Congratulations!

You’ve registered your small business in the System for Awards Management (SAM), found an open solicitation that fits your small business – and your bid was successful. You are now a Schedules contractor.
OR
You’ve registered in SAM and landed a subcontracting gig with a Prime; or maybe you’re a GWAC contractor.

And if any of this is foreign to you, or confusing, re-visit Choose How to Sell to GSA.

OK. Now what? How do you find opportunities and turn them into revenue streams?

Finding opportunities is easier than you may realize:

• FedBizOpps
• Forecast of Contracting Opportunities
• Partnering:
  • Subcontracting Directory
  • Mentor-Protégé Program
  • Contractor Team Arrangements (CTA)
• Set-Asides for Socio-Economic Groups
• Social Media - OSBU's Twitter feed in particular
• GSA Advantage!

Competing for Business

Once you’ve identified a promising opportunity, how do you go after it – and win?

If it is a Schedule Solicitation you need to prepare an offer. That offer MUST be submitted electronically at eOffer/eMod.

eOffer/eMod is a web based application that allows vendors to prepare and submit their GSA Schedule offers/Schedule contract modification requests electronically. Be sure to include Standard Form 1449 (w/ electronic signature) with your submission.

Other solicitations, especially those for professional service engagements - or Building design and construction (including Architecture/Engineering acquisitions) - issue Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), and/or Request for Quotations (RFQ). These require written submission of proposals.

Small business vendors, especially those on Schedule 70 (Information Technology), contracting via Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) and/or Network Services & Telecommunications, should look into eBuy.

eBuy allows federal agencies to post and solicit, request for quotations (RFQs) among GSA Schedule and GWAC contracts for specific functional categories (for Schedules, these are commonly known as "Special Item Numbers (SIN)"; for GWACs these are commonly known as "Functional Areas"). The benefits to small business vendors are many: saves time, reduces the cost of seeking new business, streamlines the acquisition process with its electronic RFQ system. Read more about the benefits of eBuy.

Another great way to get a leg up on your competition is to become knowledgeable about federal procurement process, policy and practice. OSBU offers a series of webinars designed to give you an overview of the federal marketplace and working with GSA in particular.