How to start in government contracting with no past performance

The catch-22

Every federal RFP asks for past performance. You have none. Bidding cold against incumbents and primes with 20-year resumes is how you spend three weeks on a proposal and lose to a vendor who already had the inside track.

The contractors who break in don't bid as prime first. They start as a sub, build referenceable work under someone else's contract, then take that record to bid as prime 12-24 months later.

Step 1: Get the basics out of the way (1-2 weeks)

• Register on SAM.gov. Free. Takes 10 days. You can't get paid by the federal government without it. Get a Unique Entity ID (UEI).
• Pick your NAICS codes. Three to five maximum. Primary NAICS matters most — it determines size standard and set-aside eligibility.
• Check small-business set-asides you qualify for. Even if you think you don't qualify, check 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB. These are real lanes that 50-70% of federal small-business spend goes through.
• Don't pay for SAM.gov registration help. The .gov site is the real one. Anyone charging is a middleman.

Step 2: Find primes who hire subs in your space

This is the move most newcomers miss. Federal primes are required to subcontract a portion of their work — and many actively look for capable small subs. The data is public: every subaward gets reported via FFATA.

Inside BidSparq, ask the AI chat:"Find me primes who hire subs in NAICS 5415xx"or open any active RFP and ask "who can I team with on this?"The AI returns ranked primes from 18 months of subaward data with sub counts, total subaward dollars, and SAM registration details.

Reach out cold. Tell the prime what you can deliver in 2-3 sentences. Mention specific work they've subbed before. The 1-3% reply rate is fine — you only need one good relationship to anchor your first 12 months.

Step 3: Respond to Sources Sought before the RFP drops

Sources Sought notices are the agency's way of asking the market "do capable vendors exist?" before they spend money writing a real solicitation. Vendors who respond often end up shaping the requirements. (This is widely cited by contracting officers as the single highest-leverage move new contractors can make.)

In BidSparq's filter, set bid_type = "Sources Sought". A few well-targeted responses per quarter beats 50 cold prime bids.

Step 4: Bid small as prime, but be selective

Once you have a teaming relationship and one or two referenceable projects, start bidding directly. The pattern that wins:

• Look for contracts under $250K with short PoP (period of performance). These are below incumbent-protection thresholds and primes don't fight for them.
• Check the wired-risk score. If BidSparq's badge says "Warning" or "High Risk," skip it. A brand-name lock or thin PWS on a large dollar value means someone has the inside track. Your time is better spent on the next opportunity.
• Check the deadline anomaly flag. Less than 14 days to respond on a medium-complexity scope = predetermined winner.
• Check the agency profile. If 80% of awards go to one vendor in this NAICS, that's a closed market for now. Move on.

Step 5: Use the data to price right

Federal contracts have public award amounts. Use them. Ask BidSparq's AI:"What's a fair price for this kind of work?" — it returns the 25th-75th percentile range for the NAICS plus the agency's average. Pricing within that range signals market awareness. Lowballing gets you flagged. Coming in above the 75th percentile without justification gets you eliminated in evaluation.

What to ignore

• "Top 100 federal opportunities" newsletters. By the time it's in a curated list, primes you can't beat have been positioning for 6 months.
• RFPs that arrive in your inbox without you searching. If a broker is selling you a lead, dozens of others got the same email.
• Generic "GovCon training" courses. The free SBA resources are better than 90% of paid programs. Spend that money on getting CMMC Level 1 paperwork ready instead — that one cert qualifies you for $100K+ DoD work.

The 12-month milestone

If after 12 months you have: SAM registered, one sub relationship producing work, one or two completed engagements you can reference, and ten Sources Sought responses on file — you are roughly 80% of the way to your first prime award. That's the real benchmark, not bids submitted or proposals written.