Key takeaways
- The US public sector is large but fragmented: more than 91,000 local governments, plus federal and state agencies and thousands of utilities, each buying on its own.
- KSG offers international companies a three-stage path: Landing Pad (market validation), Beachhead (embedded SDR pipeline) and Expansion (go-to-market partner and handoff to your US team).
- We've run US and North American programs for international companies including Kamstrup, Siemens and Geotab.
- Coverage includes Federal, SLED, K-12 & Higher Ed, Healthcare, Tribal, Special Districts and Utilities.
Why the US public sector is different
For a company coming from abroad, the US government and utility market can look like one big customer. It is thousands of separate ones.
The U.S. Census Bureau counted 91,438 local governments in 2025: counties, cities, townships, school districts and special districts, each with its own budget and buyers. Add 50 state governments, federal agencies, tribal governments and public universities. On the utility side, the U.S. Energy Information Administration counted 168 investor-owned, 1,958 publicly owned and 812 cooperative electric utilities in 2017, and water and wastewater service is run by thousands more.
Each buyer follows its own procurement rules, budget calendar and approval process. Some purchases fall under domestic-content rules such as the Buy American Act or the Build America, Buy America Act. And public-sector buyers are cautious about vendors they haven't heard of, which is exactly the position most new entrants start in.
That makes the first year in the US expensive to get wrong. Hiring a US sales team before you know which segments will buy can burn a budget quickly. A structured, outbound-led entry lets you learn the market and build pipeline at the same time.
Three stages, from first conversations to your own US team
| Stage | What it answers | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Landing Pad Market validation | Is there demand, in which segments, and how do they buy? | Structured conversations with target agencies and utilities to test demand, pricing, buying process, incumbents and timing. You get findings you can act on, not a desk study. |
| 2. Beachhead Embedded SDR pipeline | Can we build a repeatable flow of qualified meetings? | A dedicated sales development team reaches your priority targets, qualifies interest and books meetings for your account executives, working in your CRM under your brand. |
| 3. Expansion Go-to-market partner | How do we scale and bring it in-house? | Ongoing outreach while you hire in the US, with the target lists, talk tracks, data and relationships handed off to your own team when you're ready. |
You can start at any stage. Many companies begin with a Landing Pad project to decide where to focus, then move into a Beachhead program in the segments that respond.
Results for international companies
| Client | Market | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Kamstrup | Water utilities, US and Canada | Market research with more than 1,000 water agencies to learn how they buy and where near-term opportunities were, for the European smart water meter maker |
| Siemens | Municipal and co-op electric utilities | 2,500+ utilities contacted, 5,000+ intelligence data points and 70 qualified meetings |
| Geotab | State and local government fleets | 72 meetings and 44 pipeline opportunities from one 800-account campaign, and 50+ opportunities across campaigns |
Program results supplied by Kensington Sales Group.
Markets we cover
Federal, SLED, K-12 & Higher Ed, Healthcare, Tribal, Special Districts and Utilities. See markets we serve for detail on each.
What to have ready before you enter
- A clear first segment. One or two buyer types where your product has the strongest case. A Landing Pad project can help you choose.
- US-ready product and pricing. US standards and certifications for your category, pricing in US dollars and a plan for support and service in US time zones.
- A domestic-content position. Know whether your product can meet Buy American or Build America, Buy America requirements where they apply, or which waivers or trade agreements might cover it.
- Registrations. For US federal contracts, international companies register in SAM.gov with an NCAGE code. States and localities run their own vendor registrations.
- A way to buy. Direct sales, a US reseller or distributor, a partner that holds a cooperative contract, or a US prime contractor.
- References. Customers at home are useful; your first US agency or utility customer is worth much more, because public buyers trust their peers.
Our guides go deeper: how international companies sell to US government and selling to US utilities from abroad.
Guides by country
We have country-specific guides for 50 countries, covering each one's trade agreement status under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, time zone and practical entry steps. Popular guides: Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, France, Ireland, Denmark. See all countries.
Why KSG
Kensington Sales Group was founded in 2016 in Kensington, Maryland, near Washington, DC, and does nothing but government and utility sales development. Our callers know how agencies and utilities buy, our team includes callers fluent in English and Spanish, and every program produces two things: qualified meetings and market intelligence you can use to plan your US business.