for agencies and contractors alike. Part of that ongoing effort is centered on making sure that GSA Schedule users know how to use the program, and use it well. To that end, the GSA created the Center for Acquisition Excellence.

Started in 2004, the Center for Acquisition Excellence offers a variety of courses, both online and at locations around the U.S., to educate government agencies and contractors on the best ways to use the GSA. Many of the courses are geared toward acquisition officials in state and local agencies who want to get up to speed with using GSA Schedules for acquisition. However, there is also some great educational content for government contractors.

“How to Become a Contractor – GSA Schedules Program” is a self-paced course that contractors can complete on their own time. It’s a nuts-and-bolts overview of the GSA Schedule process, from getting on the schedule to submitting a bid to the contract award process. The real value from this course is the pointers it contains from the GSA on not only how to use the program, but also how to use it well to boost your success as a government contractor. The content of the course is pretty basic – contractors who are already experienced with finding contracts through the GSA may not find it very useful – but completing the course will definitely provide GSA beginners with some resources to help them get on their feet in the contracting sphere.

Contract Management Week coincides with the NCMA’s World Congress 2008. The three-day conference will be held at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinatti, OH. A variety of speakers and panels will present in a multi-track agenda on such topics as dispute resolution, federal government contracting and performance-based contracting. The NCMA World Congress is a great event for professionals at all levels of contract management to learn, network, and discuss the most pressing issues in contract management. This year’s theme is “Ensuring Trust in the Acquisition Process through People, Teams, and Tools.”

Celebrating Contract Management Week at Home

If you can’t make it to Cincinnati or don’t have a conference trip in the budget right now, check to see if your local NCMA chapter is participating in Contract Management Week. You can find your chapter information here to inquire about Contract Management Week Events in your area.

Contract Management Week has also been endorsed by over 50 local government agencies around the country. These endorsements are a touching gesture of support and recognition for the hard work put into managing both sides of a government contract.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said in her endorsement, “Contract Management Week is an occasion to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of individuals who convey excellence and passionately epitomize the essence of NCMA. We celebrate you for being a catalyst in building stronger communities and cultivating future leaders. Your diligence and dedication to promoting excellence through economic development, social empowerment, and diversity awareness enriches the lives of all Atlantans and ignites their desire to become involved in our community.”

More information about Contract Management Week, including a complete list of participating agencies and their proclamations of support, can be found here.

Entering the public sector for the first time may seem like a huge task. The procedures and personnel involved are very different from private-sector contracting, and there is a lot more paperwork involved. There’s no need to “reinvent the wheel” with government contracts, though. The U.S. government has been contracting with private companies for decades – it’s a new experience for you, but there’s a gold mine of contracting information out there, and your small business can learn from other companies’ mistakes as well as their successes.

Like I explained in the “Ask FSB” column, the easiest way to learn how to market to the federal government is to look at what has been successful for other businesses. Do some research into what companies are winning the kinds of contracts you’d like to win. When it comes to industry trends, the more information you can get your hands on, the more insight you can glean about your top competitors and what they’re doing to get those federal contracts. If you can, get your hands on copies of their winning proposals. These will provide a template for your own proposal, as well as delivering good insight into what specific agencies are looking for in a proposal.

The other tip I had for small business owners who are new to the federal marketplace is to know when to ask for help. It’s reasonable to expect that someone just starting out in federal marketing won’t know everything right off the bat. Flying by the seat of your pants can be an exciting way to learn, but a lot of time, energy and money go into preparing a federal proposal. Having someone with experience working on the project can help speed the learning process for your whole organization. If no one on your team has experience selling to the government, consider bringing in a new employee or a consultant to walk you through preparing your first federal proposal, using the competitive data and industry trending information you’ve already gathered.

The full text of the Fortune Small Business article can be found here.

More Information from Government Contracting Best Practices
Learn more about writing your first government RFP response. On the Onvia site, learn how to find winning government proposals, or read about how Synagro won a yearly contract worth over $500,000 using market intelligence.

Government agencies, particularly at the federal level, are making a concerted effort to stay current with computer and network technologies. As the tools we use to communicate continue to evolve, the government needs to keep up, and in order for government networks to be able to communicate, it’s occasionally necessary to order a system-wide upgrade such as the Internet Protocol switch. For a contractor, these mandates mean an increased availability of government IT jobs.

Government IT jobs like a major upgrade in hardware or software usually can’t be handled by an agency’s existing tech staff. In addition to the government IT software contracts available, government agencies need support in areas such as:

• Hardware and supplies
• Implementation
• Training
• Administration

In fact, part of the Internet Protocol Mandate requires agencies to “have available contractor/vendor IPv6 technical support for development and implementation and fielded product management.” If a vendor is needed, why not your company?

Many of these coveted government IT jobs will go to participants in GSA-awarded government technology programs such as the Networx program. As these upgrades trickle down to agencies at the state and local level, however, there is a greater incentive for these government IT jobs to go to contractors in the local community.

Position Your Business for Government IT Jobs

The IPv6 mandate was released by the OMB 3 years before the ultimate compliance date. Monitoring OMB mandates is a great way to receive advance notice of upcoming government IT jobs. Once you hear of the OMB mandate, you can start positioning your business to win local jobs.

Some positioning strategies include:

• Obtain certification to perform the required services.
• Establish a history of authority on the subject by performing similar private-sector contracts.
• If you haven’t already, join a local tech association. Talk up your familiarity with such projects during networking and marketing sessions.
• Reach out to your network of agency contacts. During your next marketing meeting with them, mention your growing expertise in the area and inquire about the agency’s plans for mandate compliance.

Visit the Onvia site for more information on using market intelligence to position your company early for government IT jobs.

A lot of businesses enter the government contracting arena with the expectation of the “$1000 mousetrap” – that is, the idea that government work is a cash cow that can be milked by exorbitant over-pricing. They are often given a rude awakening when they find that profit margins on government contracts are often quite slim, and may have a cap as low as 10%. In a slow economy or a competitive industry, bidding wars drive prices and profit margins to new lows. With this kind of bid environment it becomes more and more important to track your government bid efforts, your successes and your failures, in order to run the tightest ship possible.

