Stop Chasing RFPs: The 4 Strategic Moves That Transform Small Businesses Into Government Contracting Winners
While 61% of organizations plan to submit MORE RFPs in 2025, winning contractors are doing the exact opposite. Here's the complete roadmap to win more contracts by pursuing fewer opportunities.
Stop chasing RFPs. You're wasting your time. According to Loopio, 61% of organizations plan to submit MORE RFPs in 2025. More proposals, more hours, more stress because everyone thinks volume is the answer.
I'm telling you the opposite.
When I started Creative Cresco, prospects would approach me saying "Help us respond to this RFP we found on SAM.gov." Every. Single. Time. Two-week deadline, no relationship with the agency, zero intel on the competition. Their solution? Submit to even more opportunities.
Does this sound familiar? You're refreshing SAM.gov like it's your Instagram feed, spending 60+ hours on proposals for opportunities you discovered last Tuesday, convinced that if you just submit to enough RFPs, you'll eventually win.
Well, I’m sorry to tell you that more submissions will not fix a broken strategy.
While you're planning to chase even more opportunities, your competitors aren't increasing their volume at all. They're building relationships months before RFPs drop, shaping requirements during market research, and positioning themselves as the obvious choice while you're still hunting on procurement websites.
Winning contractors are not submitting to everything they're qualified for. They're strategically positioning themselves for the RIGHT opportunities.
Today, I'm breaking down the four strategies that completely flip the game. Master these, and you'll win more contracts by pursuing fewer opportunities. Ignore them? You'll stay trapped submitting more proposals for the same disappointing results.
Prefer to watch instead?
I dive deeper into these four strategies in my latest YouTube video, including specific examples of how to research agencies on USAspending.gov, map decision-makers on LinkedIn, and influence requirements during pre-solicitation conferences.
You'll see exactly how to stop the RFP chase cycle and start positioning strategically.
Strategy #1: Market Intelligence Over RFP Hunting
While you're planning to submit to more RFPs, winning contractors are doing something completely different. They are researching fewer agencies but understanding them deeply. This isn't about finding more opportunities to chase. This is about positioning yourself before opportunities exist.
The Deep Dive Approach: Know One Agency Better Than They Know Themselves
Pick ONE agency and understand their world completely.
Instead of hunting dozens of opportunities across multiple agencies, download their strategic plans, annual reports, and budget justifications. These documents tell you what keeps agency leaders up at night and whether your expertise aligns with their biggest challenges.
Here’s what you want to look for:
Strategic priorities for the next 2-3 years: This tells you where budget will flow
Current pain points and challenges: Where you can provide solutions
Technology modernization initiatives
Compliance and regulatory requirements
If your expertise doesn't align with their major challenges? Move on. If it does? You've found your focus agency.
Follow their specific money trail.
Check USAspending.gov for their historical spending patterns:
When do they typically buy? (Quarter 4 is common, but each agency has patterns)
What do they buy most frequently? (Services vs. products, contract types)
How much do they typically spend? (Are you targeting $50K or $5M opportunities?)
Who are their current contractors? (Your potential teammates or competition)
This isn't about finding more opportunities to chase. It's about understanding the ONE agency's rhythm so you can position before they even know they need you.
Map their decision ecosystem completely.
Use LinkedIn and agency websites to identify:
Program managers who oversee initiatives in your area
Technical evaluators who assess proposals
End users who will actually use your services
Procurement officers who manage the buying process
Budget holders who control the funding
Don't try to network with everyone in the agency. Just focus on the five key people at your target agency who influence decisions in your area of expertise.
Other Market Intelligence Tactics
Attend their public meetings and hearings. Most agencies hold public sessions about budget planning, strategic initiatives, and policy changes. These aren't well-attended, which means you'll stand out and gain insider knowledge about upcoming priorities.
Subscribe to their newsletters and alerts. Agencies publish regular updates about initiatives, policy changes, and upcoming procurements. Set up Google Alerts for your target agency plus keywords related to your services.
Monitor their social media and press releases. Leadership announcements, new initiatives, and partnership announcements give you insight into where they're heading and how you might fit.
The goal here is to know one agency better than they know themselves. When you stop chasing random opportunities and start positioning strategically with focused research, you'll respond to fewer RFPs but win more of what you pursue.
Strategy #2: Relationship Building Before Need
Most small businesses get this backwards. They try to build relationships AFTER they need the contract. Strategic contractors? They're building trust months or even years before opportunities drop. This isn't networking. This is strategic relationship development with a specific outcome in mind.
The Strategic Approach to Government Relationships
Show up where your target agency shows up.
Industry days aren't just information sessions - they're relationship goldmines. But most small businesses waste these opportunities. Don't show up asking: "When will you release the RFP?". Instead, come prepared with insights about their specific challenges and thoughtful questions about their mission.
Make sure you research attendees beforehand so you can prepare specific questions that demonstrate you understand their world. Follow their leaders on LinkedIn and engage thoughtfully with their posts before and after events.
