B2G (business to government) companies need to stay competitive in order to consistently win bids.  It can be especially difficult for small government contractors to not only maintain their competitive edge but also invest in business development technologies as they hit the market. To stay on top in the GovCon game, you need to be resourceful and flexible to stay relevant.

What if I told you there is a way for you to leverage your current resources, provide pricing flexibility, and generate business intelligence all at the same time?  In case you haven’t heard, there is a newly developed web application tool created specifically for government pricing. The app is designed to aid smaller government contracting businesses and give them the pricing intelligence they need over their competitors.

Plus, with more and more companies switching to web-based resources in this digital age to support their business development efforts, it’s no wonder several new apps are being developed specifically for the small business owner.  A few years ago, there weren’t many options for small businesses, now with pricing tools like OpenPricer and BrightPrice, it’s no wonder industry experts and larger companies are beginning to take notice.  Small companies are beginning to understand their significance in the market and are beginning to invest in affordable tools that align with their customer’s needs.

So having said that, is there a pricing tool designed specific to certain industries?  The short answer is yes.  In fact, pricing tools are becoming very segmented based industry interest and we recently caught up with one that’s specific to government contracting.

iRIVAL is a web-based application designed to remove pricing frustration and make it easy to develop proposal pricing rates AND compare previous agency purchases.  You can stop developing your rates in the dark (not literally), submit pricing that’s in alignment with the customer’s purchase history, and stay profitable.

Simple Pricing Approach

If you know anything about contract pricing, then you know how difficult it can be to hit your customer’s sweet spot.  What’s going to set your proposal apart from your competitor is the unique understanding of the customer’s requirements AND the customer’s target price.  iRIVAL takes a very simple approach to pricing.  It’s designed to analyze project costs, develop intelligent pricing rates, create project teams, and predict profitability based on your company’s actual resources. No more blind bidding and complicated spreadsheets– hello simple pricing.

Does this sound familiar? – It’s the 11^th hour and your proposal team has just completed the technical proposal. You reach for an old cost proposal spreadsheet to develop your rates, but there are a few things you don’t have.

1. Agency intelligence as it relates to their spending habits
2. Accurate and complete cost data to ensure your indirect rates are current
3. A clear understanding of how your project risks impact your pricing
4. Clear data that tells you whether or not this project will be profitable

Using Pricing Tools to Streamline Bidding Efforts

You can use pricing tools and apps to help your business streamline the proposal efforts and submit a winning bid. One of the most common issues a small business can face when bidding is the inability to access up-to-date cost and pricing data in real-time. Ensuring price competitiveness is one of the pillars of bidding.  Not only that, but you have to ensure you have intelligent data to make the best determination.  Pricing tools help you do that quickly.  And by using these tool to make profitable decisions, you reduce your time creating complicated spreadsheets and uninformed pricing scenarios that don’t get you the results you desire.

Think about it, would you jump out of a plane without a parachute?  Then why would you create pricing without the resources (equipment) to help you stay competitive? If you are a small business owner competing for customer relevancy, iRival and other web pricing tools similar to it can help you create the important advantages you need to stay on top.