If you're hoping to seal the deal on some subcontracting work, there are things you can do to improve your chances.

If you're hoping to seal the deal on some subcontracting work, there are things you can do to improve your chances.

If you're hoping to seal the deal on some subcontracting work, there are things you can do to improve your chances.

If you're hoping to seal the deal on some subcontracting work, there are things you can do to improve your chances.

No business--large or small--is going to win all of the contracts they try for. And subcontracting work is no different. Statistics show that, at best, you will win less than one-third of the contracts you bid on.

At this point, you've done all you can do to prepare to be a subcontractor to a prime government contractor. You've explored the numerous opportunities through various sources. The government is on your side--rules have been enacted to encourage small business participation in the process. You've laid the groundwork, by doing your homework on prospective primes and the competition. You may have even considered making changes to your operations to better position your company to compete.

It is important that you get your company on every potential prime contractor's Approved/Preferred Vendor List, or something very similar, which lists the vendors and subcontractors that have been approved by the prime for quality, on-time delivery, and other factors.

It is important that you get your company on every potential prime contractor's Approved/Preferred Vendor List, or something very similar, which lists the vendors and subcontractors that have been approved by the prime for quality, on-time delivery, and other factors.

Selling yourself as a potential subcontractor to large companies with government contracts is no different than selling to them in the commercial arena. Here are a few tips that may help you:

Almost every large business, including prime contractors, have an Approved/Preferred Vendor List, or something very similar, that lists the vendors and subcontractors that have been approved by the prime for quality, on-time delivery, and other factors.

If you are serious about being a subcontractor and selling your company's products or services to a prime, you'll need to know your capabilities as a supplier.

If you are serious about being a subcontractor and selling your company's products or services to a prime, you'll need to know how and why your competition has been successful at getting sub-opportunities.

If you are serious about being a subcontractor and selling your company's products or services to a prime, you'll need to know that customer--the prime.

Before you even think about actually making a bid on subcontracting work, there are some things that you need to do to improve your chances for success. Finding the "right" prime (i.e., one whose products or services match your capabilities) and effectively presenting yourself and your company are going to take a little forethought and more than a little preparation.

If you are serious about being a subcontractor and selling your company's products or services to a prime, it is going to take some work.

We have found that the most effective way to begin finding subcontracting work with a government prime is to:

As a subcontractor, your agreement to provide supplies and/or services would be with the prime; you would have no contractual relationship with the government. Therefore, you have another entity---the prime, in this case--between you and the government.

Another factor that has increased subcontracting opportunities, while at the same time decreasing prime contracting opportunities, for small businesses is the recent (and controversial) trend by federal agencies of combining or bundling small contracts for different activities or requirements into large contract packages.

One of the government requirements that primes must meet in order to be awarded a federal contract really works to generate a significant market for small business subcontractors.

There is a huge market available to you as a subcontractor for a government prime. In FY 2003, for example, about 2,000 Department of Defense prime contractors awarded $86.5 billion in subcontracts, of which $32 billion (or 37 percent) was awarded to small businesses. Specific civilian statistics are more difficult to identify, but they are also impressive.

There are many sub-opportunities to be a subcontractor for a large prime contracting firm for the federal government.

OK, so maybe you tried several times to get a government contract and are not satisfied with the results. Or perhaps you don't feel quite ready to be a prime contractor and wish there were a way to ease into the government contracting business and learn gradually. Or maybe you are the type of person who finds dealing directly with government structure a bit daunting, but would still like to participate in the multi-billion dollar government market.

The DoD Regional Councils for Small Business Education and Advocacy are a nationwide network of small business specialists organized to promote national small business programs to include minority and disadvantaged small business concerns and minority universities and institutions.

This program, sometimes referred to as the "second bite of the apple," comes into play when a government buyer determines that a small business is "not responsible" for a specific contract award. In other words, the buyer has determined that the business does not show certain elements of responsibility, such as capability, competency, capacity, credit, integrity, perseverance, or tenacity, for the purposes of receiving and performing that specific government contract. In such a case, the Contracting Officer is required to withhold the contract and refer action to the Small Business Administration for a possible Certificate of Competency (COC).

The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 and the Benefits Act of 2003: Procurement Program for Small Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by Service-Disabled Veterans provides for set-aside and sole-source procurement authority for service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) concerns.