How to market your business to government buyers
Find the agencies and offices that buy what you sell, reach them before the solicitation, and use small-business offices, prime contractors and capability statements.
Know who buys what you sell
Marketing to government starts with the award record. For your NAICS and product codes, find the agencies and contracting offices that buy the most, how often, the usual contract size, how they buy it (open market, GSA Schedule, an IDIQ) and who wins. A short list of ten buying offices beats a mailing to every agency.
Reach them before the solicitation
- Read agency procurement forecasts: what each agency expects to buy this year.
- Watch contracts ending soon in your field: the follow-on is planned months ahead, and the incumbent and the office are on record.
- Answer sources sought notices and RFIs: they're how contracting officers find out who can do the work and whether to set it aside.
- Go to industry days and pre-solicitation conferences the notices announce.
Use the small-business offices
Every major agency has an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU; called OSBP at the Department of Defense). They help small businesses understand how the agency buys and who to talk to. Large prime contractors have small-business liaison officers who look for subcontractors to meet their small-business goals.
Bring a one-page capability statement
A capability statement is a one-page summary: what you do, your NAICS codes, certifications, UEI and CAGE code, past performance with specific contracts, and contact details. Tailor it to each agency, and lead with the work you've done for buyers like them.
On SpendQuery
Official sources
Questions people ask
Can I contact a contracting officer directly?
Before a solicitation is out, yes: market research is part of their job, and many welcome short, specific capability briefings. Once a solicitation is open, questions go in writing to the point of contact named in the notice.
What is an OSDBU?
An agency's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization: the office that helps small businesses work with that agency. The Department of Defense calls them Offices of Small Business Programs (OSBP).
More guides
- How to find government contracts
- What is a small business set-aside?
- How to read a SAM.gov contract notice
- How to register in SAM.gov
- NAICS codes and small-business size standards
- Federal contract types, explained
- Sole-source contracts for small businesses
- Joint ventures and the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program
- Size protests and certificates of competency
- How to decide whether to bid on a government contract
- How to find federal grants
- The federal fiscal year-end spending rush
- What are the easiest government contracts to get?
- FY2026 federal contract spending: which agencies grew and shrank
- Government contract lists: open bids, awards and small business
- Who buys janitorial services from the federal government
- How government contractors get paid: timing, invoices and factoring
- How to respond to RFIs and sources-sought notices
- How to start a government contracting business from scratch
- Subcontracting on federal contracts: finding and vetting subs
- Who won federal IT support contracts in your state
- A free tool to ask government spending questions in plain English
- How to find federal bids your small business qualifies for
- How to find which federal agencies buy your product or service
- Free tools to search state and local government contracts
- How to understand the FAR without reading all of it
Updated 2026-10-06. General information, not legal advice; the solicitation and the FAR govern each purchase.