Got Certified? Now What: 7 Strategies to Actually Win Contracts After Certification

1. Treat Your Certification Like a Marketing Campaign, Not a Trophy

The day you receive your certification, start telling everyone about it. And I mean everyone.

Immediate actions:

• Add your certification logo to your website header, email signature, business cards, and all marketing materials
• Issue a press release (yes, this still works for local media and industry publications)
• Post on LinkedIn with a personal story about why this certification matters to your business
• Email your existing customers—some of them may have supplier diversity programs you didn't know about
• Update your profiles on every procurement platform and database you're registered with

Your certification is a tool, not a trophy. Tools only work when you use them.

2. Build Relationships with Supplier Diversity Professionals (They're Your Advocates)

Here's something most suppliers don't understand: the supplier diversity professional at a corporation is not a gatekeeper—they're your internal champion.

Ted Archer from JPMorgan Chase put it perfectly: "Once you have [certification], you have to proactively develop relationships with the companies you want to do business with."

Supplier diversity professionals have one job: help their company find and work with qualified diverse suppliers. They want you to succeed because your success is their success.

How to build these relationships:

• Attend certification body conferences (NMSDC, WBENC, NGLCC, etc.) where supplier diversity pros are actively looking for suppliers
• Participate in matchmaking events—yes, the speed-dating format actually works
• Connect on LinkedIn with a personalized message about your capabilities
• Follow up after every interaction with a thank-you note and your capability statement

Remember: you're not selling to these people directly. You're earning their trust so they'll recommend you when the right opportunity comes up.

3. Master the Capability Statement (Your 30-Second Pitch on Paper)

If you don't have a professional capability statement, stop reading this article and create one immediately. This single document is the most important sales tool in your arsenal.

A capability statement is a one-page overview of your business designed specifically for corporate procurement. It should include:

• Core competencies: What you do, in specific terms (not "we provide solutions")
• Differentiators: Why you're better or different than alternatives
• Company data: DUNS number, CAGE code, NAICS codes, certifications
• Past performance: Relevant clients and projects (with permission)
• Contact information: Easy-to-find details

Format matters. Use professional design. Include your certification logos prominently. Keep it to one page—procurement officers review dozens of these.

• Create or update your capability statement
• Have it professionally designed (Canva templates work fine)
• Include all relevant certification logos
• Add 2-3 relevant past performance examples
• Keep it to exactly one page
• Save as PDF for easy sharing

4. Register on Every Corporate Supplier Portal That Matters to You

Here's a frustrating reality: many corporations will only consider suppliers who are registered in their specific supplier portal. If you're not in the system, you don't exist.

I recommend creating a list of your top 20-30 target corporations and registering with every single one. Yes, it's tedious. Yes, you'll enter the same information repeatedly. But this is table stakes.

Tips for supplier portal success:

• Use the exact same company information across all portals (consistency helps with data matching)
• Choose NAICS codes carefully—select all that genuinely apply to your business
• Write a compelling company description with keywords buyers might search
• Update your profiles at least quarterly to show you're active
• If the portal allows attachments, upload your capability statement

Pro tip: Many certification bodies (like NMSDC and WBENC) maintain their own databases that corporations search. Make sure your profile there is complete and current.

5. Take the Long View (This Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint)

One of the biggest mistakes I see is suppliers expecting immediate results. The reality? Building a book of corporate business typically takes 12-24 months of consistent effort.

As one supplier diversity professional told me: "You're not going to get overnight success solely by virtue of being a small or diverse business. But over time, you'll have the potential to win contracts and build and grow your business."

The companies that succeed treat supplier diversity as a business development channel, not a lottery ticket. They:

• Set realistic timelines (first contract within 12-18 months)
• Track their outreach and follow up systematically
• Build relationships before they need them
• Keep their certifications current and their profiles updated
• Continue serving existing customers excellently (references matter)

6. Leverage Tier 2 Opportunities (The Back Door to Big Companies)

If you can't get a direct contract with a Fortune 500 company, consider the Tier 2 route: become a subcontractor to their existing suppliers.

Here's how it works: large corporations often require their prime contractors to use diverse subcontractors and report on that spending. This creates demand for diverse suppliers at a level below direct procurement.

To find Tier 2 opportunities:

• Research who the prime contractors are for your target corporations
• Contact those prime contractors and ask about their diverse subcontracting needs
• Attend industry events where prime contractors speak or exhibit
• Position yourself as a solution to their diversity requirements

Tier 2 relationships often lead to Tier 1 contracts down the road, once you've proven your capabilities and built a track record.

7. Join the Community (Other Suppliers Are Allies, Not Competitors)

One of the underutilized benefits of certification is access to a community of fellow diverse business owners. These aren't your competitors—they're your allies.

Other certified suppliers can:

• Recommend you for opportunities outside their scope
• Partner with you on contracts too large for either company alone
• Share intelligence about corporate buyers and what they're looking for
• Provide referrals when they hear about relevant opportunities
• Offer mentorship based on their own experience

Attend chapter meetings, participate in online forums, and build genuine relationships with other certified businesses. The supplier diversity community is more collaborative than you might expect.

The Bottom Line

Your certification opened a door. Walking through it requires consistent effort, relationship building, and a commitment to playing the long game.

The strategies in this article aren't secrets—they're just the work that most suppliers skip because it's not glamorous. But the suppliers who do this work consistently are the ones filling their pipelines with corporate opportunities.

Start today. Update your capability statement. Register with one supplier portal. Send one outreach email. Then do it again tomorrow.

The work compounds. And eventually, the contracts come.