Running into Old Friends in City Procurement While Teaching in Michigan
A funny thing happened to me
in Warren, Michigan, during the break of my Winning Government Business class
for Detroit at the end of September of 2004. I took my lunch break by contacting
the area City to see if there was a small business specialist to approach on
behalf of my attendees.
Warren, Michigan is a suburb of Detroit, MI and not far from several large primes such as General Dynamics. I called the main number and asked for the purchasing department and I was sent to a voice mail. Of course, it was lunch time. I decided to call back the main number and explain my true situation and ask for help from the operator. She was very friendly and connected me to Mr. Ronald Guzi, Chief of Procurement.
Before she connected me, the name suddenly sounded familiar. I shared a split office with him when I worked for the Community Relations Department of the City of Sterling Heights 15 Years Ago, when I was at the beginning of my career. The City of Sterling Heights boarders Warren, MI. What LUCK!
"Hello this is Ron," was the first thing I heard. The Chief of Procurement answered on the first ring during lunch. We reminisced for several minutes and he told me that in Warren, they have a relationship with 18 other cities in Michigan who post their proposals on line.
He followed up with me in an email and said, "The more vendors we get looking at our bids the better opportunities we have to get good vendors who save us money."
He included the following directions to doing business with the City of Warren:
Dear Prospective Vendor:
The City of Warren Purchasing Division is pleased to announce that we utilize a central bid notification system, to notify vendors of bid and quote opportunities. This venture is called the Michigan Intergovernmental Trade Network MITN. This system is used for registration of vendors and for the posting of bids, quotes, requests for proposals, request for information, addenda, and awards including tabulations.
Vendors with Internet access should review the registration options at www.govbids.com and select the link to the MITN site. If you do not have Internet access, please call the BidNet support group at (800) 677-1997 extension # 214. They will be happy to register you over the telephone.
SEALED BIDS (over $10,000) MUST BE SUBMITTED IN A SEALED ENVELOPE AND MAILED AS INSTRUCTED IN THE BID DOCUMENTS.
The MITN bid notification system is used by the following Purchasing Departments:
The Cities of Birmingham, Dearborn, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Troy, Warren, Wayne County Airport Authority, and the County of Livingston. Other purchasing agencies are expected to join in the months to come.
The system provides the following benefits:
The service is free, but requires you to check the site for bids on a regular basis. We strongly encourage all companies to look at the option to receive automatic notification of solicitations. There is a cost of $29.95 per year or a three year price for automatic bid notification. This cost includes access to all the MITN communities. As this new system provides many benefits to your company, be sure to read and decide which registration option is best for your business. We appreciate your cooperation and welcome your participation.
I checked out the website and they have many URLS and cities throughout the country listed. I found two bids for Warren, Michigan:
Here are a couple for the City of Baltimore, Maryland:
Here's one from the New Mexico public school Facilities:
I'm sure there are more to dig for but you'll have check it out yourself. Again, the site is www.govbids.com. This is not a website of Fedmarket, but a separate entity that I am simply sharing with you as part of my cold calling adventures.
Ron Guzi gave me some great feedback, however. He said that you basically needed three things to win business at any city.
In a nutshell, he said, to be the best at what you do -- in products, services and price. According to Guzi, it is rare when you can find all three in a company, so those companies truly stand out.
This writer's take on this statement is that you need to specialize your efforts in your company to offer only your best products and services and be able to truly communicate that you are the best.
This is tough when selling to the government because it is easy to get your ego in the way and automatically assume you are the best. You need to prove that you are the best for the job through BEST VALUES and PERFORMANCE HISTORY.
Here are some examples of Best Values for Federal Business. For cities and states, it is different because only GSA Schedule IT-70 is available and some city and states don't have small business goals. Therefore, you'll need to contact the Procurement Chief of your target city or state so that you can follow their proper protocol for selling to their governmental entity.
Warren, Michigan is a suburb of Detroit, MI and not far from several large primes such as General Dynamics. I called the main number and asked for the purchasing department and I was sent to a voice mail. Of course, it was lunch time. I decided to call back the main number and explain my true situation and ask for help from the operator. She was very friendly and connected me to Mr. Ronald Guzi, Chief of Procurement.
Before she connected me, the name suddenly sounded familiar. I shared a split office with him when I worked for the Community Relations Department of the City of Sterling Heights 15 Years Ago, when I was at the beginning of my career. The City of Sterling Heights boarders Warren, MI. What LUCK!
