How do I write past performance when all my clients are commercial?

Your commercial past performance absolutely counts for federal proposals, and you can write about it by focusing on the scope and results of the work you performed for those clients. The FAR allows offerors to submit past performance information on contracts awarded by federal, state, and local governments, as well as by commercial customers (FAR 15.305(a)(2)(ii)). You need to describe the work in detail, showing how it relates to the services requested in the RFP, including the contract value, period of performance, and the outcomes you achieved. When clients are unwilling to sign a questionnaire, you can offer to fill it out for them to review and sign, or ask if they would prefer to provide a letter of recommendation on company letterhead. If they still refuse, you can submit the contact information for a client representative and explain in your proposal that the client was unable to complete the questionnaire, but is available for direct contact by the government. The government can reach out to your references directly to verify your performance.

Your commercial work certainly counts as past performance, and you should ensure your narrative clearly outlines how your commercial experience aligns with the requirements of the federal RFP. The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract, for instance, is continuously open for offers, and when my firm submitted our initial offer, we provided detailed descriptions of our commercial help desk contracts, including the scope, the technology stack, and the performance metrics we achieved. The government evaluates past performance to assess an offeror's likelihood of successful contract performance, and this includes commercial references, as Marcus mentioned. If a client is truly unable to complete a questionnaire, you can submit a narrative and provide the client's contact information. However, be aware that the contracting officer may give less weight to past performance without direct client verification.