"We can't win because we have no past performance" is the most common objection from new contractors — and it's mostly wrong. Past performance matters, but new firms build it every day from work they've already done. Here's how.
Why past performance matters
In federal buying, past performance is the government's answer to "can this company actually deliver?" Agencies score it on relevance (is it like this requirement?), recency (did it happen in the last three to five years?), and quality (did it go well?). On best-value evaluations it can outweigh a lower price; on LPTA it's often just a pass/fail gate.
What counts when you have no federal history
- Commercial projects of the same type. A $400,000 commercial electrical job is directly relevant to a $400,000 federal electrical requirement — verifiable references make it count.
- Local and state government work. Public-sector experience translates especially well; evaluators understand the environment.
- Subcontracting experience. Work you performed as a sub on someone else's project is legitimate past performance — document your scope and your role.
- Key personnel experience. If your foreman or project manager ran similar work at a previous employer, it counts as key-personnel past performance. This is the secret weapon of brand-new firms.
Build the file before you need it
Create one master document — your past performance library — with an entry per project:
- Client and project name; location
- Scope in two sentences, in buyer language
- Contract value and period of performance
- Your exact role (prime, sub, team member)
- Reference name, title, phone, and email — with their permission, refreshed annually
- One quantitative result: on-time %, safety record, rework rate, cost performance
Update it after every completed project. When a solicitation asks for past performance, you'll pull the three most relevant entries instead of panicking.
Handling the inevitable gaps
- Small-dollar first bids rarely require federal past performance at all — agencies use them precisely to develop new vendors.
- Use the Q&A window to ask about experience minimums if the solicitation is unclear.
- Brief your references before every bid: what you delivered, on what schedule, for how much. A surprised reference gives vague answers, and vague answers score like zeros.