In GovSpend’s latest installment of the Beyond the Bid: Industry Insights That Win webinar series, we shifted our focus to the public safety sector—an industry where proactive engagement, data-driven strategy, and timely outreach can significantly improve win rates.
Led by GovSpend’s Paige Mockler, the session explored real-world examples and hands-on strategies for using GovSpend’s tools to uncover new opportunities, streamline processes, and make smarter, faster decisions. If you missed the live session or want a quick refresher, we’ve summarized the top takeaways.
Tackling Common Sales Challenges in Public Safety
Every public sector vendor knows the frustration of being too late to the game. Paige opened the session by outlining some of the most common hurdles vendors face when selling to public safety agencies, including:
- Bids that are already catered towards competitors
- Outdated contact info or leadership turnover
- Uncertainty about funding or budget cuts
- Insufficient time to digest complex bid documents
- Misalignment with certifications or agency requirements
Her message? These aren’t dead ends—they’re solvable challenges when you equip your team with the right information, tools, and timing. Below are recommended actions you can take to expand your pipeline, streamline your workflow, and find more success.
Automate your work with GovSpend AI
One of the biggest highlights of the webinar was a demo of GovSpend AI—GovSpend’s brand-new intelligence agent. Paige showed how this powerful AI tool can:
- Instantly summarize long and complex RFPs
- Highlight specific bid requirements like sizing, compliance, and certifications
- Generate email drafts and sales briefs on demand
- Simplify collaboration for sales, marketing, and technical teams
GovSpend AI is designed to save your team hours—giving you more time to focus on the deals that matter most.
Dig Deeper: From RFP to Revenue
Responding to RFPs is just one part of the sales journey. Paige demonstrated how to use GovSpend’s spending data to research agency purchasing history and identify incumbents—critical insights that help you understand agency buying patterns, price your proposals more competitively, tailor your messaging to highlight your value proposition, and forecast upcoming procurement activity.
In one example, a bid for 33 turnout gear units was linked to a prior purchase of 13 units from a specific vendor. With this knowledge, you can better align your offering with agency expectations and budgets.
Unlock Buying Signals and Proactive Outreach
Want to stop chasing cold RFPs and start generating warmer leads? Look for buying signals. Paige walked through multiple search techniques that uncover agencies who may soon need your solution—even if there’s no open bid yet. These included:
- Recent vehicle purchases as a precursor to outfitting needs
- Annual software renewals signaling competitive replacement opportunities
- Contracts nearing expiration, providing a window for introductions
- Meeting transcripts revealing plans for facility expansions, equipment upgrades, or cost-saving initiatives
Each of these signals can be monitored via saved searches and automated alerts—bringing warm, relevant leads right to your inbox.
Get in Front of the Right People
With GovSpend’s Contacts module, you can filter for agency decision-makers based on department, title, or keyword. This gives sales and marketing teams direct access to email and phone numbers for key contacts, organizational context to tailor outreach, and strategic entry points into new agencies.
Pro tip: Keep outreach focused and relevant. Referencing a specific upcoming renewal or contract end date can increase your chances of getting a response—and position you as a strategic partner, not just another vendor.
Spot What’s Coming Next: Meeting Intelligence
GovSpend’s Meeting Intelligence tool was another standout. This feature aggregates and transcribes public meeting recordings, allowing users to search for relevant discussions on:
- New police or fire department builds
- Budget allocations and cuts
- Vendor and software mentions
- Agency leadership changes
By identifying these signals early, you can begin conversations long before a formal bid is released—giving you a clear competitive advantage.
Your Action Plan: Work Smarter, Win More
Here’s how to start putting what you learned into practice:
- Use GovSpend AI to streamline bid review and proposal generation
- Dive into spending data to research incumbents and pricing benchmarks
- Monitor contracts and renewals to time outreach more effectively
- Leverage buying signals to identify agencies primed for a solution
- Find key contacts to make every call count
Whether you’re selling body armor or record management software, this proactive approach positions you to influence—not just respond to—procurement decisions.
Watch the Replay or Catch the Next Session
If you weren’t able to attend live, don’t worry! A full replay of the webinar—along with a link to the slides—is available here. If you sell in other sectors besides Police & Fire, check out the topics for our future sessions of the Beyond the Bid series and register here.
Have questions or want guidance in creating your own custom searches?
Our support team is ready to help. Just reach out to your Relationship Manager or email support@govspend.com and we’ll get you started.
If you are not yet a customer, request time with our experts to learn how GovSpend can help you go beyond the bid and win more contracts.
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