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How Businesses Can Attract Government Spending
Regardless of inflation or the prevailing economic climate, there are some customers for goods and services who are always reliable: government entities. Governments—in levels ranging from federal, state, county and local—spend close to a third of the funds they take in. Glass CEO Paola Santana leads a company that helps small businesses get some of this business, mostly by capitalizing on “micro-purchases,” which are $10,000 and less and don’t require a procurement contract. I talked to her about how to do this kind of business with the government. This conversation has been edited for continuity, brevity and clarity. A longer version is available here.
Why should businesses sell their goods to governments?
Santana: Governments are the largest buyers in the world, and the U.S. federal government is the single largest buyer in the world. Governments in general spend about between 20% to 30% of their national GDP to make purchases. That estimates global procurement anywhere between a $13 trillion to $16 trillion market.
When you hear the traditional storytelling, small- and medium-sized businesses never win a [government] contract. When you connect these two pieces of information, what we are literally saying is that the largest buyers in the world, that actually make purchases out of taxes they captured from individuals and businesses, they don’t put that money back right into the foundation of our country’s economy.
When we come to small businesses, they’re like, ‘Look, I just want more revenue. I just want to be in business. I have taken this program to win a contract. I have done this webinar. I have even gotten government certification, and none of them has gotten me a government contract.’ What we’re telling small businesses is that a government contract is one in a million. But your chances to winning a small purchase where you don’t need to even compete, government has an ability to come to you [is better]. In many of these businesses, small- and medium-sized that we’re talking about, a $10,000 purchase is something that would keep them in business and keep the lights on for a couple of weeks.
Are governments specifically looking for local small businesses to work with?
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