Government contracts are a surefire way to grow your business in the federal market, but the process is not an easy one. One of the questions that I am regularly asked by businesses are, “How do you find government opportunities?”. There are lots of resources in locating opportunities if you are familiar with working in the neighborhood of federal contracts.
Each federal agency has their own individual portal to solicit opportunities, but a portal that is used more frequently is Federal Business Opportunities or FBO. FBO is used by all federal agencies to list many things such as, solicitations, agency events, or sources sought. Any solicitation in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars will be advertised here. The site can be found at www.fbo.gov and it is free to register. Registration is not necessary but it is recommended if you are serious in locating opportunities.
Once you have completed your registration you have a choice of how you want to create your search agents. If you are not able to locate any opportunities that are currently available you can create a saved search that will alert you when any opportunities appear at a later date.
As I mentioned earlier FBO is also great for finding small business events and sources sought. Sources sought’s are when federal agencies are conducting market research in creating a possible solicitation. A sources sought is nothing to smirk at, this is also considered a government opportunity for your business, but you have to know how to work it to your advantage. For more information on sources sought and how to utilize them as a marketing tool check it out here.
The small business events provide a chance for you to meet the agency personnel face to face and introduce your company’s capabilities. When attending the events always be sure to bring a capability statement, business cards, and a game plan of how you are going to maneuver your way throughout the day. If you need more information on how to prepare a capability statement read my previous post here.
For more helpful tips like this subscribe here and remember if you are a vendor who struggles with GSA proposals and its processes I want to help, contact me.