Tracking the Government Market

When it comes time to ask, “Is this government bid strategy successful?” an important follow-up question is, “Compared to what?” Success compared to this time last year is all well and good, but it’s one small piece of a much bigger picture. To get a more complete idea of how your business is faring, establish benchmarks for your industry and market. Tracking against these benchmarks, especially over time, is a good way to find areas to improve, as well as to track the health of the contracting landscape as a whole.

Conduct market research on other companies of your size, in your area, and in your industry. Chances are, your company is already aware of who its major competitors are. How successful are they in the market? Compared to your company? Compared to industry standards? Tracking down this kind of data can take a lot of time, and it can be difficult to make the case for taking up an employee’s valuable time. Instead, consider purchasing business intelligence from a government information service. You can track the contracting activity of buyers as well as competing contractors specific to your area and industry. From there, you can use your market research to track overall trends and bid competitively.

Government Bid Success Metrics

Make sure that tracking is in place so that every government bid you submit, whether you win it or not, contributes to your overall government bid strategy. Tracking success factors allows you to trim the fat and work more efficiently. Some success metrics to track include:

• Job cost
• Profit margin by client and type of job
• Ratio of bids submitted to bids won
• Percent of returning clients
• Time spent per bid
• Time spent per job

Once you’ve amassed some data, areas for improvement will start to appear. Do you have clients who send a lot of work your way, but at low profit margins? Do you consistently submit bids to certain agencies or on certain projects that are rejected? Which projects have the highest profit margins? Which take the longest to complete? With this data you can begin to hone your government bid strategy to target the highest-profit projects. Set minimum requirements that a job has to have before it is worth the time and money it would take to pursue or complete it.

Cutting Costs to Reduce Your Government Bid

Being better informed about the government bid landscape can make a huge difference, but it’s still important to be able to enter a competitive bid. Data tracking can also help shine a spotlight on hidden operational costs – costs that can be cut without sacrificing value to the customer. Track worker efficiency, keeping an eye out for times of day or types of projects that seem to cause productivity to dip. Keep equipment well-maintained; maintenance expenses usually end up costing less than the loss of productivity caused by shoddy equipment. Have project managers keep detailed records of every step of the contracting process. You may be surprised at the hidden places where time and money are wasted.

Simply put, privity is a legal term having to do with the contractual ties between parties; if privity of contract exists, it means that the contractual ties are close enough that one party can bring a claim against the other party should something go wrong. For a government subcontractor, there is rarely a contract with the government. Instead, the subcontractor’s entire contractual relationship is with the prime, who in turn directly contracts with the government agency. So privity of contract exists between the agency and the prime, and between the prime and the subcontractor, but not between the agency and subcontractor. This complex relationship has its advantages and disadvantages.

Privity in Government Subcontracting: Pros and Cons

In many ways, the lack of contract with the government is one of the biggest advantages of being a government subcontractor. Nailing down all the details of a large, complex government contract is a time-consuming process that often gets bogged down in red tape. By comparison, subcontractor agreements are relatively straightforward. Much of the murky details have already been squared away and can be extended to the subcontract via a flow-down clause. Privity of contract can help a subcontractor out in the event that the government contract is terminated. The end of the prime’s relationship with the agency does not let them off the hook when it comes to the subcontractor agreement; a prime contractor may be forced to pay the subcontractor in full even if the contract with the agency is no longer in effect.

A prime contractor can also go to bat for a subcontractor if a contract dispute does arise; if this looks likely, try to get a “provision requiring sponsorship” added to the contract. This will require the prime to sponsor any claim against the agency, although most such provisions include a caveat that the prime find that the claim has merit.

However, if a prime contractor is weak financially, contract privity can actually prevent a subcontractor from receiving payment. If the prime stops payment to the subcontractor, the subcontractor has no way to seek recourse from the government. It isn’t the agency’s responsibility to ensure that the subcontractor agreement is fulfilled. The prime is obligated by contract to pay the subcontractor, but that doesn’t always mean that the subcontractor will receive payment. The agency can also withhold payment from the prime to cover previous debts to the government, which can also affect the prime’s ability to pay subcontractors.

The U.S. government purchases billions of dollars in goods and services every year. Even in a sluggish economy, government agencies still need the supplies and services that keep them going. In fact, a new survey from Onvia reports that 80 percent of purchasing officials plan to maintain or increase government spending levels in the year ahead compared to 2007. A recession-proof business needs to be able to leverage this kind of government spending data and make smart decisions about the government contracts it targets.

Government Spending Data Highlights

Highlights from the Onvia Government Procurement Outlook include:

• 43 percent of the government buyers surveyed project increased government spending activity in 2008.
• 37 percent of the government buyers surveyed expect to maintain spending levels from 2007.
• Businesses providing services such as architecture, engineering, construction and building supplies will benefit from growth in government infrastructure and construction procurement. Overall, 41 percent of agencies project increased government spending activity on infrastructure, with another 38 percent planning to remain at their current levels, in 2008.
• Government agencies continue to plan for modernization, using new technology for security and privacy initiatives, continuing acceleration in IT procurement. A whopping 82 percent of agencies surveyed plan to increase or maintain IT procurement activity for hardware and telecommunications; 83 percent will increase or maintain IT procurement for software and services.
• School districts are preparing for the largest year-over-year government spending activity increase compared to other survey respondents. Municipal governments, many of which face revenue shortfalls, say they will be more cautious in their spending than other segments.
• The South Central U.S. region (AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, TX) anticipates the most spending activity growth, while New England is projecting more modest growth rates.

Government Spending and the Recession-Proof Business

Obviously, government spending research should be only one tactic in efforts to recession-proof a business. With so many factors affecting the economy, it’s more important than ever to be diligent and make the right decisions regarding government contract work. Having the right data as early as possible, without having to use up valuable head count finding it, is increasingly crucial to success during a recession. Focusing contracting efforts on targeted opportunities, and augmenting those efforts with as much data as possible about the buyer and the competition, may be the key to winning more government contracts in a tighter economy.

Download the Government Procurement Outlook Report.

With that in mind, the Small Business Administration has launched the latest addition to its online education library, titled “Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts.” This free online course (registration required) provides an overview of the federal market, and takes students through the contracting process from start to finish. It’s a self-paced guide that can be studied all at once, or in small chunks over time. Topics include information on federal contract rules, finding federal contract opportunities, and key resources in the federal contracting field.

