Getting your GSA Schedule contract awarded is an important milestone—but it doesn’t guarantee incoming orders from government agencies. To win business, it’s important you actively search for contracting opportunities that match your solutions. Fortunately, tools like SAM.gov can help you find opportunities in the federal marketplace. This guide outlines how to use SAM.gov to identify relevant federal procurement opportunities, with clear steps and helpful tips to streamline your search.
What is SAM.gov?
The System for Award Management (also referred to as SAM, SAM.gov) is a website used for federal procurement and award management. Companies can register for free to do business with the government, access contract award data, access wage determinations, exclusions, and entity reporting, and search for contract opportunities.
Navigating SAM.gov to identify government procurement opportunities can feel overwhelming at first, but the step-by-step guidance in this blog will simplify the process and increase your chances of finding the right opportunities for your business.
How to Find Contracting Opportunities on SAM.gov
Rather than just explaining how to search for opportunities on SAM.gov, I find it far more effective to walk through a visual example so you can follow each step. To demonstrate how to search for contract opportunities, let’s use an example: ABC Solutions LLC, a women-owned small business that specializes in providing Cultural and Language Training Services for professionals working abroad.
To begin your search, go to the SAM.gov homepage. Click on “Contracting”. From the dropdown menu, select “Contract Opportunities.”
Then, in the search bar, type in keywords that align with your business offerings. To find opportunities tailored to your services, it’s important to be familiar with relevant keywords and filters that can help narrow your search results. These filters allow you to focus only on opportunities that are most aligned with your company's capabilities, saving you time and increasing your chances of discovering promising opportunities.
For this example, I searched for opportunities related to Training Services, but many of the results were unrelated to the specific type of training offered by ABC Solutions LLC. To avoid the challenge of sorting through irrelevant listings—like finding a needle in a haystack—it’s important to use precise, descriptive search terms. SAM.gov offers several filters that can help streamline your results, including keywords, response dates, notice type, product or service information, and set-asides. These filters are essential for narrowing down the listings to those that best align with your company’s capabilities.
Keywords
To begin narrowing the opportunities down, it is important to include keywords that answer the following questions:
- What large category does your product/ service fall under?
- What are some specific terms that describe the type of products or services you offer?
For instance, ABC Solutions LLC might use keywords like Training Services and Language to reflect their core capabilities.
Response Dates
By using the dates filter, you can select Response/ Dates Offers Due which allows you avoid listings that are closing too soon to prepare a strong proposal. For this example, I limited the search to opportunities with response deadlines in the following month, ensuring that ABC Solutions LLC would have a realistic amount of time to prepare and submit a complete response. This decreased the search results to one opportunity. At this stage of your search, you may come across multiple opportunities. To narrow down your results further, continue applying the additional filters.
Notice Type
While there are several options available, Sources Sought and Presolicitation notices are ideal for those looking to get involved in an opportunity early. It’s often beneficial to engage before a Request for Proposal (RFP) is released.
A Sources Sought notice is issued by federal agencies to gauge interest in projects that are still in the consideration phase, prior to the RFP stage. This notice allows agencies to conduct market research and assess whether a project can be designated for specific set-asides.
A Presolicitation notice is issued in advance of an invitation for bids, giving potential contractors time to prepare for the upcoming solicitation.
Products and Services
Filtering by relevant NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Codes helps target the search to specific industries. You can search for multiple NAICS Codes or use one at a time. This helps refine the search to focus on the exact products and services you provide. If your business falls under multiple NAICS Codes, you can search for several at once or individually, depending on your needs. You can use this lookup table to search the NAICS Codes relevant to your offerings, based on the Special Item Numbers (SINs) awarded to your GSA Schedule contract.
Set Asides
If your business qualifies for a socioeconomic designation (e.g., Women-Owned, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned), use the Set-Asides filter to find opportunities reserved for your designation. If you feel like the search becomes too narrow, try adjusting your keywords, widening the response due date, or adding/removing NAICS Codes. If you are unsure if you qualify for certain set-asides, you can check out our blog on small business set-asides.
What Do You Do After Finding a Relevant Opportunity on SAM.gov?
Once you’ve found a few promising leads, take time to review the full solicitation carefully. Check the scope of work, requirements, and deadlines to ensure the opportunity aligns with your capabilities and offerings. Next, evaluate feasibility—consider whether your business has the time, resources, and capacity to prepare a compliant and competitive response. For early-stage notices such as Sources Sought or Presolicitation, a detailed proposal is typically not required yet. In most cases, a capabilities statement or a brief written response will be sufficient to express interest in and position your business for future consideration.
Keep in mind that SAM.gov is a dynamic platform, with new opportunities posted daily—so even if nothing fits your business today, a relevant opportunity may appear tomorrow. Staying active on SAM.gov is key to discovering contract opportunities that align with your GSA Schedule. Monitoring the site regularly, refining search strategies, and responding early can help position your company for success. For additional support with responding to solicitations, marketing your GSA Schedule, or enhancing your visibility to government buyers, subscribe to our blog or reach out—we’re always happy to help.
