If your considering doing business with the government, there are few things you MUST be sure you do to ensure your success.
First and foremost, to even be considered by the government as an “approved vendor” you must register with the System for Award Management. Once approved, your business will be given a CAGE code (Commercial and Government Entity Code) and you will now be able to receive payments from the government – VERY important.
Once you’re registered and ready to do business with the government, how do you get the attention of procurement officers?
With a Capability Statement.
What is a Capability Statement?
A capability statement is a professional specification sheet that your organization presents as the first contact for most interactions with federal, state, and local government procurement officers. This sheet contains vital information at a one-shot glance that is efficient, informative, and attractive and serves to differentiate your organization’s offerings from your competitors.
Here are 3 reasons why it’s important to have a Capability Statement:
1. Showcase your greatness and stand out against your competitors
In a sea of other businesses who want to obtain government contracts, how does your business stand out? A well-designed capability statement is something your business can use to show government procurement officers what your company is capable of and gives them a sense for how you can help them with their needs. A capability statement should include the following things at a minimum:
- Core competencies
- Past performance
- Differentiators
- Corporate data
- Contact information
How you design your capability statement should be carefully considered, as you want to create ease of recognition and readability. You will want to include your company’s branding and logos if those are already established, and if they aren’t, you’ll want to consider future branding as you build out your capability statement.
2. Simplify things for government procurement officers
Over time, government employment has been reduced and procurement officers are busier than ever. Having a capability statement that is easy to read and includes all the elements procurement officers need to vet your business for its ability to satisfy their procurement needs, makes things a little easier on your potential government buyer and can further help you stand out against your competitors.
Think about it this way.
If you’ve ever been part of hiring for your business, you’ve gone through the process of scanning resumes as you screen candidates. Which resumes made your life easier when it came to screening? Those that were cluttered and unorganized? Or the ones that were laid out in an easy to read format and highlighted the candidate’s skills and abilities?
It’s important to keep the “reader” in mind when creating your capabilities statement in order to give your business as great a chance to be considered as possible.
3. Give yourself collateral to market your business
Whether your business is just starting out, or has been in existence for some time, showcasing your ability to do business with the government, along with your past performance both in the commercial and government sector is a great way to differentiate your business in both markets. If your business is just getting up and running, creating a capability statement is a great start to your marketing collateral.
Your business may want to showcase your capability statement on your website and/or create a web page that your company can point government procurement officers to as you market, so they can also learn more about your company there as well.
All in all, a capability statement is a must have tool to use when starting out in government contracting, and can help in other areas of your business as well.
For help crafting a capability statement that stands out against the rest, contact us today.
