How to Win Government Contracts | Podcast | Hidden Truths

If you've ever tried to sell a product or service to a city, county, or school district, you've probably hit a wall that had nothing to do with your price or your product. The proposal was solid. The numbers made sense. And yet, nothing.
‍

Here's the uncomfortable truth: in government procurement, trust beats everything else. And most vendors don't realize that until it's too late.
‍

We sat down with Kevin Smith, Deputy Treasurer for the State of Michigan, on Episode 5 of In Pursuit to talk about his 20+ year career in municipal finance, emergency management, and state government. What he shared about how to win government contracts and why vendors succeed and fail in the public sector is worth paying attention to.
‍

The Government Buyer is Painstakingly Different

For contractors trying to figure out how to get government contracts, the first lesson is understanding what makes public sector procurement fundamentally different.
‍

In the private sector, a company can pretty much do anything the law doesn't explicitly prohibit. In government, it's the opposite; they can only do what the law expressly allows. That changes everything about how decisions get made, how long they take, and who has to sign off.
‍

Add to that the reality that elected officials are accountable to their constituents in a very visible, very personal way. Kevin put it plainly: in a small town of 5,000 people, half of them may have grown up together. Telling the community that you're outsourcing a service or switching vendors isn't just a business decision; it's a political one. That's the environment you're selling into. Keep that in mind.
‍

Trust is the Real Gatekeeper

Kevin was direct about this: the biggest challenge in government isn't budget, isn't red tape, and isn't slow decision-making. It's trust.
‍

Communities are skeptical, often by default. They've heard promises before. They've been told that money isn't available, that a service change is necessary, and that a new vendor will do it better. And they've seen those promises fall flat. So when you show up with a pitch, no matter how good it is, you're walking into a room full of people who are already skeptical.
‍

"Address the trust issue above all else. The finances speak for themselves. It's a matter of ensuring that the community and the elected leaders believe and understand why what you're suggesting is true," Kevin Smith
‍

That's not a soft, feel-good point. It's a strategic one. If the people making the procurement decision don't trust that you'll deliver, or don't trust that their community will accept the change, no amount of competitive pricing will close the deal.
‍

You Need Third-Party Validators

So how do you build that trust, especially if you're coming in cold?
‍

Kevin's answer was clear: you don't do it alone. You find third-party validators, people already trusted inside that community who can vouch for what you're proposing.
‍

This could be an accounting firm the city has worked with for years. It could be a department director who has been around long enough to carry credibility. It could be a former official or a respected local figure in your industry. The point is that your voice alone isn't enough. You need someone the decision-makers already believe in to say yes.
‍

As Kevin put it: "You have to identify third-party validators within those communities. It's not just you carrying the flag; you've got other people saying this is true, this is an issue, we've got to deal with it. Those who maybe are specialists in that area, who that local leader already has an established trust relationship with."
‍

This is especially important in smaller communities where relationships run deep, and outsiders are viewed with extra caution. If you can get even one respected local voice in your corner before you make your pitch, you're in a dramatically better position.
‍

Understand the Financial Pressures Your Buyer is Under

One of the most overlooked advantages a vendor can have is simply understanding the financial reality of the entity they're selling to. Kevin walked through how municipalities and school districts can fall into cycles of financial distress, declining revenues, deferred maintenance, rising costs, and shrinking populations that reduce the tax base.
‍

When a city or district is under that kind of pressure, they aren't just looking for a vendor. They're looking for relief. If you can demonstrate that your service reduces costs, improves efficiency, or helps them do more with less, and if you can back that up with specifics, you're speaking directly to their biggest pain point.
‍

But there's a catch. Even if the financial case is airtight, community members and elected officials may still push back. Kevin explained it this way: "The savings may not match the expectations of the community. They may say, 'I don't want you to outsource our security or police and fire,I don't trust that they're going to deliver services the way I expect, and I won't be able to hold them accountable.'" That's a real concern, and your pitch needs to address it head-on.
‍

Lowest Price Isn't Always the Winner, But it Has to Be Competitive

State law generally requires competitive bids for government contracts. But Kevin was quick to point out that the standard isn't the lowest price, it's the "lowest responsible" bid. There's an important difference.
‍

Government buyers have seen contractors come in with an aggressive low bid and then fail to deliver. That experience makes them cautious. Kevin noted: "It's the lowest responsible bid, you don't want a contractor to come in and just underbid everyone, but they can't do the work." So while you absolutely need to be price-competitive, what often seals the deal is demonstrating that you can actually do the work, reliably, at scale, and with accountability built in.
‍

References from other public sector clients matter here. So does any history you have working with similar entities. The goal is to show that choosing you isn't a risk, it's the safe, responsible choice.
‍

Timing Matters More Than You Think

Kevin described how municipalities often know they have a problem long before they're ready to act on it. There are formal early warning systems, declining fund balances, shrinking debt service coverage ratios, and budget deficits that trigger state-level review. By the time a community hits those triggers, they're often already in serious trouble.
‍

For vendors, this creates an opportunity: if you understand these early warning signs and can position your product or service as a solution before a community hits crisis mode, you're much more likely to get a hearing. Crisis mode means rushed decisions, limited budgets, and a lot of political noise. Getting in early, when there's still time to plan, gives everyone a better outcome.
‍

The Bottom Line

Knowing how to win government contracts and how to obtain government contracts isn't just about having the best product or the lowest price. It's about understanding the environment you're selling into, one where trust is scarce, accountability is public, and decisions move slowly for good reasons.
‍

Kevin Smith's career, from bond attorney to emergency manager to Deputy State Treasurer,is essentially a masterclass in navigating that environment. And his advice for vendors boils down to this: lead with trust, find your validators, understand the financial pressures your buyer is facing, and make it easy for elected leaders to say yes without putting their credibility on the line.
‍

Do that consistently, and you'll stand out in a space where most vendors never get past the first meeting.
‍

                                                                                                =====================
‍

This post is based on Episode 5 of In Pursuit, featuring Kevin Smith, Deputy Treasurer for the State of Michigan. Listen to the full episode for more on municipal finance, emergency management, and the realities of governing in financially distressed communities.

‍