There is a lot of talk about the economic impacts of COVID-19, especially on states, cities and counties. But if you look at the volume of bid opportunities that are appearing in Periscope S2G’s North America database each month, you will see that budget cuts aren’t necessarily causing a slowdown in goods and services solicitations. In fact, states like Arkansas, Oregon, Massachusetts and Nevada are making significant investments in procurement solutions and policies to boost their spend with local businesses – and not just for the hot-ticket items such as PPE or IT hardware and software.
This is important to note given how many businesses are going back to the drawing board to see how they can either expand their offerings or pivot their business models entirely to sustain operations amidst the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
If you are going to have to commit time and money to adapt, why not allocate at least some of those resources to meeting the public sector’s vendor requirements and potentially creating new revenue streams?
In many cases, the upfront costs of bidding on government contracts (and meeting contract terms) are minimal if you already have skilled workers available and the right accounting and IT systems in place to comply with government reporting, auditing and security policies. If you’re a service provider, you’ll likely need to be licensed and bonded. Though, you also need to be licensed and bonded to do business in the consumer and commercial service sectors, so you may already check that box. Same with insurance. Even if you have to secure higher liability coverages to meet the public sector’s minimums, the cost won’t necessarily be prohibitive. Of course, if you need to maintain certain certifications or provide proof of business size/ownership, there may be fees associated with securing the proper documentation. But, again, most of what you need to do business with the government is in line with what you need to do business, period.
Related Resource:
Before Your Bid: How to Prepare Your Business for Government Contracting
Knowing that, we highly encourage you to do a deep dive into the hundreds of thousands of bids that continue to be posted in Periscope S2G each month. You might be surprised at how many opportunities there are for you to jump-start or reinvigorate your business. Since many businesses are either stretched thin or only operating at a limited capacity, those with the ability to provide desired goods and services are in high demand in many categories. Plus, government agencies are trying to do more with less money, so it behooves them to increase competition. As a result, they are actively looking for new vendors who can provide the goods and services they need on time and at the right price. Of course, given the urgent need to stand up “physically distant” judicial, education, healthcare and recreation programs, they are looking just as furiously for companies that can help them modernize systems and transition services online.
If you haven’t signed up for a free Periscope S2G account yet, it will only take you a few minutes to do so now. This will give you access to the bid opportunities posted by agencies within the Periscope Network. If you want to see open solicitations from all 100,000+ North American public sector agencies (including school districts, special districts and non-profits), then you’ll want to upgrade to this plan.
Of course, if you’re just conducting market research right now, that’s perfectly okay. Just know that the longer you wait, the more opportunities you might miss to generate revenue from customers with somewhat stable spending practices – even in the middle of a pandemic. Tip: If you are just trying to gauge government interest in your products or services, you may want to upload your catalog to the Periscope Marketplace. Built exclusively for the public sector, it has become the e-commerce site where many state and local agencies shop first – and often exclusively. This is the easiest way to increase awareness of your business and offerings.
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