Last time this contract got one bid

A seven-step play for a bid-writing service, or the vendor itself. It starts from BidNet Direct, stacks COMMBUYS, Google Maps, OregonBuys, Texas SmartBuy and PennBid on top, and ends in a message to the vendor's owner that is useful before anyone replies.

Deploy in Glider

Installs this workflow, five project tables and a draft campaign. Source access and any external outputs are checked before research.

Category: Public records
Sources: 6
Steps: 7

The workflow

TriggerBidNet DirectRe-bids: due date, scope and prior contract number
Evidence
COMMBUYSThe prior bid tabulation: bidders and prices Google MapsQualified local firms that did not bid OregonBuysThe same tabulations in Oregon Texas SmartBuyThe same tabulations in Texas PennBidThe same tabulations in Pennsylvania
Artifact
What you hand overA re-bid packet: the due date, what changed in the spec, the prior winning price and bidder count, and a draft response outline.
Contact
GliderFinds the vendor's owner, with a verified work email and a phone
Message
Send itFrom your own mailboxes, evidence attached

Why it earns attention

The prior winning price and the number of bidders are the two facts every bidder wants and few look up. A contract that drew one bid last time is an open door for a qualified local firm.

The play in seven steps

01
Find contracts coming back out to bid
BidNet Direct
What you pull
Open solicitations marked as a re-bid or renewal: the buyer, scope, due date, and the prior contract number.
Why it matters
A re-bid has a history you can look up. A brand-new solicitation does not.
Example
City of Worcester · janitorial services, 6 buildings · responses due Dec 15 · replaces contract 22-114
02
Pull last cycle's results
COMMBUYS
What you pull
The bid tabulation for the prior contract: every bidder, every price, and who won. Oregon, Texas and Pennsylvania publish the same thing on their own portals.
Why it matters
One bidder last time means the buyer paid whatever was asked and would welcome competition. The winning price tells a new bidder where to land.
Example
2022 cycle · 1 bid received · awarded at $41 per hour
03
Find qualified firms that stayed out
Google Maps
What you pull
Businesses in the trade within 15 miles of the sites: name, distance, rating and how long they have operated.
Why it matters
These are firms that could do the work and probably never saw the notice. They are who you write to.
Example
14 commercial cleaning firms within 15 miles · 6 rated 4.5 or higher · 3 already clean municipal buildings
04
Build the re-bid packet
Your artifact
What you build
The due date, a side-by-side of the old and new spec, the prior price and bidder count, and a response outline in the order the buyer scores it.
Why it works
Most small firms skip public bids because the paperwork looks long. The packet makes it an afternoon.
Example
Due Dec 15 · 2 buildings added · night cleaning now required · prior price $41/hr · 1 bidder
05
Check before you send
Confirm the firm holds the licenses, insurance and bonding the spec requires, and read the new spec in full: a scope change can explain why only one firm bid.
06
Find the vendor's owner in Glider
Glider
Search for
OwnerPresidentGeneral managerBusiness development manager
Why them
In a local service firm the owner decides whether to bid. They are also the one who would never have seen the notice.
What you get
A work email and a direct phone, with the email verified before it goes into a sequence.
07
Send the evidence, then run the first test
To: the vendor's ownerEvery line comes from a step above
The City of Worcester's janitorial contract is re-bidding, with responses due December 15.¹ Last cycle it drew one bid, at $41 an hour.² You clean three commercial buildings within ten miles of City Hall, so the scope is in your territory.³ I put together the prior tab sheet, what changed in the new spec, and a response outline in the order they score it.⁴ Want the packet?
- Facts from the data (the number is the step)
- What you built for them
- One small ask
Why it works
It hands a small firm a contract they did not know existed, the price to beat, and proof the field is empty. The ask is only to accept a file.
First test
One trade, one state, ten re-bids where the last cycle had two or fewer respondents.
Success looks like
Three firms ask for the packet out of ten, and one submits a bid.