When most people think of landing government security contracts, they usually immediately think of the federal government. While it’s true that there are big federal contracts, it’s important not to overlook the tremendous opportunity in local municipalities such as villages, townships, counties and the state.
So How Does It Work?
Smaller government entities usually utilize a simple process when it comes to hiring contractors; bidding. It’s pretty straight forward, when it comes to government security contracts, the lowest “responsible” bidder wins. Of course, this may not always be the case when working with small town municipalities!
So, what is a “responsible” bidder?
A Responsible Bidder Is A Company That Has:
- References
- Staff
- Policies
- An Office
- Insurance
- Bond
- License
- Experience
- Reliability
Our Ebook “How To Land Security Contracts” goes into detail on how to establish yourself as a responsible bidder when your brand new and just getting started.
Some of the in depth things that get covered are:
- How To Structure Your Company
- The Solution To The Finding An Affordable Business Office
- Proposals (These need to be professionally written; no one liners with a low price)
You can find the exact proposals and contracts that have landed our security company, USPA, lifetime contracts over and over again at startasecuritycompany.com. These security proposals and contracts are completely editable and customizable to your security company and can be used immediately after filling in your information.
When looking to land government security contracts, it’s important to understand price points for your proposals. Although the security industry can be extremely lucrative and prosperous, it’s been dominated by the “cheapest cost theory” in which the lowest bidder usually wins. This is outlined in extreme detail in the Ebook “How To Land Government Contracts” as it’s vital that you understand the price points for your target markets.
Request For Proposals or RFP’s as we will refer to them, are periodically issued as well. The difference between an RFP and the lowest responsible bidder; the lowest responsible bidder focuses on best price, while the RFP focuses on best “value.” With that being said, price still always plays a big role and can be the determining factor on whether or not you get the contract.
So what can you do to increase your chances of landing government security contracts?
- Understand the scope of services that are required for the job
- Recognize & accept the “cheapest cost theory” (learn to be valuable)
- Learn from previous bids who your competition is and what rates they are using
- Keep your billable costs to the client at a minimum when trying to land government security contracts
Although we just went over the “cheapest cost theory” and keeping billable costs to the client low, it is important to understand that your ability to prosper is very high when landing government security contracts. You must be savvy, patient, diligent and committed, but the investment is worth the reward!