Selling to the Government, States and Municipalities

Sell To States Site Summary – Click Here to go to the main site.

The federal government, states and municipalities spend in excess of 6 trillion dollars a year on goods and services.  Much of this budget is spent with small businesses.  By tapping into this stream of revenue a business can grow at unbelievable rates.  Even in a down economy.

The purpose of selltostates.com is to help small businesses tap into this market.  Selling in the private sector and selling in the public sector are similar.  The main difference is in how you find the sales opportunities.  Selling to the goverment, states and local municipalities often involves a bid process and in many cases you are required to register in order to participate.  The process is much more organized and systematic than selling to regular businesses and individuals.  In some ways this makes the process easier.

The website covers the following subjects:

**  Business Information – In this area the site discusses the steps of registering as a state vendor, preparing a quote, and invoicing your customer.   It also address some of the business identification numbers that may be required by the state vendor registration forms.  This includes information about and how to register for a FEIN number, DUNS number, and CAGE Code.

**  QPL/APL – What are QPL (Qualified Products Lists / Approved Products Lists) or State Standards and Specifications? In this section the site explains what QPL/APL and Standards and Specifications are.  It also helps you find the QPL or Standards for your state.

**  Procurement – There are many procurement companies.  All of the State Purchasing Agencies use an online system that simplifies the bidding process.  Some states maintain their own online procurement systems, however, many states contract with Procurement (or eProcurement) companies.  These online systems organize the entire bid process for both the purchasing and vendor side of the relationship.   In this category the website will discusses information about some of the online procurement services.

** Selling to States –  The goal of this category is to provide specific information tailored to each state.  Such information will include the State Purchasing Home Page, QPLs, vendor registration, and many others.  The site provides the basic requirements and instructions for vendor registration.  This area is a good reference page for quickly identifying and finding important information for doing business your state.