"Hello this is Ron," was the first thing I heard. The Chief of Procurement answered on the first ring during lunch. We reminisced for several minutes and he told me that in Warren, they have a relationship with 18 other cities in Michigan who post their proposals on line.
He followed up with me in an email and said, "The more vendors we get looking at our bids the better opportunities we have to get good vendors who save us money."
He included the following directions to doing business with the City of Warren:
Dear Prospective Vendor:
The City of Warren Purchasing Division is pleased to announce that we utilize a central bid notification system, to notify vendors of bid and quote opportunities. This venture is called the Michigan Intergovernmental Trade Network MITN. This system is used for registration of vendors and for the posting of bids, quotes, requests for proposals, request for information, addenda, and awards including tabulations.
Vendors with Internet access should review the registration options at www.govbids.com and select the link to the MITN site. If you do not have Internet access, please call the BidNet support group at (800) 677-1997 extension # 214. They will be happy to register you over the telephone.
SEALED BIDS (over $10,000) MUST BE SUBMITTED IN A SEALED ENVELOPE AND MAILED AS INSTRUCTED IN THE BID DOCUMENTS.
The MITN bid notification system is used by the following Purchasing Departments:
The Cities of Birmingham, Dearborn, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Troy, Warren, Wayne County Airport Authority, and the County of Livingston. Other purchasing agencies are expected to join in the months to come.
The system provides the following benefits:
- 24-hour access to business opportunities
Automatic notification based upon your designated product or service
Timely mechanism for obtaining documents
Vendor managed registration system.
More efficient bid notification and distribution from the participating communities
The service is free, but requires you to check the site for bids on a regular basis. We strongly encourage all companies to look at the option to receive automatic notification of solicitations. There is a cost of $29.95 per year or a three year price for automatic bid notification. This cost includes access to all the MITN communities. As this new system provides many benefits to your company, be sure to read and decide which registration option is best for your business. We appreciate your cooperation and welcome your participation.
I checked out the website and they have many URLS and cities throughout the country listed. I found two bids for Warren, Michigan:
- 2004/2005 Stand-By Services for Emergency Snow Removal, Department: Public Service, Close Date 10/13/2004, Doc: ITB-W-7042
- Boiler/Hot Water Heater: Senior Housing - Stilwell Manor, Close Date 10/6/2004, Doc: ITB-W-7039
Here are a couple for the City of Baltimore, Maryland:
- Medicine Cup, Department: Purchasing, Mtrl. Mgt. Close Date: 10/14/04, Doc:
INF-0034
Lactated Ringers, Purchasing Mtrl. Mgt. Close Date: 9/24/04, Doc: INF-000344
Confetti Cut Shredder, Department of Finance, Close Date: 9/22/04 Doc: INF-000343
Detection Tubes, Department of Public Works, Close Date: 9/17/04 Doc: INF-000338
Laboratory Supplies, Department of Public Works, Close Date: 9/17/04 Doc: INF-000340
Here's one from the New Mexico public school Facilities:
- Seating Renovation - Tydings Auditorium Phase 1, Hobbs School District:
Close Date: 10/1/04, Doc: RFB-0405-24
I'm sure there are more to dig for but you'll have check it out yourself. Again, the site is www.govbids.com. This is not a website of Fedmarket, but a separate entity that I am simply sharing with you as part of my cold calling adventures.
Ron Guzi gave me some great feedback, however. He said that you basically needed three things to win business at any city.
In a nutshell, he said, to be the best at what you do -- in products, services and price. According to Guzi, it is rare when you can find all three in a company, so those companies truly stand out.
This writer's take on this statement is that you need to specialize your efforts in your company to offer only your best products and services and be able to truly communicate that you are the best.
This is tough when selling to the government because it is easy to get your ego in the way and automatically assume you are the best. You need to prove that you are the best for the job through BEST VALUES and PERFORMANCE HISTORY.
Here are some examples of Best Values for Federal Business. For cities and states, it is different because only GSA Schedule IT-70 is available and some city and states don't have small business goals. Therefore, you'll need to contact the Procurement Chief of your target city or state so that you can follow their proper protocol for selling to their governmental entity.
- GSA Schedule Holder
- Past Performance
- Experience
- Security Clearance
- Warrantee, Service Agreement
- Speed
- Small, Woman-Owned, 8a, Disabled Veteran, Native American, HUBZone, etc8.
Environmentally Safe and Made by Recycled Products (See: Green or LEED
Program)
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