This course is a great addition to a small business’ knowledge base. Upon completing the course, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion from the SBA. Certificates of completion from SBA courses like this one can help beef up your resume for a government RFP response, especially if your company doesn’t have many contracts under its belt (read Your First RFP Response for more tips on responding to RFPs without much government experience). It shows that you have some insight into how federal contracts are awarded and performed, and indicates that your company is willing and eager to tackle the federal contract at hand.

To register for the course, go to the SBA Free Online Courses page, and click “Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts” in the Government Contracting section.

In December 2007, new FAR regulations were enacted requiring businesses performing certain contracts to have a written business code of ethics. All federal contracts over $5 million must now contain a clause requiring the contractors to have concrete ethics policies in place, as well as internal controls to maintain them, within 90 days of the contract award. The only exceptions to this rule are contracts for commercial items and those that will be performed outside of the United States. The new regulation also applies to subcontracts that are for over $5 million and that have a performance period of 120 days or longer.

The purpose of this addition to the FAR is to allow the greater control over ethics in government service. Before, the government was unable to act on any perceived misconduct, as long as the contract was technically still being fulfilled. Now, standards for ethics in government service are being built in to federal contracts – and state and local agencies may build the ethics clause into their solicitations as well, although it’s not required. As a contract manager, it’s your job to take great care in complying with these standards. Failure to instate a business code of ethics could lose you the contract award.

What to Include in your Business Code of Ethics

The FAR is intentionally vague about what should be included in a contractor’s business code of ethics. Basically, a clear policy of ethics and business conduct should be enacted, as well as ongoing awareness programs around the ethics code. This awareness promotion could include training and posting of the ethics code in public spaces, and must include providing each employee with a written copy of the business code of ethics. Policies for ethics in government service should address such areas as fraud, theft and misappropriation of funds as well as violation of government regulations on labor and conduct standards.

Contractors must also have an internal control system in place, to enforce their business’ code of ethics. From Subpart 52.503-13 of the FAR:

“(i). The Contractor’s internal control system shall—

1. Facilitate timely discovery of improper conduct in connection with Government contracts; and
2. Ensure corrective measures are promptly instituted and carried out.

Hotline Posters

Be sure to read the contract language around hotline posters carefully. A contract may require you to post a hotline number where employees can report possible violations of your business code of ethics. Each agency decides whether or not it will require a hotline poster, and what information that poster will complain. However, for certain Department of Homeland Security contracts, such as those receiving disaster assistance funding, contractors may also be required to post hotline posters relating to the contract.

The results of the study were especially significant for businesses in the construction and contracting industry. A whopping 57% of construction and contracting businesses said they do not currently have a web site, making it the industry with the least Internet and eCommerce participation. This lack of online presence meant very low forecasts of Internet sales growth, as well – only 14% of construction contractors projected increased sales due to eCommerce, compared to 29.2% overall.

What does this mean for the construction and contracting industry? With so many construction contractors competing for projects, any way to differentiate your company from the herd is a plus. As far as marketing tools go, a web site is longer-lasting and often less expensive than sales collateral, direct mail, or radio or TV ads.

Using a Web Site to Compete for Construction Contracts

Experience is an important factor in most agencies’ construction contract award decisions. Your company statement and resume will give the basic facts about your previous contracts, but you know what they say: a picture is worth a thousand words. Instead of spending a fortune printing out full-color sales collateral, invite agency decision makers and potential partners to visit your web site. You can post pictures of your previous construction work in various stages, as well as display glowing customer testimonials. A detailed, informative and memorable web site will also help keep your company at top of mind with decision makers. Put your web site’s URL on your business card and hand it out during trade shows and marketing meetings. You can also include your URL in your e-mail marketing campaigns (read our e-mail marketing tips for more on this subject).

Including your URL in your RFP responses will allow agency decision makers to explore and learn about your company at their leisure. Even if you don’t win the construction contract, the agency will have an easy way to investigate your company for future purchases – including those under the spending cap which may not have to be put out for bid.

Using a Web Site for Construction Supply Contracts

Of the small construction contractors that currently do have websites, only 50% sell their products and services through eCommerce. An eCommerce solution may require more setup than a website without eCommerce functionality, but for many construction contractors it is a worthwhile investment. If your company offers construction or building supplies, customers from the private and public sector alike can order and purchase them through eCommerce on your website. A growing number of government agencies are using micro purchasing and government purchase cards to procure supplies, and like private-sector consumers, government agencies enjoy the quick, no-hassle environment of online shopping. With only 21.5% of small construction contractors currently offering eCommerce sales, the ability to purchase supplies online is at attractive incentive to buy from your company.

More Information from Government Contracting Best Practices
To learn more about using a web site to sell to the government, read How a Web Site can Increase Government Sales. On the Onvia site, read construction case studies showing how Onvia’s services have helped construction contractors find and compete for more construction contracts.

In a subcontracting agreement, attention to detail is key. Any area that is left vague, any agreement that is not in writing, is open for misunderstanding and bad feelings between the prime and the subcontractor. Since most prime contractors return to subcontractors they trust again and again, it’s important to keep this working relationship as friendly as possible. Once you receive the subcontracting agreement, be sure to look it over and go back to the prime contractor with any areas you feel are unclear and any concerns you have. Better to err on the side of caution beforehand than sort out a contracting dispute once the contract has started. Here are some areas to watch out for:

Double-Check your Subcontracting Agreement

• Compensation: When will you be paid? When the prime is paid for the contract, or when the subcontracting work is done? Will you be paid hourly, or a flat fee? How will expenses be covered?
• Hours: How long will everything take? What provisions are there for going over that time? If you are being paid on an hourly basis, what is the maximum amount of hours the prime is willing to pay you for, and how will that affect the project?
• Deadlines: Are all deadlines final? Does the prime contractor want to review your work before the deadline? If so, make sure that concrete benchmark dates are set throughout the project timeline, and set up review appointments as far in advance as possible. If the prime doesn’t review your work until the night before it is due, there will not be enough time to make necessary changes.
• Legalese: Be absolutely clear on the terms of any and all noncompete and nondisclosure agreements. It is really the prime’s responsibility to draft these, but have a lawyer look them over, too, and clear up any vague points before signing.
• Communication with the agency: Some prime contractors will not want you to have any direct contact with agency personnel at all, while others will make provisions for you to receive necessary specifications, etc. from the agency. When is it OK to contact the agency? (Note: in instances of legal/ethical misbehavior, it may be permissible to notify the agency regardless of the subcontractor agreement).
• Intellectual property: Does any intellectual property resulting from the project belong to you? The prime? The agency?
• Default: What happens if you default on the subcontract? What happens to you if the prime defaults on its contract with the agency?
• Liability/indemnity: Just as the prime’s contract with the government will have provisions for liability and indemnification should things go wrong, the subcontracting agreement will most likely also have those clauses. Make sure you are familiar with your liability risk under the agreement.

