Subcontracting Plan: Target the Projects you Want

Using Business Intelligence to Find your Ideal Contract

Many subcontractors get the majority of their work from previously established relationships with prime government contractors. Prime contractors usually have a network of subcontractors who provide products and services that the prime needs to subcontract out on a regular basis. Maintaining these professional relationships is crucial to a subcontractor’s business, so when it comes time for a subcontracting plan to drive new business, subcontractors often look for new primes to align themselves with. However, there’s no need to wait for prime government contractors to contact you about the contract of your dreams.

Since subcontracting opportunities aren’t always clear from the project specs, searching for new contract opportunities can be incredibly time-consuming. To combat this, many subcontractors turn to a business intelligence company who can notify them of new and renewing contracts in their region and industry. You can even receive advance notice of a contract prior to the actual bid solicitation, giving you an edge and extra time to pitch your services and map out your subcontracting plan. If you feel your company is particularly well-suited to a contract, you may want to consider alerting one of the prime government contractors you already have a relationship with of the opportunity. On the other hand, this is also a great opportunity to build new relationships with prime government contractors.

Targeting Prime Government Contractors for your Subcontracting Plan

Once you find a subcontracting opportunity you feel is too good to pass up, the next step in your subcontracting plan is to look at the bidders and planholders lists for the contract. These will serve as your marketing contact list – since the contractors have already expressed interest in the work, you know you won’t be wasting your time. You should also take a look at award data for similar contracts, especially those with the same agency. Is there an incumbent contractor? Does the agency appear to have a pre-existing relationship with a contractor? These are all clues to help you find your ideal prime government contractor relationship.

Don’t be discouraged if a target prime has entered subcontracting relationships with a competitor in the past; this could be an opportunity to usurp them and snag that prime contractor relationship for your company. Get in touch with the contact listed on the bidders list and find out if there are areas in which they were dissatisfied with their subcontractor’s performance on the last contract, and discuss concrete, real-world examples of how you’ve dealt with such issues in the past. Be sure to present your value position and explain to them why your company is ideal for this project – an easy task since you’ve hand-selected it as a perfect opportunity.

Even if these marketing contacts are not successful on the first try, now you have positioned your company as a subcontracting candidate the next time the prime contractors take on a similar project. Getting your company name and value positioning into the ears and minds of prime government contractors will go a long way toward building future relationships.

More Information from Government Contracting Best Practices
For more ideas on building your prime contractor network, read “Find Government Prime Contractors for Government Subcontracting.”

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