Discover new bid opportunities through online services that provide tailored bid notifications.
Construction companies often have to stretch to uncover new business development approaches. And many have found that competing for government business provides one new opportunity to build business in today’s economic climate. Winning government business can be lucrative and provide a new revenue source.
Government Gold
Although government entities face some of the same economic budget cutbacks as the private sector, the public still requires a level of service that has to be maintained by these government entities.
Many government agencies have to follow compliance guidelines to complete and secure vendors for their needs. These compliance requirements give construction companies an advantage because it requires the government entity to make the project and its specifications public knowledge so vendors can compete for the business.
All facets of government construction projects have the potential of offering bid opportunities to large and small construction companies.
Bid Notifications
To easily find government projects, contractors can use online services available in the market that provide bid opportunity notifications. In the past, companies would spend hours monitoring newspapers or various government agency websites to find these bid opportunities. Usually, companies would only focus on local opportunities.
With online bid notification services, companies can easily identify lucrative bid opportunities without having to hire a full-time employee, who is responsible for monitoring numerous websites daily to find these opportunities.
Companies can find out about local opportunities and projects across the country. By purchasing a bid notification subscription, many companies can better define what goods and/or services they can provide and how that directly relates to the government agencies’ needs. When government agencies have urgent needs for services, the bid opportunities become more valuable because they allow vendors and contractors to leverage their skills to win the business.
Also, depending on the project type, government agencies have requirements to purchase goods and services from certain types of companies. Construction companies with established certifications can leverage those certifications and qualifications to win more business. For example, many government agencies will weigh a vendor’s offer more highly if they have a Small Business (SB) certification or a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) certification. The weight is translated as a discount off the vendor’s offer, making it much more attractive and affordable. It is important to understand the requirements issued per agency when responding to bid opportunities.
Construction-related government projects will most likely include bid, performance and payment bond percentage requirements, which companies need to guarantee before completing their offer. Companies should be sure all requirements, forms, bonds and information have been included in their offer.
Bid Opportunities
Use these tips to get the most from bid notification services:
Fine-tune how you describe your products and offerings. Then, create your company profile on the bid notification service. This allows for more accurate bid notifications pertinent to what your company provides. For better results, bid notification services should ask you detailed questions about your company—what type work you do, where you do business and with whom your company wants to do business. This will provide tailored notifications to ensure your company receives leads instead of hundreds of unqualified bids.
Legitimate bid notification services will provide daily reports of any bid matches based on your profile settings. These notifications can be offered via email, fax or text messages.
When responding to bid opportunities, ensure that all the information has been meticulously reviewed for a formulated offer response. Include all forms, documents, etc., that have been requested by the issuing agency.
Applicable certifications and qualifications should be documented. If the government agency requests supporting documentation, include this as part of the offer response.
In today’s highly competitive economic climate, construction companies should incorporate their knowledge of bid opportunities as a vital weapon in their arsenal.
Construction Business Owner, December 2011