More Information from Government Contracting Best Practices
For more subcontracting agreement tips, read “Subcontractor Agreement: A Vital Part of the Subcontracting Process.” To learn more about liability and indemnification clauses, check out “Contractor Risk in Local Contracting.”

“…This is what is happening in communities across America, as local elected officials have picked up the mantle of leadership on this issue. Elected officials have been working with planning departments and other dedicated civil servants to craft green building and sustainability legislation in response to the groundswell of support from citizens who are pushing for laws that begin to tackle climate change. As the federal government continues to sit on the sidelines rather than take action on the important issues of the day, mayors, city councils, and other local government officials are taking the lead for a greener future.”

Environmental Sustainability and the Local Contractor

Increased focus on sustainable architecture at the local level can be a great opportunity for local contractors with sustainable building capabilities. The AIA report shows that the number of U.S. cities with sustainable building programs has more than quadrupled since 2002, and that number continues to rise. As cities develop their environmental sustainability programs, many seek input from the professional community to help develop sustainable green building strategy. Becoming part of the conversations and committees around environmental sustainability will be a big time commitment, but it will also put your company in a unique position to influence policy and project specifications. In the long term, participating in sustainable building strategy will associate your company name with “sustainable building” in the minds of city planners and other local decision-makers.

Participating in sustainable architecture and sustainable construction can not only get you involved in strategy conversations, but also provide substantial benefits once you’ve won the sustainable architecture contract. Many cities have established sustainable building incentives such as expedited permitting, waiving of permit fees, property tax abatements, and other rewards for sustainable construction. Working for environmental sustainability can be a profitable endeavor, as well as providing for a better tomorrow.

Establishing Sustainable Architecture Credentials

One way to establish your business as an authority in sustainable construction is to become professionally accredited through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The U.S. Green Building Council established the LEED program to establish benchmarks for sustainable building. Becoming a LEED Accredited Professional will provide a concrete measure of your green-building savvy. For more information on the LEED AP program, see the LEED website. The AIA also offers the 50to50, a handbook of 50 ways architects can reduce energy use in buildings by 50 percent.

Get Involved in the Sustainable Building Conversation

To find where conversations on environmental sustainability are taking place in your community, research whether or not your area has a Sustainable Design Assistance Team (SDAT), or a chapter of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE). To read the full text of the Local Leadership in Sustainability report, click here.

Does this sound like a familiar dilemma? If so, you’re not alone in your frustration. Contractors say that when it comes to developing business, the single-biggest challenge is getting project and government contact information early enough to build the relationships that help prospects understand the value of their services.

Nobody wants to waste time and money pursuing projects that they don’t have a chance of winning. Whether you’re looking to expand geographically, focus on a new government market, or just outperform the competition in a tight market, relationships and timing make all the difference. The best way to get in on the ground floor of a project is to get involved in the planning or even pre-planning stage. For that, you’ll need early notification of sales opportunities, and the up-to-the-minute contact information of the people influencing the contract.

Early Notification of Government Sales Opportunities

In government construction projects, some of the most coveted information comes early in the project, such as land use planning details, zoning changes, development type, proposed use, and key players in the project. With this information, you can get a head start and:

• Discover projects are in the land use planning stages
• Track which competitors and potential partners are showing up on certain types of government projects
• Monitor whether building activity is trending up or down, and for which types of projects
• Identify business expansion opportunities and growth markets
• Forecast demand for your products and services
• Evaluate overall market conditions and identify pockets of opportunity
• Fill your pipeline with qualified, actionable opportunities in the planning and design phases
• Qualify your projects with background government information

Up-to-Date Government Contact Information

The other piece of the puzzle is finding contact information for key players such as planning and zoning officials, project managers, and potential partners. Government contact information is notoriously hard to find, and promotions and turnover can quickly render existing contact data inaccurate. Once you have your hands on up-to-date government contact information, however, you can combine it with historical data to:

• Create customized direct-marketing lists and targeted prospect pitches using government contact information details and project histories
• Identify and evaluate prospective partners by reviewing past experience and current activity
• Connect with the right government contacts before an RFP is issued, specifications are set or teams are formed
• Warm up your cold calls and present your company as a solution, not a vendor
• Target city planning officials for more information

Finding the Right Government Information to Get in Early

The reason early notification of government sales data and up-to-date government contact information are so coveted is that they are difficult to find. Getting in on the ground floor of a project allows you to influence specifications as well as keeping your company at top of mind for future endeavors, but the time and money it would take to track down this information keeps many companies away. If you want a head start on commercial and residential projects, consider daily alerts, contacts and project details from a business intelligence company. With targeted, hard-to-find information delivered directly to your e-mail inbox, you can spend less time looking for information and more time acting on it.

Start Getting the Information You Need

To learn more about early notification of government contract information, click here to get your free lead report filled with actionable sales leads in your industry.

The Red Team Proposal Review

Before beginning the red team proposal review process, it’s important to have specific goals in mind for each review. Giving your red team free rein to criticize every aspect of your proposal at once will result in disorganized feedback. This is why it’s better to break your proposal review up into more than one session. Issues dealing with the “meat” of the proposal – looking for gaps, making sure each part of the RFP is addressed, etc. – can be done with a rough draft, while the finishing touches, such as proofreading for spelling, grammar and formatting errors, can wait until the proposal is almost complete. Be sure to leave enough time between the second red team proposal review and the proposal submission to make any recommended changes (no, the night before it is due is not enough time).

