Is Government Contracting for You?

Businesses interested in entering the government marketplace should consider the following questions to determine the potential to succeed as a government contractor.

1. Does your company have steady and/or growing commercial market sales that can support a new market venture?
2. Is your company well established and have the necessary experienced staff, appropriate tooling and overall resources to fulfill government contract requirements?
3. Does your company have an active strategic plan and staff willing to implement government contracting sales?
4. Is your company financially solvent with no legal judgments?  Does it have available lines of credit, appropriate assets, and set accounting standards?
5. Does your company have a defined marketing radius and designated marketing staff?
6.  Does your company have an established quality control program with written procedures and staff designated to implement it?
7. Is your company Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or Electronic Commerce (EC) capable?  What is your company’s level of computer literacy?
8. Have you established that your competitors are active in the government marketplace and/or have you considered teaming with similar businesses to pursue government contract sales?
9. Has your company considered pursuing government subcontracting opportunities before entering the marketplace as a prime vendor? 

Though potentially lucrative, government contracting requires a substantial amount of resource commitment.

The nine questions above provide a self-evaluation and a preliminary benchmark for business development.  To determine if you are a viable contractor or if certain issues would prohibit your firm from entering the marketplace, please contact the SAP&DC Procurement Technical Assistance Center for a more complete marketing analysis.