Almost all newcomers to the federal market make the mistake of thinking that a sales opportunity arises when a request for a proposal or bid is published. In reality by the time a bid is published, the sale has probably already been made. Successful vendors have long-standing relationships with the end users and contracting officers with whom they work, and in many cases help identify problems and solutions before any thought of issuing a contract has arisen.

How many vendors will be selling the same opportunity? It depends on both the size and type of opportunity: The bigger the opportunity, the more vendors will be going after it. Some vendors will have the opportunity on their wish list but will burn out in the proposal-writing phase. Others may want to bid but simply haven't laid enough groundwork to be serious contenders. Others will be dead serious, focused, have a relationship with the end user and the willingness to spend the time and money it takes to win a bid opportunity.

The number of serious contenders depends on the size of the opportunity. Expect to see one or two for a $200,000 opportunity, three to six for a $5 million opportunity, and ten or more for the megabuck contracts, some of which can easily exceed several billion dollars. The bigger the project, the larger the pool of vendors attracted to the opportunity. Gigantic contracts are really only open to the top fifty prime contractors, and they're usually working in teams.

The amount of competition also depends on the risk perceived by the end user; does the government know if there is a practical and economical solution to their problem? The more uncertainty the more likely the procurement will be competitive.