The Five Cs of Proposal Review

During the red team proposal review, the red team should be checking against the “five Cs” of proposal review:

1. Coherence – Does the proposal make sense? Is there too much use of technical jargon? Is every section clearly written? The coherence review is also the time to remove unnecessary language and make the proposal as streamlined as possible.
2. Completeness – Is every requirement in the RFP fully addressed? Are there any gaps in strategy? The completeness review is also the time to discuss modifying strategy to make sure the proposal is providing the best possible value.
3. Compliance – Do all sections conform to relevant guidelines and regulations? Is proper legal language in place to protect proprietary information?
4. Consistency – Are all sections formatted the same way and in the same font? Does the proposal appear to be a unified whole? Are units, terms of measurement, etc. consistent throughout, and consistent with the RFP requirements?
5. Correctness – Are there any grammar or spelling errors? Keep a special eye out for “numerical typos.” They’re harder to see, but an error in pricing or units could lose the contract for you – or worse, commit you to a contract that won’t be profitable to fulfill.

Building the Red Team

Who you ask to be on your red team will vary based on your unique organizational needs as well as on the proposal itself. You may not want all of the same people to be involved at every step; for example, senior team members and executives might have a lot to contribute during the Coherence and Completeness stages, but you may not want to take up their time conducting the Consistency and Correctness reviews. Make sure that the proposal manager is involved; legal counsel should also take a look at the draft before submission. Other possible red team members include technical and product experts and personnel who will be involved in the project.

More Information from Government Contracting Best Practices
Learn how to review, rewrite and repackage your government proposal, and review our proposal writing checklist. Give your red team more time to review by finding government contracts before an RFP announcement.

Benefits to Working with the Government

Why should your company work with the U.S. government? Because it’s the largest buyer of goods & services in the world, with 2007 spending projected at $2.63 trillion. The government spends approximately 25 cents of every dollar spent in the U.S. Every year, the U.S. government purchases:

• goods and services to maintain 4 million miles of highway
• goods and services to maintain 1.5 million buildings across the U.S., covering 6 billion square feet of building space
• goods and services for 22 million civilian government workers—one out of seven employed workers in the U.S.
• more trucks and automotive fleets than any other buyer in the U.S.

When entering the public sector, a common mistake companies make is only targeting federal level contracts. After all, the thinking goes, the federal budget is bigger than any one city or state’s budget, so the contracts must be bigger too, right? The truth is, local and state agencies spend more than the federal government. For 2007, federal spending is projected at $962 billion, with local and state agencies projected to spend $1.74 trillion. Focusing all contracting efforts on federal contracts could mean missing out on a lot of potential revenue.

Ready to start contracting with the government? Onvia client Temtco Steel took their government business from 0% of total sales to an average of $50,000 - $60,000 a month using targeted government business intelligence. Read the case study here.

Sources: Department of Labor, Energy, Commerce, Highway, U.S. Census and GSA statistics

Part 9.5 of the FAR covers conflicts of interest. From part 9.505:

“Each individual contracting situation should be examined on the basis of its particular facts and the nature of the proposed contract. The exercise of common sense, good judgment, and sound discretion is required in both the decision on whether a significant potential conflict exists and, if it does, the development of an appropriate means for resolving it. The two underlying principles are—

(a)Preventing the existence of conflicting roles that might bias a contractor’s judgment; and

(b) Preventing unfair competitive advantage. In addition to the other situations described in this subpart, an unfair competitive advantage exists where a contractor competing for award of any Federal contract possesses—

1. Proprietary information that was obtained from a Government official without proper authorization; or
2. Source selection information (as defined in 2.101) that is relevant to the contract but is not available to all competitors, and such information as would assist that contractor in obtaining the contract.”

Examples of Possible Conflicts of Interest

• Competing for a management/services contract that might require the contracting company to evaluate its own or its competitors’ products for use by the government
• Competing to supply products/services for which you have designed the specifications
• Access to other companies’ proprietary information that has not been authorized for use in landing/performing the contract
• Access to other companies’ proprietary information obtained by leveraging the contract in question, which might provide an unfair competitive advantage

What to Do about Conflicts of Interest

If a legitimate conflict of interests exists, it’s probably in everyone’s best interest to withdraw from the contract. However, if you feel it’s possible for your company to complete the contract without running afoul of a potential COI, there are avenues to pursue. It’s important to be honest and up-front about COIs in your initial proposal response. If it’s informational in nature, go into detail about what restrictions will be placed on the information’s use in the contract, and explain how an unfair competitive advantage has been avoided.

The important thing to remember when selling to government agencies is that at all levels the government is still run by people. These people have business needs just like your private sector clients do, and just like your private sector clients, they want those needs to be met as well, quickly and cheaply as possible. When a contract is awarded, it isn’t being awarded by “the government;” it’s being awarded by people. Keeping this in mind will go a long way toward making government sales a comfortable and rewarding prospect.

Selling to Government Agencies

Once you have found your target agencies to sell to, begin your government sales process right away. One of the biggest mistakes new contractors make is waiting for an RFP to be announced before starting their government sales process. It’s important to target agency personnel early on, so that you have already established a modicum of trust and a relationship with them by the time the RFP comes out. Not only that, but building relationships with government decision makers will keep your company fresh in mind for smaller purchases which may never go out to bid at all.

It can be a challenge to find the right agency personnel to talk to. One approach is to think of each government agency as its own private company. The people who work there are getting up and going to work each day just like in the private sector, and many of them have the same jobs they would at a private company. Office managers are a great example of this – they have similar supply needs to private companies and are often authorized to make smaller purchases without putting an RFP up for bid. However, government employees don’t always have the same title that they would at a private company, so getting to the decision maker can be tough. Contact information from a business intelligence company can help you find the conversation that will matter most. You can purchase a custom contact list with fresh, relevant contact information for your target agency personnel.

Relationship Selling and Government Sales

Getting that first sales call or marketing meeting is a big first step. Once you’ve got the ear of your target decision maker, remember that many of your top sales techniques will still work well when selling to government agencies. Relationship selling is all about positioning your company to meet the client’s needs. If you can make a solid impression on the decision maker and connect with him or her on a personal level, he or she will be more likely to think of you in the future, and perhaps even notify you of other opportunities. This is another advantage of starting to build relationships early in the government sales process: instead of focusing on one specific sale, you can focus on establishing a long-term relationship which, in the end, could be rewarding for both of you.

