Search and bid for contracts and RFPs from state and local governments

State and local government bids and RFPs are notoriously difficult to locate. Unlike the federal government, which makes most purchases through GSA or FedBizOpps.gov programs, state and local offers are found in a large number of sources on the Internet: on government websites, public works pages , websites contracted by third parties and newspaper classifieds.

To locate these offers, you may want to keep an eye out for classified ads in newspapers or on the websites of specific government entities near you. If your business operates in North Dakota only, this is easy and takes less than an hour a day. However, if your business operates in a larger state, in multiple states, or if you don’t have an hour per day to spend, a service like BidPrime.com is a cost-effective and cost-effective solution to reduce the burden of locating them. valuable and often overlooked opportunities.

So I identified a qualified lead, but now what? First, check the qualifications and deadlines related to the offer in the tender document or request for proposal.

What to look for:

• Make sure your business qualifies for the offer. Some offers are reserved for minority, female, or veteran-owned businesses.
• Find the pre-bid conferences listed and make a note of the required ones.
• Do you need to be a registered supplier to bid?

After verifying these initial ratings, it is advisable to follow the website of an entity where the offer was posted to view any attachments or amendments. Some entities will notify you of changes if you have already expressed interest in the offer. Checking this website every few days during the bidding process can be a good idea.

Some entities will post sign-in sheets for a pre-bid conference or have a utility to view past awards. This information can be used as valuable intelligence to develop a competitive offering. If the entity does not post this information online, it can sometimes request it from the agency’s procurement officer. This contact should be your main point of contact for any questions regarding the offer, the offer document, specifications, addenda, and amendments. This information should be in the bidding document or on the website; however, if you cannot find this information, BidPrime’s technical support team may be able to help you.

Your proposition is your sales pitch for your business. Make sure you are thorough and compliant and offer a competitive but profitable offer. Listing why you are the best candidate is also an effective route, as leads are sometimes not awarded to the lowest bidder.

There are many resources on the web for completing response templates that will be for another post. The most valuable resource for questions of this type is your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).

Finally, it is important to remember that companies often lose more government contracts than they win.