Wednesday, January 7, 2015

By Celeste Osborne


Every day, thousands of new contractors try and fail to break into the world of federal contracting. While contracting can be a very lucrative market, it is notoriously difficult to break into. One of the biggest problems facing new vendors is past performance - or a lack thereof.

Simply put, past performance is your company's contracting record - which agencies you've worked with, what contracts you've completed as the prime or subcontractor, whether the work was completed satisfactorily and what problems were encountered during the job. It's like a resume for your company, complete with references and past work experience. And just like an applicant whose resume is missing these key points of information, your chances of winning a contract with no past performance are going to be depressingly low.

Besides an understandable preference to work with experienced contractors, purchasing officers also look for a history of past performance because these vendors are expected to be more knowledgeable of the unique regulations and procedures involved in federal contracting. With voters' tax dollars and budgetary limitations involved, purchasing officers are also more focused on awarding projects to vendors they feel they can trust. Without past performance references to check, there is no way to know how well a vendor will perform on a contract.

This leaves many new vendors in a frustrating catch-22: How do you earn past performance if no one will award a contract to you because you have no past performance? Thankfully, there are a few ways to get around this obstacle. First, there is subcontracting and teaming, in which you would work a smaller part of a larger contract under the prime vendor. Some vendors are also able to build up past performance through city and state contracts. The best way to start working with federal contracts however is through the Simplified Acquisition Program. These lower value contracts do not go through the formal bidding process nor are they widely advertised. With lower competition, it is easier for a new vendor to win one of these projects even with no past performance.

In order to help both new and established vendors take advantage of these opportunities, US Federal Contractor Registration has created the Simplified Acquisition Program. This package includes everything necessary to start working with the federal government as soon as possible. The Simplified Acquisition Program provides System for Award Management registration, a seven page website in the standard Federal Government format, branded domain name and hosting, search engine optimization, customized official government profile, monthly email bid notification and contract support. This program has already generated millions of dollars in additional revenue for thousands of small businesses.

US Federal Contractor Registration is the world's largest third party registration firm that con-ducts everything from System for Award Management (SAM) to GSA Schedules. US Federal Contractor Registration testimonials and reviews are second to none with having registered over 65,000 businesses in System for Award Management. US Federal Contractor Registration has also registered and provided federal marketing solutions for businesses like McGraw Hill, HP, Wells Fargo, Xerox, GoodWill, Dixie, UPS, Heinz, Sheraton Hotels, Marriott, Westin, Interstate Oil, CITI, and Coldwell Banker; as well as academic institutions and colleges like NYC, North-western, Oxford, Southwestern, and Mercer. Numerous federal agencies like US Army, US Na-vy, Veteran Affairs and United States Department of Agriculture have also had their government paperwork facilitated by US Federal Contractor Registration Case Managers.




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