Contract with America – Sounds Good Here’s How You Get One Gene Kalb, Fencebids John Feerick, Premier Fence LLC February 8, 2011

Introduction Millions of dollars are spent by federal, state and local governments on fences and access control products. This session gives a brief overview on how to find the bids; what to do once you find them; how procurement officers evaluate and award the bids; how to get paid; and more. Your participation is encouraged. We want to hear from you what your experiences have been.

DRAFT AGENDA – who does what (placeholder: to be removed) What the government buys (Gene) Finding the bids (Gene) Bidding on the bids (John) Winning the bids (secrets to success) (tbd) Losing the bids (how bids are evaluated) (tbd) Getting paid (tbd) What’s in the future? (tbd)

Agenda What the government buys Finding the bids Bidding on the bids Winning the bids (secrets to success) Losing the bids (how bids are evaluated) Getting paid What’s in the future?

What the Government Buys Prisons Military Bases Playgrounds Post Offices Schools Borders What have you found that the government needs to be fenced?

Finding the Bids Federal State Local Military bases Post offices Department of Highway Prisons National Parks Bureau of Land Management State Highways Airports Local Schools Parks Playgrounds Conservation land

Federal Bids By law, all jobs >$25,000 must be published for bid Jobs are published on federal websites www.fedbizopps.gov Have you used this site?

Searching the Site: Challenges Basic vs. Advances search How do you sift through the hits? Search Fenc* = >900 hits Are the results meaningful? Geographic limits: what’s missed Data input What’s in a name? Misspellinggz Singular vs. plural Many sources put in the data Once the job is found, register and track a contract, amendment, and update

Tips & Techniques Start with a lot of stuff There’s only so much that can be weeded out electronically You really need a human eye

State Bids There is no single repository of state bids 50 states means 50 different procurement sites Some, but not all, work cooperatively All States have different rules & techniques Focus on the ones you’re interested in Limitations Not very good Not intuitive States contract out with private vendors to do their procurement databases Some require registration and a fee to search

Local Bids Some have websites for procurement Some just advertise in local newspapers Challenges Each has their own rules There is no uniform format Very few are computer-savvy: many are procurement people from a different era who have been thrust into the electronic age

What Can You Do? What do YOU do? Search the federal, state, local sites yourself Alternatively….

What Else Can You Do? Use Paid Services Alternatively…. Monthly fees add up (start at ~$30-$50 each and go up from there) Many still contain a lot of “noise” Alternatively….

Fencebids Organized by region Minimizes noise Links to all jobs Emailed every Friday Free subscription www.fencebids.com

Agenda What the government buys Finding the bids Bidding on the bids Winning the bids (secrets to success) Losing the bids (how bids are evaluated) Getting paid What’s in the future?

Bidding on the Bids [John to include what a contractor does to make sure the bid is successful; eg Site visits Bonding Overhead Insurance Prevailing wages Other? Timing for this section?

Agenda What the government buys Finding the bids Bidding on the bids Winning the bids (secrets to success) Losing the bids (how bids are evaluated) Getting paid What’s in the future?

Winning the Bids John to include some tips from the Contractor’s point of view for ensuring the bid is successful. E.g., When would you not bid What to be careful of: cheap competition, etc. Should we try to include the Small Business Administration representative’s point of view? What kills your chances for a successful bid What red flags to look for When you determine a bid is too low Immigration issues (probably a hot topic) How to assure prompt payment (note: this will also be covered in future presentation) What is the typical payment schedule Timing for this section?

Agenda What the government buys Finding the bids Bidding on the bids Winning the bids (secrets to success) Losing the bids (how bids are evaluated) Getting paid What’s in the future?

Losing the Bids Can the SBA help us to identify things like Is it always the lowest bid they choose or do they look for other criteria If you’re not a preferred vendor, how do you become one? Timing for this section?

Agenda What the government buys Finding the bids Bidding on the bids Winning the bids (secrets to success) Losing the bids (how bids are evaluated) Getting paid What’s in the future?

Getting Paid John to talk through his experiences from a Contractor’s point of view Can we get a spokesperson from the State of Nevada to talk about their payment process and anything else they feel might be pertinent? Timing for this section?

Agenda What the government buys Finding the bids Bidding on the bids Winning the bids (secrets to success) Losing the bids (how bids are evaluated) Getting paid What’s in the future?

What’s in the Future

Summary [top level take-aways] Thank you