Focus on your value proposition: why should your company be chosen over its competitors? What makes you the best? Try to assess the agency’s needs and focus on them. The buyer won’t care what else your company can do if it doesn’t relate to his/her business needs. Finally, don’t forget to ask! Ask for the opportunity. If you don’t win your first contract, ask for referrals to other agencies. Ask “is there anything else I can do for you?” Ask them to keep you in mind for future contracts. Remember, it’s about the long-term relationship, not the short-term opportunity.

Resources for Subcontractors

• DoD Prime Contractor Directory - A complete list of participants in the DoD Subcontracting Program, listed by state.
• DoD Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program - A program designed to test whether comprehensive subcontracting plans are increasing opportunities for small business. Includes a listing of current participating primes.
• Small Business Subcontracting Opportunities from the Department of Treasury - Alphabetical or state-by-state listing of Treasury large business prime contractors.
• SUB-Net - The Small Business Administration’s online database for prime contractors to post subcontracting opportunities, which may or may not be reserved for small business.
• Government Executive Magazine’s Top 200 Federal Contractors
  - Some of the most influential federal contractors out there.

As many of these contractors are highly visible in their spheres, competition for their subcontracting opportunities may be heavy. Extensive research before contacting them may help - try to position your company to subcontract on a project that will utilize your unique value proposition. Another resource for finding government prime contractors is vendor history from a business intelligence company. You can research similar contracts and find out who bid on them, and who won, further building your list of contacts.

Contractors who have focused their efforts mainly in the federal space may have trouble expanding into state and local markets, but with hundreds of billions of dollars spent on state and local government contracts each year, they are a revenue source that shouldn’t go untapped. One of the biggest hurdles a federal contractor must overcome is the adjustment from the consistence and predictability of federal regulations to the idiosyncrasies of various city, county and state policies. These policies can seriously affect the amount of risk associated with a contract. It’s important to be familiar with how contractor risk changes with various clauses. Here are some areas to keep an eye on:

Indemnification and “Hold Harmless” Clauses

There has been a sweeping trend in local contracts toward broader and broader indemnity clauses. Basically, an indemnity clause guarantees that the contractor will protect, or “hold harmless,” the agency from any losses, claims or lawsuits that may arise from the contract performance. This clause will hold firm regardless of the extent of the contractor’s fault in any such losses, although all but the most stringent indemnity clause will usually make an exception for situations in which the claim or loss is 100% due to the actions of the contract Owner. In addition to indemnifying the agency from such claims, the clause may also make the contractor completely responsible for the agency’s attorney fees and any settlement costs arising from lawsuits. Many commercial and private-sector contracts also include indemnification clauses, but these are much less extreme.

Limited Liability Clauses

On the other end of the spectrum from “hold harmless” clauses, limited liability clauses protect the contractor. A typical limited liability clause puts a cap on the amount of money a contractor can be held responsible for, if something should go wrong with the contract. Limited liability clauses may also put limits on the sort of damages that can be claimed against the contractor. A contractor accustomed to working in the private sector may be surprised to find these protections conspicuously absent from a local-level contract. The other side to pushing for increased indemnity is trying to avoid limiting contractor liability whenever possible. Even if the contract in question provides for limited liability, proceed with caution! Some state laws prohibit city and county governments from limiting the liability of their contractors, so that clause could turn out to be null and void, leaving the contractor responsible for whatever financial damages may come up – even into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Risk Protection with State and Local Contracts

Unfortunately, there isn’t always much to be done to change the language of the contract. Many agencies’ indemnity and limited liability clauses are mandatory and cannot be changed – if you won’t accept the contract as-is, you can’t play ball. Even when this is not the case, attempting to change these clauses to decrease contractor risk during contract negotiation is an arduous process, and there is no guarantee that the agency will accept the contract without these clauses in place. For this reason, it’s wise to have a lawyer look over the terms of a contract and explain the risk potential to you before you begin writing your RFP response. Knowing the risk potential before the contract is entered into gives a contractor more opportunity to plan to avoid situations that could result in losses, claims, or lawsuits.

For a business just beginning its move into government contracting, daily lead reports from a business intelligence company can be a valuable resource for government research. In a niche market, it can be difficult to find targeted business opportunities. Having a report of new government business opportunities, tailored to your unique specifications, delivered to your e-mail inbox daily saves time that would otherwise have to be spent painstakingly researching these opportunities. However, this is only one way of many that niche businesses can use business intelligence to expand their government revenue.

To best understand the public sector market, it helps to have access to a searchable database of government contract information. That way, in addition to receiving targeted leads every day, you can research segments of the market that are of especial interest. Proactively searching for agency/buyer history, contact information, and overall market trends allows for a more informed bid decision. While a more mainstream business might be focused on keeping tabs on competitors, a niche business has more freedom to expand sales opportunities and network with government decision makers. Government research can also be used to find out who won a contract, providing targeted subcontracting and supply leads.

Conducting market research is vital to success in government business. Above and beyond the direct sales opportunities you’ll uncover, the contact information and award data you research will open up new avenues for networking and, ultimately, result in more contract wins. Ready to start your market research? Click here to receive a free lead report filled with actionable sales leads in your industry.

The DHS Mentor-Protégé Program

Under the DHS Mentor-Protégé program, a mentor company teams up with a company that meets the FAR-defined requirements to be a small business concern, such as a small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, or women-owned small business concern. Beyond subcontracting out parts of the Department of Homeland Security job to the protégé, the mentor company also provides developmental assistance, in areas such as:

• Management guidance relating to:
  • Financial management
  • Organizational management
  • Overall business management/planning and business development
• Technical assistance
• Rent-free use of facilities and/or equipment
• Property
• Temporary assignment of personnel to the protégé firm for training purposes
• Loans
• Other types of mutually beneficial assistance

Benefits of Department of Homeland Security Jobs with the Mentor-Protégé Program

The benefits to a small business from a mentor-protégé relationship are fairly self-evident. The additional training and contracting experience are invaluable, and a protégé small business may find itself in a much better position to forge future teaming or subcontracting agreements. But what’s in it for the mentor company?

To motivate prime contractors to take a small business under their wing, the DHS has set in place a number of incentives. A mentor/protégé relationship will be considered during the evaluation and contract award process, which could give the team a competitive edge. Since the developmental assistance provided to the protégé company may come at an expense to the prime contractor, the prime may also be eligible for a post-award credit if subcontracting plan goals are achieved.

