Every year, there are hundreds of federal contractor opportunities available for businesses throughout the United States. If you are interested in applying for these fed contracts and grabbing a piece of the government pie, so to speak, there are a few initial steps you will need to take, including the following.
1. Get Your DUNS Number
Of all of the steps you’ll take in order to bid on fed contracts, this will be the easiest. Every contractor will need to obtain a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number. To do so, you simply head to www.dnb.duns-number.html and hit the Get Started tab under the “Request a D-U-N-S Number” section. You also can use this link to update your company information, such as an address, phone number or email change.
This number establishes a credit file for your business. When potential companies are selecting contractors, they will input the DUNS number for each business to take a look at each company’s financial stability. If your company has multiple physical locations, you will need to secure a unique DUNS number for each of these locations. Fortunately, applying for a DUNS number only takes a few minutes and within a few business days, you will have this number, and applying for a number is free, which is an added bonus.
2. Complete SAM Registration
There are thousands of fed contracts, but they are only available to those who have completed SAM registration, which stands for System for Award Management. This is a huge database that includes all of the vendors that are approved to bid on fed contracts. While you can complete SAM registration for free, this process can take up to 15 hours to complete and the registration process is quite complicated. Additionally, if you make a mistake on the application, which you won’t know until after it has been submitted, you will have to begin the process all over again.
We highly recommend that you hire a third party registration service, such as ourselves, to handle this process. Many people begin SAM registration on their own only to become quickly overwhelmed and frustrated. We have handled thousands of SAM registrations for all types of companies, and can quickly finish up your application and get you ready to bid on fed contracts.
3. Update Your Website
An attractive, vibrant website is always a good idea, and if your website looks like it’s stuck in the early 2000s, it might be time for an upgrade. Of course, design is just one part of a great website; it also needs to include plenty of information so that agencies can truly see what your business is all about. A single page website with a phone number just doesn’t cut it anymore. Potential clients want to know more, and if your website doesn’t showcase your abilities, they may simply move on to another company that provides more information.
4. Research The Bidding Process
Once you’ve completed SAM registration and redesigned your website (if necessary), you will need to learn all you can about the actual bidding process. Head to websites such as SBA.gov and GSA.gov to learn more about the bidding process. The SBA (the Small Business Administration) has a website stocked with helpful information and resources for small businesses that wish to bid on government contracts. You can even attend workshops and classes to learn more about the bidding process, some are even available online, making it easy to fit in to just about anyone’s schedule.
5. Consider Subcontracting Jobs
When people dive into the world of fed contracts, they often head straight for the biggest, most lucrative contacts, but it’s often smarter to consider subcontracting. Government agencies rarely select contractors with no government experience, and subcontracting can be a great way to build up your resume, so to speak. It’s also an ideal option for a small business, as you might be able to better fill some sort of niche or provide a service that a larger company might not offer. Of course, you do have to complete SAM registration in order to subcontract, and this huge database provides one way for contractors to search for subcontractors, so even if you don’t immediately begin bidding on fed contracts, registering with SAM can be beneficial.
At Federal Contractor Registry, our part of the process is to make it easier for businesses to complete their SAM registrations and SAM renewals. If you want to bid on fed contracts, we take relieve you of the burden of SAM registration. Once you’ve obtained your DUNS number, head to our homepage and simply click on the New Registration tab to get started.