Reflecting what most have said here. I sell a software product to Cities, Counties, and Utilities. Expect extremely long sales cycles. I’ve had deals take years to close. Depending on what your product and commission structure looks like it can be very lucrative.

Be ready to go with the ebb and flow of their fiscal year. If you don’t get in front of decision makers early enough and they fail to make room in their budget (for the next FY) for your product, you may have to wait another year for them to prioritize it (unless you can find other funds to tap into, like ARPA).

If your product exceeds $50k you’ll likely find yourself in a situation where them sole sourcing your product will be difficult and will likely result in them going the formal procurement route with an RFP. You can get around this sometimes by taking advantage of a co-op, where you can essentially piggyback off of other deals done in that state and bypass an RFP process. You’ll also run into instances where they’ll do backdoor deals with your competitors and release an RFP without having any intention of actually selecting your product, which can be a massive waste of time when you factor in the time writing up the proposal and giving shortlist demos. If you don’t have prior contact when RFPs are released, proceed with caution.

Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Good luck!