GSA contracts are giving small businesses billions of dollars every year. In 2018 alone, small businesses earned over $120 billion from government contracts. However, because not enough small businesses are taking part in the GSA program, a select few small businesses are raking in a large portion of this money for themselves. Other companies simply have not stepped up and put in more competitive bids leaving the small businesses with GSA contracts a hefty profit margin. In order to tap into this power for yourself, you’ll have to get a GSA contract.

Before you do that, let’s look a bit more at what the industry is looking like currently. Afterward, we’ll talk about how to be successful in the GSA schedule program and how to win your own government contracts.

The Top Federal Contractors

The top contractors for the federal government, making up almost 20% of the total money spent on contractors, are as follows:

• LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION
• BOEING COMPANY, THE
• GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION
• RAYTHEON COMPANY
• NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION
• MCKESSON CORPORATION
• UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
• HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES, INC.
• LEIDOS HOLDINGS, INC.

As you can see, while most of us quickly recognize Lockheed Martin and Boeing, the names quickly get less familiar as you go down. This is because many of these companies primarily focus on government contracts. As you move down the list of the top 100, you will find that these companies rapidly grew through utilizing their government contracts. So, how can you be the next one? Lockheed alone takes almost 9% of all government spending on contractors, surely your company can get a piece of the action, too.

Agency Spending Through The GSA Schedule Program

One of the important things to understand when considering getting a GSA contract in order to be able to bid in the GSA marketplace is to understand which government agencies spend the most money on the GSA schedule. Not all agencies use the GSA schedule as much as the others. If you currently make a product that is bought en masse by any of the following agencies, then getting a GSA contract is a surefire way to rapidly grow your business.

Below, you will find the top federal agencies that awarded the most contracts through the GSA schedule. All of these agencies awarded more than 10% of their contracts through the GSA schedule.

• Department of Education
• Office of Personnel Management
• Department of Treasury
• Department of Justice
• Social Security Administration
• Department of Labor
• Department of Interior
• Environmental Protection Agency

Success in the GSA Schedule Program

Now we will discuss how to be successful in the GSA Schedule Program.

How to win government contracts

First, you will need to get your GSA contract. You will need to meet the minimum requirements, like being a business for two years and in good standing. After these applications and negotiations, it’s all up to you.

You have two options, you can either market yourself to government agencies, or you can bid on projects that they post in order to get business directly through the marketplace. We recommend doing both.

In the world of GSA contracts, it all comes down to networking. Always try to put yourself in a position to speak with people directly who will need a product similar to what your business offers. Of course, you should also use GSA schedules frequently, implement strong digital marketing, and create compelling landing pages and website content that thoroughly explains what you have to offer.

While you are doing that, you should be applying to any bid request that applies to your business and the products you are making.

How a GSA Contract Will Help You Win Business

While you can technically become a government contractor directly through any government agency, a GSA contract will allow you to continue getting bids while taking away much of the lengthy process and red tap that generally comes with being a government contractor.

Traditionally, you would need to go through a lengthy vetting and compliance process for each and every new government contract that you were negotiating. With the GSA Schedule Program, you only need to do this once when you are first admitted to the program. After that, you are able to bid on any project that is in the marketplace as well as be able to receive bids directly from the government agencies that frequent the GSA scheduling marketplace.