Government contracting jobs can provide you with a great way to build up your business but learning the ropes of contracting can be tough. At Federal Contractor Registry, we can help you with the first step toward becoming a federal contractor – SAM registration, but we also have a few essential tips that can help you acquire your first contracting job.
- Research Government Agencies
Before you take any steps toward becoming a federal contractor, it’s wise to see if your specific goods and services often are needed by federal agencies. The government needs just about every imaginable good and service, but some companies are a better fit than others, so do some research to see if contracting seems to be a profitable option for you.
To get started, you can do a quick search at Beta.SAM.gov, which is a search engine for government contracting that is run by the Federal Service Desk (an agency within the General Services Administration). There are several ways to search for contracting jobs, but we typically recommend using your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.
NAICS codes describe the types of goods and services a company provides. You can search for your NAICS codes at https://www.census.gov/naics/. If you opt to hire us for SAM registration, we also can help you find the best code matches. Once you have your codes, you can search for potential jobs.
You may find that many agencies need your goods and services, and we recommend that you research each agency and learn a bit about how the agency works to see if you might be a good fit. Read through some of the bid proposals to determine if you can provide what the agency needs.
- Learn About Requests For Information & Respond
In the world of government contracting, you will be introduced to a completely new vocabulary that we like to call government-speak. This includes a plethora of acronyms and special terms, and two of these Request for Proposals (RFPs) and Requests for Information (RFIs) are important to learn about.
An RFP is a request that a government procurement agent sends out to ask federal contractors to send in their bid proposals for a specific contracting job. These typically are several pages long and include the type of contract, timetable for job completion, the value of the contract, etc. However, sometimes those procurement agents are quite sure what they need, how much it will cost, how quickly goods and services can be delivered or completed and other details.
When this occurs, the agency sends out a Request for Information, and any federal contractor can respond and describe how they could provide whatever goods and services might be needed. If you see an RFI out there and you think your company could be a good fit, we highly recommend that you respond to these requests. While responding to an RFI doesn’t guarantee that you will win the final contract, it can make it easier because you’ve already made contact and shown that you have a solution to the agency’s issues.
- Sign Up With The Small Business Administration
Whether you have one employee or hundreds of employees, you may qualify as a small business. If so, we highly recommend that you sign up with the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA can provide you with loans and grants as well as helpful information to help you build up your business.
When it comes to government contracting, you may qualify for what are known as SBA “set asides.” The federal government sets aside a portion of its yearly contracting budget for qualifying small businesses, which means that small business owners have a better shot at winning certain types of government contracts. To learn more about set asides and what the SBA has to offer federal contractors, go to SBA.gov. You also can check to see if your business qualifies as a small business at https://www.sba.gov/document/support–table-size-standards.
- Create A Federal Contractor Marketing Plan
Marketing your goods and services with the federal government is quite different from working within the private sector. For one thing, federal agencies aren’t concerned with making a profit, they simply exist to provides services for American citizens and to keep the government running as efficiently as possible. Additionally, using contractors also serves as a way to help boost businesses.
When you start marketing for government agencies, you will need to create what is known as a capability statement, which is essentially a federal contractor resume. Your capability statement should include the usual contact information, as well as your NAICS codes and information such as your Product Service Codes (similar to NAICS codes) and your CAGE Code. This code is the unique identifier assigned to your company once your SAM registration is approved.
Additionally, you will need sections on your capability statement such as Past Performance and Differentiators. Past Performance is basically a list of your previous clients and Differentiators is a list of what sets you apart from other similar businesses. For instance, perhaps your company has many years of experience, perhaps you are family-owned, etc.
There are many examples of good capability statements on the internet, and there are even companies that will create a statement for you. We recommend adding it to your website and even creating a page just for government contracting. Procurement agents can head to this page to learn more about your company and how you can serve government agencies.
Additionally, sign up with your state procurement system. There are many lucrative contracts available at the state level, and state governments often host workshops and other events to help a federal contractor or state contractor learn more about contracting in general and the best ways to market their business to government agencies.
- Consider Subcontracting
If you are a smaller business, working with “prime contractors” can be a great way to get started with government contracting. The prime contractor is the company that bids on and wins the contract and then they use smaller businesses to help them complete a contracting job. Many prime contractors are required to use small businesses as subcontractors in order to win a contract.
As the subcontractor, you will not have to deal with contracts or procurement agents, only with the Prime Contractor, which can be much easier than trying to figure out all of the ins and outs of government contracting when you are just getting started. The SBA has a search engine for subcontracting at https://web.sba.gov/pro-net/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm, and you can take a look and see if any of these jobs fit your goods and services.
Get Help With SAM Registration Now!
At Federal Contractor Registry, we complete System for Award Management (SAM) registrations for hundreds of companies every year. This includes small businesses as well as Fortune 500 firms and everything in between.
While the government does not charge a fee for SAM registration, many people hire a service like ours to complete the SAM registration process which can be difficult and time-consuming. In fact, it can take more than 10 hours to complete the registration process and, if you make any mistakes, this can delay your approval.
It just makes sense to hire an expert to complete your SAM registration (and SAM renewals), and we can help. We liken ourselves to accountants because, while you can complete your taxes on your own, it’s time-consuming and difficult and if you make any mistakes, those can be costly. It’s often best to simply hire an expert for these types of tasks.
To get started on your path as a federal contractor, just click on the green New Registration tab on our homepage and fill out our quick contact form. A registration specialist will be in touch as soon as possible to gather your information and get started on your SAM registration.