Visibility & access to opportunities: “on the framework” ≠ “on the buyer’s radar”

I hear this a lot: “We’re on the framework—buyers will find us.” They won’t. Being listed makes you eligible, not visible. If you want call-offs, you have to market like a grown-up supplier, keep your storefronts discoverable, and be present where opportunities actually appear: portals, supplier days, soft-market tests, and the desks of real people inside councils, schools, MATs, NHS trusts and blue-light services.

Here’s the playbook I use with clients to turn “we’re on it” into “we’re invited.”

Where buyers look (and how to show up there)

1) Framework storefronts (catalogues & supplier finders).
CCS, YPO, NHS SBS, Everything ICT etc. all expose some form of supplier finder, lot catalogue or search filter. Treat this like SEO:

Use the exact keywords buyers search (mirror the lot wording, not your internal jargon).
Populate regions/coverage accurately; councils/MATs filter by geography first.
Keep contact details current and named (a real person, not “info@”).
Maintain catalogue SKUs and descriptions; test that a buyer can filter to your offer and actually land on you.
Upload current case studies by sector (school, LA, NHS) with dates and outcomes. Stale = invisible.

2) Opportunity portals.
Mini-competitions land in Jaggaer, Atamis, Proactis, SAP Ariba (framework-specific), while open competitions surface on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. You need:

A watchlist per portal, per lot, with alerts turned on to a monitored inbox (not a black hole).
Saved searches by keywords, CPV codes, location, and contract value.
Daily triage habit: 10 minutes each morning to tag Go / Park / No-go and raise clarifications early.

3) Pipelines & expiries.
Call-offs don’t happen in a vacuum. Forward plans, cabinet papers, school/MAT board minutes and public notices all leak timelines:

Track contract expiries in your target sectors; build a 6–12 month view.
Use soft-market tests and PINs to get in early (legal and welcomed).
Keep a rolling “Top 50 institutions” list with last known contract, incumbent (if known), expiry, and framework route.

What “marketing to the public sector” actually looks like

No fluff. No spammy blasts. Be useful and specific.

Account-based micro-marketing (ABM).
Pick 30–50 institutions you can serve brilliantly. For each:

A one-page buyer brief: their estate, drivers, risks, and what “good” means for them.
A lot-mapped offer sheet: scope in/out, how a call-off would work, mobilisation, measurable outcomes, and social value tied to their place.
Three evidenced caselets (200–300 words) closest to their context.
A light intro sequence: 1) value email (no brochure dump), 2) LinkedIn connection with a useful note, 3) invite to a short clinic/webinar on their theme (e.g., “DBS-safe mobilisations in term time”).

Thought leadership with teeth.
Write to the problems evaluators score: safeguarding mobilisation, TUPE risk, OOH resilience, CE+/data handling, place-based social value. Publish short, precise posts and one-pagers with checklists—no waffle. Then point them at your framework route (how to buy you in two steps).

Supplier days & soft-market testing.
Show up prepared. Five sharp questions beat a ten-minute sales pitch:

What outcomes will be measured at call-off?
What constraints (sites, access, term dates, clearances) should bidders plan around?
Which framework lots/routes are you considering—and why?
How will social value be scored and reported locally?
Are there dependencies on existing tooling/licences we should price for?

You’re not selling; you’re shaping a spec you can deliver safely.

Fix your discoverability (internal hygiene that buyers feel)

Website buyer pages. Create a page per framework lot you’re on. Use the exact lot name, list regions, show the route to buy (two steps), add three relevant caselets, and a named contact.
Schema & basics. Clear H1, meta title with lot keywords, fast load, accessible PDF links.
Email deliverability. If you’re emailing public sector domains, make sure SPF/DKIM/DMARC are clean and your sending domain has a reputation. One bad campaign and you’re in the bin.
Collateral discipline. One current capability deck (10 slides), one one-page intro per lot, one two-page mobilisation plan. That’s it. Keep them signed, dated and consistent with your framework entries.

Relationship building (ethical, compliant, effective)

You can and should speak to buyers outside live competitions—professionally and transparently.

Pre-market conversations after a PIN or supplier day are fair game; the rule is equal access, not silence. Share constraints, risks, and ideas that would help them run a cleaner call-off.
Peer routes: estates managers, headteachers, ICT leads, category managers—map who influences the call-off and tailor value accordingly.
Partners: team with complementary SMEs for regions or cover (one lead, one sub), or buddy with an incumbent for transition resilience if that’s the local priority.
Post-delivery advocacy: seek a short testimonial while the result is fresh (with outcomes and dates). Social proof fuels visibility better than any ad.

The 30 / 60 / 90-day visibility plan

Days 0–30 — Make yourself findable

Audit and fix every framework entry: keywords, regions, contacts, SKUs, case studies.
Stand up a portal watchlist with daily alerts (Jaggaer/Atamis/Proactis/Ariba + Contracts Finder + Find a Tender).
Publish a buyer page per lot on your site with the route to buy and three sector caselets.
Build your Top 50 institutions list with expiries and framework routes.

Days 31–60 — Start the conversation

Run an ABM intro campaign to 30 priority institutions: two useful touches + one invite to a short clinic.
Attend at least two supplier days or SMT sessions; log intel into your opportunity sheet.
Release one useful one-pager (e.g., “DBS-safe term-time mobilisation”) and share it directly with relevant institutions—no fluff, no attachments bombs.

Days 61–90 — Convert visibility into invites

Host a 30-minute open clinic on a scored theme (risk, social value, OOH resilience). Keep it practical; publish the recording.
Schedule intro calls where there’s a near-term expiry or active soft-market test.
Refresh your caselets with measurable outcomes; push the best two into your framework storefronts.

Metrics that actually matter

Invites received to mini-competitions per quarter (by lot, by sector).
Visibility checks: can a stranger find you on the framework finder using three obvious filters? Run this monthly.
ABM engagement: replies, meetings, clinic attendance, not just email opens.
Pipeline quality: number of targets with known expiry + framework route + named contact.
Conversion at each stage: invite → submission → award.

If a month passes with zero invites and you’re “on the right frameworks,” it’s not the market—it’s your visibility.

Common myths to bin today

“Direct awards will find us.” Maybe, occasionally. Most buyers run a mini-competition; design for that reality.
“We can’t talk to buyers.” You can—outside a live competition and inside a fair process. Supplier days and soft-market tests exist for a reason.
“Once our profile is up, we’re done.” Profiles decay. Treat storefronts like a product: release notes and owners.
“Marketing is for B2C.” In public procurement, clear, buyer-centric comms is half the sale.

Bottom line

Frameworks give you a door key; visibility gets you over the threshold. Keep your storefronts discoverable, show up in the right portals with a daily triage habit, and market with relevance to real institutions in real places. Do that consistently and invites to call-offs stop being luck—they become the predictable result of a system you control.