Tindale Oliver – Leveraging Pre-RFP Intelligence to Grow its Government Contracting Business

Tampa-based firm Tindale Oliver relies on GovWin IQ’s industry-leading platform of government market intelligence to identify new contracting opportunities well in advance of the release of bids or RFPs.

Tindale Oliver has consistently provided excellent services to a wide range of government clients throughout the U.S. since it began in 1989. Based in Tampa and with 100 employees, it provides transportation planning and engineering services to government agencies, providing solutions that improve transportation circulation, increase safety, reduce air pollution, and conserve fuel—a bold mission for a small-to-midsize company.

For Tindale Oliver to capture and execute on government contracting leads effectively, the identification process needs to begin as soon as leads are available. Its challenge is a common one—81% of government contractors reported in the 2021 GovCon Clarity survey that having a better understanding of opportunities and their requirements earlier in the process is important to achieving their public sector business development goals. According to Andrea Sauvageot, Tindale Oliver’s Communications and Research Coordinator, “Early on, we were looking at different avenues to find leads before they became a project or RFP, but without much success.”

Using GovWin IQ to Gain Pre-RFP Intelligence

For the past several years, Tindale Oliver has been leveraging GovWin IQ to meet this challenge. By being proactive in its pursuit of new projects and starting its capture process sooner, the firm often discovers opportunities for pursuit months or event years in advance of the solicitation being released. “GovWin IQ is our bible, it’s our go-to,” said Sauvageot. “We have come to rely on it heavily as we seek new opportunities for government contracting.”

Tindale Oliver’s primary focus area of business is in the Southeast U.S., but it pursues and acts on work opportunities across the country. Because much of its work is related to planning and studies, it needs a way to keep eyes on opportunities outside its own physical footprint. By using the pre-RFP searches its GovWin IQ Customer Success Manager helped to set up, Tindale Oliver has been able to get a proactive view of opportunities that are a good fit for its business. For example, “We recently identified a really good, active, strong lead in Baltimore, and we’re in the process of teaming in pursuit of that, said Sauvageot. “It would have been something we would not have known about or known who to contact. And that’s directly because of our GovWin IQ pre-RFP search—it’s been a major value for us.”

Finding Government Contracting Leads with Hands-On Customer Support

Small businesses such as Tindale Oliver often face challenges unique to businesses of their size in the government contracting space. Due to limited resources, they need to be strategic in how they leverage their time, money, and people, often meaning they must become more strategic in what leads they go after and what they don’t.

One resource that GovWin IQ offers to help counteract that is the support of a dedicated Customer Success Manager. Tindale Oliver has been able to use that resource as an extension of their team. “I know I can call my Customer Success Manager and ask her anything,” said Sauvageot. “She’s always very responsive and always happy to help answer questions.”

At the same time, Tindale Oliver has been able to broaden its knowledge of the contracting market and GovWin IQ with live and on-demand training and support. Through these resources and with the able assistance of its hands-on Customer Success Manager, Tindale Oliver is well-positioned to identify more government contracting opportunities at an earlier stage, giving it the best chance to compete for and win more government business.