Join the one or two industry associations where your target agency folks actually participate. Don't join ten associations hoping to network everywhere - focus where your target audience actually engages.
Become their trusted resource through thought leadership.
Write articles about industry trends affecting their specific agency. Not generic government contracting advice insights that apply to their unique challenges.
Examples:
"How New Cybersecurity Regulations Impact Healthcare IT Procurement"
"Budget Optimization Strategies for Municipal Infrastructure Projects"
"Digital Transformation Challenges Facing Federal HR Departments"
Speak at conferences they attend. Not every conference - the ones where your target agency decision-makers actually show up. Share LinkedIn insights that demonstrate you understand their unique challenges. Comment thoughtfully on their posts and agency announcements.
When procurement officers see you as an expert in their space, you transition from vendor to strategic partner.
Deliver value before you're asked.
This is where most small businesses get confused. They think "delivering value" means working for free. Wrong.
Delivering value means:
Sharing relevant market research that helps them make better decisions
Connecting them with other experts who can solve problems you can't
Offering insights during their pre-solicitation conferences that help them improve their requirements
Sending articles or resources that apply to their current challenges
You're not giving away services for free - you're demonstrating that working with you makes their job easier.
The Relationship Development Timeline
Months 1-2: Research and Initial Contact
Complete your market intelligence research
Identify key decision-makers
Make initial connections through industry events or LinkedIn
Months 3-4: Value Delivery
Share relevant insights and resources
Attend their events with prepared questions
Engage thoughtfully with their content
Months 5-6: Strategic Partnership
Participate in their market research requests
Offer input on their strategic initiatives
When your target agency has RFPs in your area and sees your name, you want their reaction to be "Oh good, they're bidding" - not "Who are these people again?" By the time you submit a proposal, the relationship should already be there. Because contracts go to companies they trust, not just companies with the lowest price.
Strategy #3: Positioning for Invitation
This is where the magic happens✨. Instead of chasing opportunities, opportunities start chasing you. But it requires three specific moves with your target agency.
Most small businesses never reach this level because they're too busy chasing random RFPs to build strategic positioning.
Become THE go-to expert for their specific problems.
Don't be the company that does "everything for everyone." Be the company that solves cybersecurity challenges for healthcare agencies, or streamlines permit processes for municipal governments, or optimizes HR systems for federal departments.
How to establish expertise:
Develop case studies specific to their industry or agency type
Create content that addresses their unique challenges
Speak at conferences about topics relevant to their mission
Get quoted in trade publications they read
When your target agency has that specific problem, your name should be the first one that comes to mind.
Let measurable results do the talking.
"We reduced processing time by 40%" hits different than "We implemented a new system." Government decision-makers care about outcomes, and specific numbers make you memorable when similar challenges arise at your target agency.
Build a results portfolio:
Quantify every project outcome possible
Document before/after metrics
Create visual case studies showing transformation
Get client testimonials that mention specific improvements
Examples of strong results statements:
"Reduced compliance reporting time from 80 hours to 12 hours monthly"
"Increased system uptime from 94% to 99.7% while reducing maintenance costs by 30%"
"Streamlined approval process from 45 days to 8 days average turnaround"
Get on their vendor lists before you need to be there.
Research GSA Schedules, OASIS+, or CIO-SP3 for federal work. Check state contractor directories and local prequalified vendor databases.
Why this matters:
When opportunities arise, you're already in their system
No scrambling to get approved during proposal deadlines
You appear established and credible
You receive notifications about opportunities before public announcements
Submit your capabilities statements when there's no pressure, no deadline, no competition for attention.
Other Positioning Tactics
Develop agency-specific solutions. Don't just offer generic services. Create service packages specifically designed for your target agency's challenges.
Partner strategically. Identify other contractors who serve your target agency in complementary areas. Build relationships that could lead to teaming opportunities.
Monitor their feedback. When they release draft RFPs or request comments on new initiatives, respond thoughtfully. Your input demonstrates expertise and helps shape final requirements.
What strategic positioning actually creates = Your target agency starts reaching out to YOU during market research. They invite you to industry days. They ask for your input on requirements.
In my ten years doing this, I've seen clients get calls asking "We're thinking about this project - would you be interested in bidding?"
That's not luck. That's strategic positioning paying off. When you're known for solving specific problems, agencies don't just hope you'll respond - they design opportunities knowing you can deliver.
Strategy #4: Influence the Requirements
This is the strategy most small businesses never even know exists and it's exactly why they keep losing to competitors who seem to have "inside information." The secret? Your competitors don't have inside information. They're shaping the conversation before RFPs are written.
Market Research Response
When agencies publish Requests for Information (RFIs) or Sources Sought notices, they're literally asking "What should we buy and how should we buy it?" Your response doesn't just get you noticed - it helps write the requirements. Miss this window, and you're stuck responding to specs that might favor your competitors.
