How to Find Government Prime Contractors for Subcontracting

Marketing your business to a government prime contractor is much like selling to any other entity: You must find customers who can use your goods or services and convince them that your company is a capable vendor.

When preparing to pursue government subcontracts or enter into a teaming agreement, a company must examine its strengths and weaknesses and determine its competitive advantage. A quick way to evaluate your potential strengths for subcontracts is to find similar companies already doing government work for prime contractors. Compare their operations to your capabilities. Make sure you have the necessary credentials required of government contractors: licenses, proof of insurance, worker's compensation certificates and reference contacts. Also, acquire any necessary professional certificates and accreditations that can establish your credibility, and determine which type of contracts are going to be the best fit for your business.

Questions to Ask When Preparing to Subcontract for Government Prime Contractors

When you are preparing to work as a subcontractor in the public sector market, ask yourself these questions:

1. What are your company's strengths and weaknesses?
2. Where is your company most efficient and cost-conscious?
3. How well known are you within your industry and with government prime contractors?
4. How highly do you prioritize customer service and support?
5. Can you demonstrate to government prime contractors that your products or services are of the highest quality?

There are several qualifications you will need to successfully work with a government prime contractor. You’ll absolutely need to meet prime contractors' deadlines, for example, and be prepared to handle any unusual rules and regulatory red tape that may arise over the course of the contract pursual and fulfillment processes.

It’s also important to confirm that subcontracting for government prime contractors will not detract and restrict resources needed to support your existing customers. To streamline your resource allocation, it designating someone within the company to be the lead contact for prime contractors is a good idea.

How to Find Prime Contractors for Subcontracting and Partnerships

Once you have a clear idea of your company's infrastructure and goals, it's time to start hunting for prime contractors. To do so, consider taking the following actions.

• Contact government agencies that may benefit from your product or service. Try to locate a small-business liaison who can answer your questions on government subcontracting. Agencies often maintain lists of their prime contractors, sometimes even posting them on their website.
• Gain advice from business-development organizations and small-business agencies such as contact information and guides to small business government contracts. The Small Business Administration (SBA) publishes a Small Business Subcontracting Directory that lists large federal government prime contractors along with contact information. The SBA also has commercial-market representatives who help small businesses find subcontracting opportunities.
• Don't forget your own industry's resources. Often government prime contractors are obligated by their contract to actively recruit small businesses for subcontracts. To locate potential partners, prime contractors often contact trade associations and business-development organizations and attend industry conferences and trade shows.
• Talk to the major players. A handful of massive government prime contractors control a significant percentage of the government contracting market. Often, they have their own small-business liaisons and provide materials explaining how to do business with them. If a government prime contractor has a liaison, make sure you talk to that person before you attempt to contact a contracting manager.
• Surf the internet. Often contractors, agencies, and other entities post details about government subcontracts online, including current contract awards, sample contracts, subcontracting plans, contact information and other valuable data. A time-efficient way to find comprehensive subcontracting data is to subscribe to the GovWin IQ market intelligence platform. With tools like GovWin IQ, you can quickly access information on government contracts that fit your business.
• Network. Do you have friends or colleagues who have worked as government prime contractors or government subcontractors? Use them as resources for leads and insight on government subcontracting.

By taking these steps to find government prime contractors that might be a good fit for your business, and by asking yourself the important questions to set yourself up for success, you can put your business in the best position possible to get in on more government subcontracts and grow your public sector business.