You may believe that your company is the only one that provides specific products or services in the federal marketplace. But that is rarely (if ever!) the case. Finding who your competitors are is actually easier today that just a few years ago, thanks to the System for Award Management (SAM) implemented by the federal government (www.sam.gov). SAM is the single location in which all federal contractors must be registered. As a federal contractor you are already familiar with this database. But don’t forget, it is also searchable by you, and there’s a great deal of information to be found there, including information on your competitors.
Start by looking at your own NAICS Codes. (If you don’t know what that is, you need to go back to our first webinar of the “Taking the Mystery Out” series, where we talk about these and other topics on how to get started in the federal market place. We also have blogs about NAICS, such as selecting the right codes for your company, and how NAICS affect your ability to compete.) Your competitors will be those with the same NAICS codes who are pursuing federal contracts.
The first place you can use to identify your competitors is www.fbo.gov. (We also have several blogs and “how to” videos on using this website effectively.) This is the website where the federal government posts most procurements over $25,000, including contract award announcements. On the home page, click on “Advanced Search” which will open a window that allows you to search for a variety of opportunities and contract awards. Search using you NAICS code and click on “Small Businesses” and “Contract Awards.” The result will be a list of announcements for contract awards to small businesses who are successfully pursuing (and winning!) federal contracts in your industry.
Another place you can search is the System for Award Management (SAM), www.sam.gov. This is the government’s central portal where all contractors doing business with the federal government must be registered. You can also search this database to identify who else is registered in your industry.
- On the right side of the screen on the home page you’ll see a box titled “Search Record.” Click on that and it will open the next screen which will offer you the opportunity to do a “Quick Search” by company name, DUNS, or CAGE and another link to the “Advanced Search.” Click on the “Advanced Search – Entity” link. When you’ve opened this page, be sure and read the information provided by the website on how to search and especially the “Search Tips.” It can make your searches much more productive if you understand how the system is set up to respond.
- Scroll about half way down you’ll see a button labeled “Products and Services.” Click the box next to it and another short list will appear, including “NAICS Code.” Click that, and another drop down box appears offering you the ability to search for any size of company (large or small) or to restrict it to small businesses only. If you are a small business, you’ll want to focus on the small businesses first so click that check mark. You can also limit the states that your competitors are in. So for example, you could search for small businesses in Florida, Alabama and Georgia with NAICS 541611, which will produce a list of about 700 small businesses all in this industry.
I recommend searching one NAICS code at a time so your results are more focused and understandable. Enter your primary NAICS into the search block where indicated, then click “submit.” These are all businesses in your NAICS code who are doing business with (or want to do business with) the federal government. You can actually download your search results to an Excel spreadsheet or an Adobe file.
Another way to identify your competitors, which is more focused but takes more time, is to attend pre-solicitation conferences on procurements you are interested in pursuing. These are often attended by large businesses as well as small ones who are interested in the same procurement. Large businesses may be there to find small businesses to subcontract with to meet their subcontracting goals; while some small businesses are looking for potential teammates for the procurement you are pursuing. The agency will often publish a list of these conference attendees including names and points of contacts. Sometimes your competitors on one procurement will make a fine teaming partner on another!