Vendor Registration – First Step To Win Local Government Contracts

If you want to be in the best position to win local government contracts your first step should be to register as a vendor at as many local agencies as you can.  Let’s look at why it’s so important and how you go about registering.

Why?

Simple – that is the way agencies will know that you exist.  It is just about the best initial marketing you can do if you want to win government contracts.  Get your name in their database.

Vendors spend huge amounts of marketing time trying to build lists of prospective buyers.  Local government purchasing departments actually do the opposite and look to build a database of companies they can buy from.  Even better, they want to know about local, small or disadvantaged businesses too.

Whenever an agency wants to buy something they likely go to their database first.  If they are publishing a formal bid they will make sure that their registered vendors are notified.  If they don’t need a formal bid because their purchase is at a low enough value, you are more likely to get a call if you are on their list than not.  In my opinion, vendor registration is a sure fire way of getting qualified inbound leads.

How to register as a vendor?

I won’t pretend otherwise – registering can be a tedious task.  The problem is there is no universal registration at the local level (CCR does not apply) and so you have to complete much of the same information in different formats over-and-over again. That said it is worth the effort.  Here is some advice about how to approach the task:

1. Make a list of all the local government agencies in your region together with their website address.  A good place to start building that list is your State’s website
2. Visit each site.  Larger agencies will often have a purchasing section on their website with details of how to register as a vendor.  You may even be able to complete registration online.  For medium sized agencies you might find the purchasing section under the finance department.  For smaller agencies, the website may not contain any information so you will need to phone
3. Be prepared with some basic information to fill out the application.  The level of information varies but in general you will need your Federal Tax ID, business license numbers, years in business and also think about who will be your contact person
4. Make sure your business is correctly listed.  One of the key parts of the application will be letting the agency know what you sell.  You may be asked for your NAICS code, which I discussed here or the agency may have its own classification system and ask you to choose from a number of selections.  Be careful to go through this thoroughly as quite often more than one category will be applicable

Finally in addition to the application you will probably also have to submit a W-9 which is an IRS form requesting your taxpayer identification.  It is straightforward to complete and you will be certifying that your tax ID is correct and whether or not you are subject to backup withholding. Don’t be concerned about this if it is requested as it is standard practice.

Get started – go register!

Tagged as: CCR, NAICS, vendor registration