How to Get Federal Contract Experience
Federal government contracting refers to a business relationship between a company and the federal government. Contracting with the federal government means a company provides services or products subsequent to receiving a contract awarded by a federal government agency. Getting federal contract experience isn't easy because providing guaranteed, superior-level products or services is only part of the equation. You also need contacts, connections and a strategic plan.
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Instructions
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Define your organization's services or products. For instance, if you provide management consulting services, narrow down the type of services you offer, such as human resources management, organizational development or workplace diversity training. Construct a succinct description of what your company does and use that as your "elevator speech" introduction when you meet with potential business contacts and federal contractors. Practice giving a brief synopsis of your business so you can quickly explain your services whenever someone asks.
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Peruse federal government agency websites for links to small business divisions, or links to areas labeled "Doing Business with the IRS," "How to Sell Goods to the GSA" or similar departments within each agency. These links take you to pages that describe the steps potential federal contractors must take if they want to bid on contracts with individual agencies. Every federal government agency has a procurement staff that specifically handles contracting and purchasing matters to fulfill agency-wide needs.
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Gather your organization's paperwork, including the articles of incorporation, Standard Industry Classification, DUNS and tax identification numbers. Complete the registration process for federal government contractors on the Central Contractor Registration, the clearinghouse for companies that want to do business with the federal government. CCR registration includes information about the types of goods and services your company provides, as well as contact information for members of your organization responsible for securing business for your company.
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Register on the FedBizOpps website for contracting opportunities in your area of business. FedBizOpps, short for Federal Business Opportunities, publishes opportunities for federal contractors every day, as well as updates and amendments to requests for proposals and bids. Set your email alerts to get up-to-the-minute notice of business opportunities in your field. Monitor FedBizOpps opportunities, and pay particular attention to requirements your company can fulfill.
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Select business opportunities on FedBizOpps for which you're qualified. Construct proposals that address the bid specifications and requests for proposals. A successful proposal should have a convincing summary of what your business offers, quality control for the product or service you offer, and the cost to provide your product or service to the federal government. Plan to spend a significant portion of time doing researching, refining and revising your proposal to perfect it so that it answers all of the points a proposal should cover.
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Contact federal contractors from FedBizOpps listings. Often, experienced and successful federal contractors identify themselves as interested parties on the website for each business opportunity that FedBizOpps publishes. It's common for new and inexperienced federal contractors to solicit business on a subcontract basis until they build a federal contract record, and can branch out as a prime contractor.
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