Key takeaways
- B2G (business-to-government) sales covers every sale to a public-sector organization, from a city buying software to a federal agency awarding a multi-year contract.
- The market is large and fragmented: about $755 billion in federal contracts in fiscal year 2024 and more than 91,000 local governments in the United States.
- Agencies buy within budgets, under procurement rules and with several stakeholders, so timing and process matter as much as the product.
- Winning B2G teams start conversations before a solicitation exists, sell through the right purchasing path and stay patient through longer cycles.
What is B2G sales?
B2G sales, short for business-to-government sales, is the work of selling a company's products or services to public-sector organizations. It's also called government sales or public sector sales.
The buyers include federal civilian and defense agencies; state agencies; counties, cities and towns; K-12 school districts, colleges and universities; law enforcement, fire and 911 agencies; healthcare systems run by government; tribal governments; special districts such as transit, airport, port and water authorities; and public power and municipal utilities. People often group state, local and education buyers as SLED, and treat federal as its own market.
The size of the B2G market
Government is one of the largest buyers in the economy. The federal government committed about $755 billion to contracts in fiscal year 2024, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, roughly $445 billion of it at the Department of Defense. State and local government adds a market spread across tens of thousands of separate buyers: the U.S. Census Bureau counted 91,438 local governments in 2025, from counties and municipalities to school and special districts.
That scale cuts both ways. There is a great deal of money to compete for, but almost no single place to reach it. Each jurisdiction sets its own budget, follows its own purchasing rules and decides on its own timeline.
B2G vs. B2B sales
| B2B sales | B2G sales | |
|---|---|---|
| Money | Spent when the business decides it's worth it | Spent from budgets approved months in advance, often by elected officials |
| Process | Set by each company, often informal | Set by law and policy: quotes, RFPs, bids, cooperative contracts |
| Decision | A champion and an economic buyer | Program staff, IT, finance, procurement and sometimes a council or board |
| Timing | Driven by business need and quarter-end | Driven by the fiscal year, budget cycle and procurement calendar |
| Information | Mostly private | Largely public: budgets, plans, minutes, bids and contract awards |
| Risk tolerance | Varies | Low: buyers are accountable for public money and prefer proven vendors |
| Relationship after the sale | Renewal based on value | Contracts have fixed terms, then renewal or a new competition |
The last difference matters most. Because so much of government is public, a B2G team can see demand coming long before a buyer calls, if it knows where to look. Our guide to government buying signals covers ten places to watch.
How government agencies buy
Most purchases follow one of a handful of paths. Which one applies depends mainly on the size of the purchase and the agency's rules.
- Small purchases. Below thresholds set by law or local policy, agencies can buy with a purchasing card or a few informal quotes. This is the fastest path and a common way to land a first customer.
- Formal solicitations. Larger purchases go out as a request for proposals (RFP), invitation for bids (IFB) or request for quotes (RFQ), with published evaluation criteria and deadlines.
- Cooperative purchasing contracts. Agencies can buy from contracts another public entity has already competed, such as Sourcewell, OMNIA Partners or NASPO ValuePoint, which saves them running their own solicitation. See our guide to cooperative purchasing contracts.
- Federal contract vehicles. Federal agencies often buy through GSA schedules and governmentwide or agency-specific contracts, frequently through resellers and integrators who hold them.
- Sole source. When only one product meets a need, agencies can buy without competition, but they must justify and usually publicize the decision.
Before most competitive purchases, agencies research the market. Federal rules encourage it: FAR 15.201 says agencies "are encouraged to promote early exchanges of information about future acquisitions" through industry days, requests for information (RFIs), one-on-one meetings and draft solicitations. That window, before the requirement is written, is where B2G sales teams do their best work.
Who is involved in a B2G purchase
- The program owner: the department head or manager whose problem you solve, such as a police chief, public works director or CIO. Usually the first conversation.
- Technical evaluators: staff who will use, run or integrate the product.
- IT and security: increasingly involved in any purchase that touches data or networks.
- Finance and budget: who confirm the money exists and where it comes from.
- Procurement: who choose the purchasing method, run the solicitation and keep it fair.
- Elected or appointed officials: councils, boards and commissions that approve larger contracts in public meetings.
The B2G sales cycle
- Identify the need. An agency recognizes a problem, often visible in a budget request, plan or meeting discussion.
- Research the market. Staff talk to vendors, attend conferences and issue RFIs. Relationships formed here shape what gets bought.
- Secure funding. The need is funded in a budget, capital plan or grant.
- Choose a purchasing path. Small purchase, solicitation, cooperative contract or existing vehicle.
- Solicit and evaluate. If competed, vendors respond and the agency scores them. Contact rules usually tighten during this stage.
- Award and approve. The contract is awarded and, above certain amounts, approved in a public meeting.
- Deliver and renew. Performance on this contract becomes your reference for the next agency and your case for renewal.
How long this takes varies widely. A small purchase can close in weeks; a large, competed contract can take a year or more from first conversation to award. Timing your outreach to the government fiscal year and each agency's budget process is the most reliable way to shorten it.
Building a B2G sales team
- Sales development reps (SDRs) research agencies, reach program owners and book qualified meetings. In government, where the right person is hard to find and slow to respond, this role carries more weight than in most B2B markets. Outsourced SDR teams are a common way to start.
- Account executives run discovery, demos and proposals, and manage long cycles across several stakeholders.
- Capture and proposal support for vendors pursuing formal solicitations, especially federal.
- Channel partners such as resellers and integrators that hold contract vehicles agencies already use.
- Marketing that builds credibility with case studies, references from peer agencies and a presence at the conferences buyers attend. See government marketing.
Common B2G sales mistakes
- Waiting for the RFP. By the time it's published, the requirements are usually set, often with help from a vendor who got there first.
- Treating government as one market. A sheriff's office, a water utility and a school district buy differently. Pick segments and learn each one.
- Ignoring the purchasing path. An eager buyer with no way to purchase is not a deal. Know which contracts and thresholds apply.
- Selling only to procurement. Procurement runs the process; the program owner creates the need.
- Breaking contact rules. Once a solicitation is out, many agencies restrict who vendors may talk to. Read the solicitation and follow it.
- Giving up too early. "Not this year" in government often means "next budget cycle". Keep the account warm.
How KSG helps
Kensington Sales Group has worked only on public-sector and utility sales since 2016. Our dedicated SDRs find the agencies most likely to buy, reach the program owners and book qualified meetings for your account executives, with the market intelligence gathered on every call. For the full step-by-step strategy, read how to sell to government.
Sources: U.S. Government Accountability Office, A Snapshot of Government-Wide Contracting for FY 2024; U.S. Census Bureau, Government Organization Summary Report: 2022 & 2025; FAR 15.201.