Government Bidding – Where Do You Fit In?

Having a government bidding strategy is a key part of any flourishing business – big or small.  Over the last few months I have met with many vendors to discuss their approach to winning government contracts.  I have spoken to owners of landscaping, janitorial, vehicle towing, dry cleaning and pest control services companies.  All of them have a few things in common.  They work in fragmented industries, they operate within a small populous geographic region, competition is extremely tough and new customers are hard to find.

I am interested in their government bidding strategy, particularly at the local level – do they bid on contracts, have they been successful, how does the process compare to winning private work? Broadly the vendors fit into 4 distinct groups:

• The Advocates have been hugely successful at winning government business. They understand how the system works and how government as a customer can strengthen their business

• The Procrastinators say they want to work with government but blame their lack of time from pursuing deals but say it is something they plan to do in the future

• The Skeptics are opposed to bidding on government contracts.  Reasons range from “you can’t make a profit because the winner always bids so low”, to “government is dishonest, the winners always have a relationship with the decision makers”

• The Unknowing have never even considered that government might be a buyer of their service or don’t know where to start and are often even intimidated by the challenge

The vast majority fit into the Procrastinators or Unknowing groups but it is the Advocates more often than not who are the leaders in their local markets.  Counties, cities and school boards spend millions of dollars on their services each year and provide a great reference point for private buyers.

Local government is probably the biggest single purchaser (by a distance) of the good or service you provide in your region.  Not only that, but many of the different local government agencies provide incentives to local businesses.  They prefer to spend money with local vendors so they can reinvest in the community.  Government bidding, particularly at the local level should be part of every vendor’s business strategy.  The strict rules governing competitive bidding probably provide the best protection against a flawed process that any vendor can hope for (more in a later post).  And the great thing about working with government is they are the most likely of all your customers to pay you.  You can’t afford to ignore bidding on government contracts.