2) Use Your Disadvantages: How to Leverage Your Size and Business Type to Win Contracts

In business, the terms small, disadvantaged, or minority wouldn’t seem like an advantage; however, when dealing with the federal government, those few words could make the difference in your winning a contract over a competitor.

The federal government has created several initiatives to demonstrate their seriousness about helping small and disadvantaged businesses to grow. Companies are expected to market themselves with these terms in order to maximize use of the “set-aside” initiatives.

There are several certifications and classifications under which a business may fall, including: small, small disadvantaged, woman-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, HUBzone, and 8(a). We encourage you to research these types of businesses to discover if your company may fit within one, then apply for all appropriate certifications. At that point, you should rewrite all marketing materials (e.g., your website, brochures, email signatures, electronic presentations, letterhead, tagline, and elevator pitches) to reflect your company’s new designations and certifications.

Although the above designations often means little in the commercial sector, government buyers and prime contractors pay close attention to the smaller businesses it hires so that they can meet their government-required set asides and subcontracting goals. In fact, your 8(a) owned company may even qualify for many more contracts than a small business without this designation. Certain initiatives, for example, a three percent set aside for veteran-owned businesses. This means that the government is required to award at least three percent of their total purchases through veteran-owned small businesses. Three percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but three percent of a $58 million contract is $1,740,000!

When the government or other procurement officers are unaware of your business designation, you are not using your disadvantage to its fullest advantage.