How long until we actually win something?
For subcontract work, the first quotes usually go out around month two, once registration is done and you are on bid lists. Winning one after that is a matter of how many you quote. A first PRIME award is a different animal and commonly takes six to twelve months, which is exactly why we do not start you there. Anybody promising you a prime award faster than that is guessing.
Why start as a subcontractor instead of bidding directly?
Because that is where the work is and it arrives sooner. In most counties the general building contracts awarded are worth many times what gets bid directly under a trade code, and the trade packages inside them are bought after the prime already holds the contract. You are also building the past performance record that makes priming possible later.
Do we need to be on the winning team before the contract is awarded?
Almost never. We matched 72 federal building contracts to their subcontracts: only 1 percent of the sub work was locked in before the prime award started, and 94 percent was placed more than a month afterwards. Half was still being bought four months in. Turning up after the award is the normal way this works, not a missed boat.
Is SAM.gov registration not free?
It is free, it has always been free, and any firm that lets you believe otherwise is selling you the one part of this that costs nothing. What the setup fee buys is the codes, size standards, reps and certs and set-aside filings being right, because those are what a prime checks to count you toward their small business subcontracting goals.
Why would a general contractor take our call?
Because on most large federal contracts they carry a subcontracting plan with small business goals in it, and they are measured against it. A registered, certified small trade contractor who can do the work is useful to them. That is the leverage, and it is why registration matters even though you are not the one bidding.
We already have a UEI and a CAGE code. Do we need the setup?
Probably not the whole thing. Plenty of firms come to us registered and stalled, and what they need is the retainer plus a couple of hours fixing codes and certifications. Nobody is asked to buy the setup to get the retainer.
Why only trades?
Because the codes, the buying offices, the bonding, the wage determinations and the bid cycles are specific enough that a generalist consultant is guessing at all five. We would be guessing too if we took an IT firm.
How do we know it is working before anything is won?
You get a monthly count of primes contacted, bid lists you have been added to, invitations to bid received and quotes submitted, plus why you lost the ones you lost. Those move long before revenue does, and if they are not moving you will see it in month two rather than month nine.
What if it does not work?
Thirty days notice, any time. Your registrations, logins, capability statement and pipeline are all in your name and you keep every one of them. There is no exit fee and nothing to unwind.