The Department of Homeland Security’s motives in instituting this program are not wholly altruistic, either. Fostering small business is a major concern of the federal government, but the mentor-protégé program also allows for better-qualified small business subcontractors and increased competition for Department of Homeland Security Jobs, ensuring a higher overall quality of work.

Finding a Mentor or Protégé for Department of Homeland Security Jobs

The DHS is not responsible for putting mentor companies together with protégés. Prime contractors and small business concerns can find each other at small business events or other networking functions, or through a targeted marketing campaign. Once the two companies agree to form a mentor-protégé relationship, they submit an application to the Homeland Security Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, demonstrating their agreement and detailing the ways in which the relationship will be mutually beneficial. The application can be found here.

More Information from Government Contracting Best Practices
Read about additional resources to help you identify government prime contractors and learn more about partnering and teaming agreements.

Past Performance on Government Contracts

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) has established a best practices manual for agencies who plan to collect and use past performance information, which can be found here. Among other things, the document encourages contracting offers to weight past performance pretty heavily in their award decision. Any importance can be assigned to past performance at the contracting officer’s discretion, but as it is an excellent way to determine contractor responsibility, most contracting officers do consider past performance in contractor evaluation.

A company with no experience at all is given a “neutral” past performance rating. In name, this doesn’t appear to be a bad thing, but it’s highly unlikely that a company with a neutral rating will be awarded a contract if there are any other qualified contractors competing. The good news is, private sector contract performance is completely permissible in the past performance section of your RFP response. You may also submit information on key personnel who have performed on similar contracts, work performed as part of a team or joint venture, or government subcontract work your company may have done.

The sample contractor performance report provided by the OFPP is a helpful rubric for how to put together your own past performance evaluations. Performance evaluations on government contracts will be completed by the agency, but their private sector counterparts won’t – you’ll need to put together a reasonable facsimile yourself. It’s important to be as honest as possible when completing the assessment.

The solicitation will let you know how many past performance evaluations should be included in the RFP response. It will typically ask for the 5 to 10 most recent contracts related to the project at hand – a company with less experience than that may want to wait until they have a few more contracts under their belt before pursuing government contracts. Include any comments you feel are necessary to clarify problems that were encountered and how they were solved.

Government RFPs often use different terminology than commercial contracts do. Using the same terminology and language that is used in the RFP and the past performance survey will make your evaluation easier to understand and to compare with your competitors’. A government project is very structured, so emphasizing your process and how you performed on key deliverables is a good idea.

Finally, remember to submit at least 2 contacts for your non-government references. If your company is in the running for the contract award at all, your references will be called! Make sure the contacts know they will be called, and do your best to ensure that the phone number and other information provided are as up-to-date as possible.

From the DCMA website:

“The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is the Department of Defense (DoD) component that works directly with Defense suppliers to help ensure that DoD, Federal, and allied government supplies and services are delivered on time, at projected cost, and meet all performance requirements. DCMA directly contributes to the military readiness of the United States and its allies, and helps preserve the nation’s freedom.”

Functions of the Defense Contract Management Agency

The Defense Contract Management Agency is heavily involved in Department of Defense and select other federal contracts, both pre- and post-award. Before the contract award, the DCMA advises the agency on drafting the solicitation and bid documents, ensuring they are clear and effective. The DCMA also works to identify potential risks and address them in the solicitation. Once the RFP goes out, DCMA consultants also help select the most qualified contractor, and make sure the resultant contract fully addresses the agency’s needs.

After the contract is awarded, Defense Contract Management Agency consultants work directly with the contractors and agencies, serving as a go-between. The DCMA’s role in contract execution is to monitor the contractor’s processes for efficiency and quality, keeping the agency apprised of progress and any potential setbacks. Additionally, the DCMA may offer support to the prime contractor.

Working with the Defense Contract Management Agency

It can be easy for a prime contractor to feel threatened or imposed on when Defense Contract Management Agency consultants come around. After all, a major part of their job is to keep a close eye out for potential setback and report them to the agency – it may feel like they are there as spies. This is not at all the way to look at it, though. Instead, try to remember that ultimately a prime contractor and a DCMA representative are on the same side: they both want the contract to come in on schedule and on budget. It’s true that the DCMA exists to serve the DoD’s needs, and not the contractor’s, but their wealth of experience makes DCMA representatives a good resource for contract management advice.

Additionally, it’s worth remembering the DCMA’s close involvement with every step of the procurement process, from the agency side. Performing well on a DoD contract, and working to build connections in the DCMA, could lead to more DoD contract awards in the future.

Track Your Bids with a Customer Relationship Management System

When a small business is just getting off the ground, it may only be dealing with a few clients at a time. As the business grows, however, the customer-tracking methods that worked so well with a handful of clients may not be able to keep up with increased demand. In the last three years, Nomad’s staff had grown from 4 people to 23, and in 2006 they had sales of more than $3 million. This growth allowed them greater freedom to pursue opportunities, but it also meant that the Excel spreadsheet they’d been using to track customers was no longer meeting their needs. For a small business, marketing is key, so it’s doubly important to make sure customer relationships are being tracked efficiently. I suggested they upgrade to a customer relationship management system.

A Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) allows tracking of myriad factors such as bid status, award data, and key information on dealing with specific decision makers. Using a customer relationship management system such as GoldMine helps companies like Nomad plan their sales pipelines farther in advance and can also reveal hidden patterns and trends in agency purchasing behavior. As more information is added to the customer relationship management system, patterns will emerge to aid you in small business marketing – targeting the bids you have the best chance of winning, and discarding bids that historically haven’t gone to your type of company.

Forget the Trade Shows

In small business, marketing budgets are usually pretty tight. Industry trade shows can give a boost to branding efforts, but when it comes to actively marketing to government agencies, trade shows usually aren’t worth the expense. Like I told Fortune Small Business, there are 88,000 government agencies out there. For the cost of exhibiting at even one trade show, you could be focusing on marketing directly to government agencies.

