The Overlooked SAM.gov Feature That Helps You Win More Contracts

One of the simplest ways to improve your government contracting results is to stop spending so much time looking for contracts. 

That might sound backwards, but opportunity research can easily consume hours of your week. You log into SAM.gov, enter the same keywords, apply the same filters, and sort through opportunities you've already seen.

There's a better way.

SAM.gov allows you to save your searches and receive updates when opportunities matching your criteria are posted. It's a simple feature, but when it's set up correctly, it can become one of the most valuable tools in your bidding process.

How do you use SAM.gov Saved Searches to make sure you never miss a contract?

Don't start by immediately creating a Saved Search.

Start manually.

Run searches for the services your company provides and pay attention to the results. Try different keywords, NAICS codes, agencies, and filters until you're consistently finding opportunities that actually fit your business.

Once you've dialed in that search, save it.

Then monitor what it produces.

If you're constantly receiving opportunities that don't fit, adjust the search. If you discover opportunities through manual research that your Saved Search didn't catch, figure out why and refine it.

Your Saved Searches should get better over time because you're learning what actually produces opportunities for your business.

How do you filter Saved Searches so you're only seeing bids worth pursuing?

Don't make your searches so broad that you're constantly sorting through opportunities you'll never bid.

Start with the services you actually want to sell.

Use your NAICS codes, relevant keywords, target agencies, place of performance when appropriate, set aside preferences, and other filters to narrow the results.

But be careful about filtering too aggressively.

Every filter you add can eliminate opportunities. Sometimes the government describes the same service differently than you would.

That's why I still recommend occasionally running manual searches even after you've built good Saved Searches.

The goal isn't to eliminate research completely. It's to automate enough of it that you're spending most of your time on opportunities that actually deserve your attention.

How much time should Saved Searches actually save you?

Eventually, hours and even days.

Think about how much time you could spend over the course of a year repeatedly searching SAM.gov for the same types of opportunities.

Saved Searches automate a large portion of that work.

But the real benefit isn't just saving time.

It's what you do with the time you get back.

Instead of spending hours searching for opportunities, you can spend that time qualifying real opportunities, calling contracting officers, finding teaming partners, pricing projects, and writing proposals.

Ultimately, Saved Searches should help you submit more quality bids without adding more hours to your week.

Can Saved Searches actually keep your pipeline full?

Absolutely.

I wouldn't rely on one Saved Search.

You can create different searches around your core keywords, NAICS codes, and target agencies.

If you've built your company around an umbrella of related services, you should have Saved Searches monitoring each of those core service areas.

That creates multiple streams of opportunities continuously feeding into your pipeline.

Instead of waking up every morning wondering what you should bid on next, you should already have opportunities coming in that match the business you've decided to build.

How quickly should you know when a new opportunity is posted?

Ideally, within 24 hours.

The earlier you identify an opportunity, the more time you have to qualify it, contact the contracting officer, find teaming partners, attend a site visit if necessary, price the project, and prepare your proposal.

I also like doing a quick manual check around the middle of the day when you're actively bidding.

That can give you an advantage when amendments are released, answers to questions are posted, or something changes that requires you to adjust your proposal.

You don't need to sit on SAM.gov refreshing the page all day.

You just want a system that keeps you informed quickly enough that you're rarely surprised by an opportunity or change.

How many Saved Searches should a growing contractor have?

There's no magic number.

It's a delicate balance that takes some iteration.

Too few searches and you may miss good opportunities.

Too many and you've recreated the exact problem you were trying to solve because now you're overwhelmed with irrelevant results.

At minimum, I want a Saved Search built around each of my company's core service areas.

Then I continue refining those searches based on what I'm seeing.

And don't completely stop searching manually.

Occasional manual searches help you discover opportunities your Saved Searches may have missed. When that happens, use what you learned to make your Saved Searches better.

This should be an evolving system.

As your company changes, your searches should change with it.

Final Thoughts

SAM.gov Saved Searches aren't complicated, and that's exactly why they're so easy to overlook.

But simple improvements can have a huge impact when you repeat them every week.

Start manually. Learn how the government describes the work you want to perform. Build Saved Searches around your core services. Monitor the results and continually refine them.

The goal isn't just to spend less time searching SAM.gov.

It's to spend more time bidding on the opportunities that can actually grow your business.

About Derek James

Derek James is the founder of GovKidMethod. By age 30, he had won 32 federal contracts worth more than $15 million. Since then, he's helped small businesses win more than $75 million in government contracts by teaching practical proposal writing, positioning, and bidding strategies that contractors can actually apply.

Ready to Go Further?

Reading about government contracting is one thing. Knowing exactly how to write winning proposals is another.

That's why I've made the first modules of my GovRFP Proposal Writing System available for free. They'll walk you through the foundation every contractor should understand before submitting bids.

Access the free GovRFP Proposal Writing System here:
www.govkidmethod.com/govrfp