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The System for Award Management, commonly referred to as “SAM,” is your first step in becoming a government contractor in a process known as your Government Registration Level (“GRL”). It is sometimes called your ‘accounting record’ and is used as the primary database by the U.S. Government Services Administration (“GSA”) for vendors doing business with the federal government.
In this episode we host Senior Government Contracting Specialist, Frank Krebs, to discuss your first steps in the GRL, and what steps come after your initial SAM registration.
The SAM and Dynamic Small Business Search (“DSBS”), which is registered with the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), are discussed in greater detail in earlier episodes of the FedBiz’5 Podcast.
The DSBS is considered your ‘marketing record’ and is used by government agencies to find small business contractors for upcoming contracts. Small businesses can also use the DSBS to find other small business to work with or subcontracting opportunities.
These two registration records are usually referred to together as your initial registrations and contain most of the vendor information that the government needs to make awards.
Government buyers utilize SAM and DSBS when they're performing their market research. They also use these to identify vendors for items such as micro-purchases, which are small credit card purchases typically under $10,000, as well as using this information as part of their evaluation process prior to a contract awards.
Therefore, it's very important to optimize your SAM and DSBS registrations to ensure that your information is in sync between the registrations, compliant, and visible to the government. This makes a significant difference in whether you are competitive or not based on this first step in the GRL.
The next step once your registrations are optimized is to create a corporate resume. Now, just as most people need resumes to get a job, companies need to develop a Capability Statement, which is your opportunity to make a good first impression.
A Capability Statement should look professional, aesthetically appealing, and in a preferred government format. It should contain pertinent information about the company, including a short narrative about the business, industry codes, point of contact information, core capabilities, differentiators, and relevant past performance. In other words, what sets you apart from other similar businesses.
With Capability Statement in hand and your registrations optimized, now it's time to turn your attention to targeting one or two government agencies that you want to focus your marketing attention on.
Who buys what you sell? This next step means research. You need to research agencies that have a history of purchasing the products/services under your core competency. And if it's service work that's required, you need to know that you can perform those services where/when the agency requires.
FedBiz is a leading government contracting business development and marketing firm that offers research and engagement strategy coaching, registrations, set-aside certifications, and GSA Schedules.
Visit us: FedBizAccess.com
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Need help in the government marketplace? Call a FedBiz Specialist today: 844-628-8914
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