GSA Schedules and Federal Marketing Blog

eBuy RFP’s – Should you Bid on Every Opportunity

After being awarded a GSA contract and uploading their pricelist to GSA Advantage, many GSA contractors are excited to access the myriad of RFP’s (Request for Proposal) posted in GSA’s eBuy system.  eBuy is similar to FedBizOpps (fbo.gov) except that the opportunities posted in eBuy are strictly limited to GSA vendors with contracts with a specific SIN. That is, if it is an IT custom programming project, the RFP will be restricted to contractors who have SIN 132-51 (IT Professional Services) under the GSA IT schedule 70.

eBuy presents many opportunities for professional services firms with GSA contracts that provide environmental, engineering, human resources, business management, information technology services, among others.  And since it is posted in eBuy, you know that the universe of potential competitors is limited to those that already have GSA contracts with that particular SIN.

Some RFP’s are simple and straight forward, requiring a well constructed but brief 3-5 page response.  Others are much more demanding and require a significant amount of time to prepare. Therefore, bidding on each and every opportunity is impractical and you should apply the same bid, no-bid logic that you might use in evaluating even broader solicitations that are posted on FedBizOpps. 

Is the Opportunity of Strategic Importance to your firm?

First, it is easy to get carried away with the prospect of winning any federal project and therefore easy to convince yourself to pursue.  But if the opportunity falls outside the strategic objectives of your business plan, then be cautious.  It may be beneficial to pursue the occasional opportunity outside your core focus, but often it can result in a tremendous waste of time and money, not to mention the opportunity cost.

Also consider whether the opportunity is in your desired market or is a customer you actually want.  Some agencies are viewed as the leader in some fields, and if you win an important job from them, it sets you up for other customers.  Be careful in spending time on opportunities that won’t contribute to your plan’s objectives.  Again, being opportunistic sometimes allows you to expand into new areas and gain new expertise, but often the risk outweighs any rewards, so tread carefully.

If the opportunity is a fit with your strategic goals and is with a customer that may help you set up for future opportunities, then you should consider responding.

Can you beat the Competition?

This is a difficult question to answer.  Of course there are very strong competitors in your market and if you refuse to bid simply because you may square up against a bigger, more experienced competitor, then you may never break into the market.  Just like in sports, the favorites don’t always win and upsets occur all the time – that’s why they play the game.  But just like in sports, to win, the underdog must be well prepared and have a good game plan.  Do you have the market intelligence about the firm and this project?  Do you know the incumbent and what the agency liked or disliked about the incumbent.  How is the agency changing.  All of this is made easier if you already have a relationship with the client and know about the program.  (See our article Finding Opportunities or Creating Opportunities)

You should also realistically assess your ability to write a responsive proposal, if will have enough time to prepare the proposal, and if you have the right people to put on the project.

Can you make money and manage Risk?

Ideally you will have some idea of the agency’s budget for this task, or can glean from the RFP.  Do you have the resources necessary to carry out the project readily available or will it requires significant new investment (consider the potential impact on cash flow).

Some agencies may want something that simply is not technically feasible for your firm, and those situations are to be avoided.  And if you undertake this project, might it put other client projects at risk?

 

In sum, there is a sense of euphoria for every new opportunity you might find on eBuy.  But allow both the right half and left half of your brain to work together when deciding whether or not to pursue an opportunity.