Using Government Award Data, Bid Results and Planholders Lists

Just like in any sales arena, if you are competing for bids and RFPs in the government marketplace, you will need to understand the competition so you can win more government contracts. To begin your investigation on your competition, the first piece of information you will need to analyze is the government award data and government bid results data, so you can differentiate yourself and address your strengths in comparison to the competition the next time you submit a government proposal.

Although government award data and government bid results data are analyzed foremost for the winning bid amount, there are additional factors and components to government awards that are worth investigating, to better position your company for the next RFP or bid that comes out. By reviewing your competitor’s award data and bid results data, you can get an idea of whether:

• A government agency has pre-existing relationships: Review your search results and take note if a certain buyer or agency keeps reappearing to see if your time and efforts might be better spent on another government bid or RFP.
• A government agency only awards projects to more local vendors: Review the number of times local vendors are awarded contracts with the agency, so you can quickly assess whether your company has a good chance at an awarded government contract.
• A government agency bases award decisions on the lowest bidder or the total quality of the proposal: Compare the pricing structure for different companies and review factors that might come into play as to how the agency decided to award the chosen vendor. If the low bidder was not selected for the award, look into their company reputation, quality of services, etc.

By analyzing these key points in the government award data and government bid results, you will be able to answer the following competitive questions and address them in your next proposal:

• Which government bids and government RFPs are the best ones to go after, so I can save time and resources by only going after the BEST government opportunities?
• Are there any weaknesses within the company or in the government proposal that I need to address? Consider solutions such as partnering opportunities or seeking outside help/services to strengthen and highlight all that you have to offer in response to the government RFP.

Lastly, be sure to investigate who your top competitors are. Find out what their strengths are and how your company stands in comparison. This will help you address your company’s strengths and weaknesses in preparation for winning future government proposals. For example, if you are new to the government marketplace or are a small business, consider partnering with companies have a good reputation and more experience.

A great way to find partnering opportunities is to monitor government planholders lists. The companies listed can be viewed either as a targeted list of competitors or a targeted list of potential partners. Use government planholders lists to identify and qualify potential partners. Government planholders lists also give you contact information so you can do some warm calling.

Organizing and Keeping Track of your Competitive Information

To help you keep track of all the competitive information you have gathered from government award data, government bid results lists and government planholders lists, consider putting together a competitive analysis worksheet. Map out all the key competitive information you gathered from the award data and bid results data and create a matrix. On this matrix, include space for notes and check off the items once you’re putting together the content for your government RFP and going through your review process before submitting the final documents.

Visit the Case Studies section to read the real-life story of Synagro, who won a yearly contract worth more than $500,000 using market intelligence.