How to respond strategically:
Address every question thoroughly, not just the ones that favor you
Suggest requirements that highlight your unique approach
Recommend evaluation criteria that emphasize your strengths
Propose innovative solutions they might not have considered
What to include:
Detailed capability descriptions with specific examples
Recommended technical specifications
Suggested project timelines and milestones
Risk mitigation strategies
Cost optimization approaches
Pre-Solicitation Conference Participation
Don't treat these as information dumps. Treat them as strategy sessions where you can influence final requirements.
Strategic questions to ask:
"Have you considered how this requirement might impact user adoption?"
"What does success look like six months after implementation?"
"How will you measure ROI on this initiative?"
"What challenges have you experienced with similar projects?"
Your questions can reshape how they think about the entire procurement.
Industry Day Engagement
This is your opportunity to educate them about possibilities and position your methodology as the standard they should expect.
Share insights from similar projects:
"In our experience with similar agencies, the most successful implementations included..."
"We've found that agencies achieve better outcomes when they..."
"The most common challenge agencies face is... and here's how to avoid it..."
Recommend best practices:
Industry standards they should consider
Innovative approaches that improve outcomes
Lessons learned from other implementations
Other Requirements Influence Techniques
Submit white papers. Create detailed documents about best practices for their specific challenges. Share these during market research phases.
Propose pilot programs. Suggest smaller test implementations that allow them to validate approaches before full-scale procurement.
Recommend evaluation criteria. Suggest how they should assess proposals to get the best outcomes.
Offer benchmarking data. Share industry metrics that help them set realistic expectations and requirements.
When you do this right: The final RFP reads like it was written for your company. Because in a way, it was. Your insights shaped the requirements, your questions influenced the evaluation criteria, and your expertise helped define success.
While your competitors scramble to respond to requirements they've never seen, you're writing a proposal for an opportunity you helped create.
Addressing the Real Concerns (And Why They're Wrong)
“But this takes too long!"
Building relationships takes 3-6 months. Chasing RFPs? That takes YEARS to see consistent wins - if you ever do. Plus, you're already spending time on proposals - you're just spending it ineffectively. The question isn't whether you have time. The question is whether you want to spend the next two years submitting losing proposals or building a foundation for sustainable wins.
"I don't know where to start!"
Start with one agency, one problem. It's better to dominate one niche than be invisible everywhere. Pick the agency where you have the most relevant experience or the strongest existing relationships.
“What if I pick the wrong agency?"
You'll learn more from six months of strategic focus on the "wrong" agency than two years of scattered RFP chasing. Plus, the skills you develop (market intelligence, relationship building, requirements influence) transfer to any agency.
“I can't afford to ignore other opportunities."
You can't afford NOT to focus. Every hour you spend chasing random opportunities is an hour you're not spending building the foundation for predictable wins.
"My competitors are already doing this."
Good. That means it works. The question is whether you want to keep playing their game on their terms, or start playing your own strategic game.
Your 30-Day Action Plan
Week 1: Agency Selection and Research
Choose your target agency based on mission alignment and opportunity size
Download and analyze their strategic plan, annual report, and budget documents
Research their spending patterns on USAspending.gov
Identify 5-7 key decision-makers on LinkedIn
Week 2: Monitoring and Initial Engagement
Set up Google Alerts for your agency + your services
Subscribe to their newsletters and updates
Follow key decision-makers on LinkedIn
Find and join relevant industry associations
Week 3: Content Creation and Positioning
Write your first thought leadership piece about their challenges
Create or update your capabilities statement for their specific needs
Research upcoming industry events they'll attend
Begin vendor registration processes
Week 4: Relationship Building Launch
Attend your first industry event with prepared questions
Make thoughtful comments on decision-makers' LinkedIn posts
Share valuable resources with new connections
Schedule follow-up conversations from industry events
When you implement these four strategies consistently, here's what changes:
Your pipeline becomes predictable. Instead of hoping for RFP discoveries, you know what's coming because you helped shape it.
Your proposals become competitive. You're not responding to unknown requirements - you're proposing solutions for challenges you understand deeply.
Your relationships become assets. Decision-makers know who you are and what you do before procurement starts.
Your business becomes sustainable. Predictable opportunities lead to predictable revenue, which leads to predictable growth.
Your stress decreases dramatically. No more midnight proposal scrambles or feast-or-famine cycles.
This isn't about working harder. It's about working strategically. It's about building the foundation that transforms your business from reactive to strategic, from chasing to being chosen.
Bottom Line: Contracts Go to Companies They Trust
Here's what ten years in government contracting has taught me: Contracts go to companies they trust, not companies with the best proposals.
Trust is built through relationships, demonstrated through expertise, and proven through results. You can't build trust in two weeks during a proposal cycle. You build it over months through strategic engagement, value delivery, and consistent positioning.
You didn't start your business to stay stuck chasing random opportunities. You started it for freedom, growth, and impact. Strategic government contracting should deliver all three.
Stop the cycle. Start positioning.
Ready to transform your government contracting approach from reactive to strategic? We help growth-minded small businesses build the foundation for predictable government revenue. Our Strategic Foundation program guides you through each of these strategies with agency-specific research, relationship mapping, and positioning tactics that actually work. Schedule your strategic planning session here.