How do I sell to local government?

Editorial director of The MJ, Michael Burton, offers some tips for companies seeking to sell to local government.

  1. Find out about the authority seeking the supplier. Is it a district, unitary or county? What is its political make-up?
  2. Research your target authority. Is there previous history that might be relevant to the work for which you are bidding?
  3. Find out about the individual at the local authority specifying the work or draw up a shortlist of potential contacts. Does the person have other responsibilities other than the service area in which you are interested? How senior is the individual?
  4. Research the relevant council department, including budget, workforce etc
  5. Allocate adequate time for completing the tender documents.
  6. Ensure your documents are accurate and fully answer the specifier’s brief.
  7. Ensure you have checked requirements such as employment of local labour, payment of living wage or equality issues. Again, time spent on research can help you find out more about an authority’s employment policies.
  8. Be prepared to disclose information about your company’s financial status to the specifier.
  9. Be aware that all information in a public contract is subject to the Freedom of Information Act
  10. Whether you win the contract or intend bidding for others, keep abreast of senior personnel changes. You might find a senior officer with whom you have been working has moved to another authority where there may be new opportunities.

A quick guide to local government procurement

There are various ways of selling to local government. Supplying large quantities of goods and services will involve going through the procurement process and in some cases the EU procurement process. There are also opportunities for sub-contract work through prime contractors.

Typical low value contracts will be up to £10,000, medium between £10-£100,000 and high value contracts above £100,000. Contract information can be found in local media, on the government’s Gov.uk website and in the EU’s daily electronic tenders website while some councils have approved supplier lists. The government’s Contracts Finder has details of contracts over £10,000.

It is important to know about the local authority specifying the work. If it is a district or a county it will be responsible for only certain services whereas a metropolitan, unitary council or London borough and all councils in Wales and Scotland will be responsible for all local government services in its area.

There are four different procedures when tendering for a contract to provide goods or services. The open procedure, widely used by local authorities, is where all interested suppliers are asked to return tenders by a specified date, which are then evaluated, and the contract duly awarded. The restricted procedure is where a shortlist of expressions of interest is drawn up and those companies on it are then asked to tender for a contract.

The competitive dialogue procedure is for more complex contracts and a negotiated procedure is where the buyer negotiates with a shortlist of sellers. Framework agreements are where an authority draws up a list of approved suppliers and individual contracts are awarded during the lifetime of the agreement, usually about four years.

To find out how MYB can help you secure business with UK local government, call 020 7973 6694