Past performance when you have none

Past performance is your record of doing similar work well. Buyers use it to judge the risk of hiring you. If you have no government contracts yet, you are not shut out.

No record is not a bad record

In negotiated federal buys, a company with no record of relevant past performance may not be rated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. It gets a neutral rating. A record of doing the work badly is what hurts.

What counts as experience

• Commercial work. Jobs for businesses, nonprofits and people count. Many first awards go to firms with strong commercial experience.
• State and local government work. It counts for federal bids, and federal work counts for state bids.
• Work by your key people. Experience your owner or key staff gained at earlier jobs can count, if you say clearly whose work it was and where it was done.
• Predecessor companies and major subcontractors. Buyers should consider their relevant past performance when you label it honestly.

What makes a project relevant is how close it is to the new work in scope, size and complexity.

Build a short list of strong examples

Pick two or three projects. For each one, write:

• The customer type, and the customer's name if they agree to be named.
• What you did, in one or two sentences.
• The size: value, length, people, sites or users.
• The dates.
• The results, with numbers you can back up.
• A contact who will take a reference call, with their permission.

Keep this list in one place. You will reuse it in capability statements, Sources Sought responses and proposals.

Truth rules

• Never invent a project, a number or a client.
• Never present someone else's work as yours.
• Label borrowed experience, for example: "Our project lead ran a similar rollout for a hospital system at a previous employer."
• Ask before you name a customer.

Buyers can check. A false claim can cost you far more than one bid.

Ways to build a federal record

• Subcontract first. Work under a prime on a federal contract, and ask the prime for a reference afterward.
• Start with smaller buys. They often move faster and teach you the process.
• Deliver well and ask for the record. After a federal contract, ask the contracting officer about your performance evaluation. You get 14 days to comment on an evaluation if you disagree. For small jobs, ask for a short reference letter.

Responsibility is a separate check

Even with no past performance, a buyer must find you responsible before an award: enough money, the ability to meet the schedule, a satisfactory record of integrity, and the skills and equipment. If a buyer finds a small business not responsible, SBA can review that decision through its Certificate of Competency program.

In your writing

Lead with what you would do and how. Then use your best example as proof. A strong approach plus honest, relevant experience beats a long list of loosely related jobs.