Broaden Your Lead Sources

One of the most frustrating phenomena Nomad’s marketers were facing was the high rate of turnover at government agencies. Just when they felt they had established a rapport with a purchasing officer, he or she would be replaced and the relationship-building process would start all over again. I suggested they focus on the decision-makers, who are more likely to stay around. Nomad was also relying on lead sources such as FindRFP.com and FedBizOpps for lead notification, but the truth is that many times, lead sources such as these don’t publish opportunities in enough time for a strong marketing relationship to be built. For early notification, keep a close eye on newspaper stories about government meetings, or turn to a government contracting information company.

Finally, broadening lead sources means turning to new categories of clients. Diversify your lead sources: targeting companies in the private and educational sectors is a great way to keep from putting all your eggs in one basket. Don’t assume that there’s no market for your products or services outside of what you already pursue; brainstorming and thorough research can unlock a world of new lead sources.

While subcontractors are not responsible for drafting or enacting subcontracting plans, it’s still important to be familiar with the rules governing them. Small businesses such as those listed above should note the many ways that subcontracting plan regulations attempt to level the playing field.

Types of Subcontracting Plan

Most subcontracting plans fall into one of four categories:

• Individual: Makes provisions for the life of one specific contract, and includes goals for the prime’s planned subcontracting effort.
• Master: A boilerplate contract containing necessary clauses. A master subcontracting plan doesn’t include goals, and is effective for 3 years after approval. The master plan may be incorporated into more specific individual plans.
• Commercial: An annual plan applying to all government contracts in the contractor’s fiscal year. Preferred for commercial items.
• Comprehensive: Specific to the DoD Test Program for Negotiation of Comprehensive SB Subcontracting Plans.

Mandatory Elements of a Subcontracting Plan

Regardless of the type of subcontracting plan being used, all subcontracting plans must contain these basic elements:

• Goals for the percentage of total subcontracting dollars that will go to each small business category (small, women-owned, veteran-owned, etc.).
• Total dollar amount of the contract that will be subcontracted out, both overall and by small business category.
• Description of the supplies/services to be subcontracted, both total and by small business category.
• Description of the method used by the prime contractor to arrive at the subcontracting plan and goals above.
• Description of the method to be used to identify potential small business subcontractors.
• Whether or not indirect costs have been included in the goals outlined in the subcontracting plan, to what extent and the method used to determine what share of the indirect costs will be incurred with small business concerns.
• Contact information for the person who is administrating the subcontracting program, and a description of their duties within the overall organization.
• Description of efforts being made to ensure that small businesses have an equitable opportunity to compete for the subcontracts in question.
• Assurances that the prime contractor will:
  • Cooperate in any studies and surveys
  • Submit periodic compliance reports
  • Submit the proper forms, as required
• Description of what records will be kept to document compliance with the subcontracting plan’s requirements and goals, as well as record-keeping procedures and processes, and documentation of the prime’s efforts to locate small business concerns and award subcontracts to them.
• Any flow-down clauses and reporting requirements, including the Utilization of Small Business Concerns clause and the Subcontracting Plan clause from part 52 of the FAR.

Planning for Disaster Relief Contracts

If your business is interested in disaster relief contracts in your area, consider at what point in the disaster timeline your products or services may be needed. In areas that are more disaster-prone, agencies may be stocking up on supplies such as fire suppression equipment, sand and sandbags, etc. as part of their annual restocking efforts. Thanks to new legislation enacted earlier this year, state and local agencies can now order from federal contracts in times of natural disaster or acts of terrorism. This allows the GSA to get support to communities that need it as quickly as possible.

State and local governments can purchase goods and services before disaster hits, so there’s no need to wait until disaster season to begin marketing. Find the agency contact person in charge of disaster relief purchasing, to make sure your marketing efforts reach the right ears and keep your company at top of mind for disaster contracts. When disaster hits, that person will have a lot going on, so recognition of your company name and reputation will go a long way toward landing that disaster relief contract. Unfortunately, agency personnel and their contact information can change from year to year, so it’s important to have the freshest data possible. Consider cutting to the chase with a custom contact list from a business intelligence company. They can help you find the right people to call, with the most up-to-date information out there.

After Disaster Hits

Contracts that are earmarked for disaster relief spending will continue to be issued as long as damage remains. For businesses such as general construction, flood abatement and remediation companies (to name just a few), there may actually be more opportunities after the initial flurry of post-disaster activity has subsided. The Onvia Disaster Contracting Center is a free service that lists a select number of disaster relief contracts that are currently available, updated weekly. To keep tabs on all the disaster recovery efforts in your area, a business intelligence company can send you e-mail alerts whenever a new disaster relief contract opportunity is announced.

From the Procurement Technical Assistance Center main website:

“Procurement Technical Assistance Centers provide a wide range of assistance — most free of charge — to businesses through one-on-one counseling sessions, classes, seminars and matchmaking events. Contact your local PTAC for help in these and other areas:

• Determining Suitability for Contracting: The government marketplace poses unique challenges that can overwhelm or even ruin a company that does not have the maturity or resources to meet them. A PTAC counselor can help you determine if your company is ready for government opportunities and how to best position yourself to succeed.
• Securing Necessary Registrations: Your PTAC can help make sure you are registered with the various databases necessary for you to participate in the government marketplace, including the Department of Defense’s Central Contractor Registration (CCR), the SBA’s PRO-Net, and other government vendor databases.
• SDB, 8(a), HUBzone and other certifications: Certain small businesses are eligible for preferred status in some government solicitations. A PTAC counselor can help you determine if your company is eligible for any of these certifications and guide you through the steps necessary to secure them.
• Researching Procurement Histories: “What agencies have bought products like yours in the past? Which companies have been awarded these contracts? How much have they been paid?” Answers to questions like these are necessary to guide your marketing strategy and give you a competitive edge. Your PTAC can help you ask the right questions and get the information you need to succeed.
• Networking: Most PTACs sponsor regular “matchmaking” events, providing critical opportunities to connect with agency buying officers, prime contractors and other businesses that may offer teaming or subcontracting opportunities.
• Identifying Bid Opportunities: A PTAC can make sure that you are notified — on a daily basis — of all government contract opportunities that your company is eligible to bid on.
• Proposal Preparation: A procurement specialist can help you navigate even the most difficult solicitation package, including securing necessary specifications and drawings and determining pricing. You will never need to pass up a great contract opportunity just because the solicitation is too complicated.
• Contract Performance Issues: Even after you’ve been awarded a contract, your PTAC may be able to help with certain contract performance issues, such as: