Going Private

If you want to get ahead of the game when selling to corporations, you've got to be prepared, says Tom Nesby of Nesby Associates Inc., a Renton, Washington, firm that specializes in helping consumer-driven corporations increase sales in diverse communities. Here are some tips from Nesby:

• Find out if a corporation will have a pre-bid conference to detail what they need.
  
  
• Don't think that because many large corporations are required to do business with small firms that they owe you business. Consider the fact that you are a small, minority- or woman-owned business an attribute, not an asset; the asset is your product or service.
  
  
• Respond to bids accurately. A bid that is too low or too high implies to the procurement officials that you might not have understood the requirements.
  
  
• Make sure your bid packet contains information that proves your expertise and accomplishments in the field.
  
  

This article was originally published in the November 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Going Private.