How to identify the right partners for public sector sales

In the public sector, the right partnership can be the difference between unlocking multi-million pound contracts - or being locked out of the market entirely. In this article, we break down how to use hard data to find the right partner(s) and/or reseller(s) for your public sector go-to-market strategy.

Skip ahead to read about:

• Why are partners important in public sector sales?

• How to select the right partner for your business
• How to keep tabs on existing partnerships
• Conclusion
  
  

👫 Why are partners important in public sector sales?

Partnerships aren’t just convenient - they’re often essential. Here’s why:

• Framework access: Many public sector contracts are awarded through frameworks. If you’re not on the right one, you’ll be locked out. Partnering with a company that already has framework access can get you through the door.

• Credibility and trust: Buyers want proven delivery capacity. Partnering with a well-known supplier can boost your reputation and reassure risk-averse buyers.

• Buyer requirements: All Central Government Departments have targets for direct spending with SMEs. Similarly, an increasing number of contracts are set-aside for local firms. Partnering with eligible firms can help you meet these buyer requirements.

• Stronger bids: Public sector projects are increasingly complex. Partners allow you to present an end-to-end solution that combines your strengths.

• Network expansion: A partner can introduce you to new buyers, markets, and regions you couldn’t reach on your own.

• Shared risk: Delivering public contracts is high-stakes. Partnerships can help spread financial and operational risks, ensuring resilience.

In short: partnerships unlock opportunities you’d struggle to secure solo.

Dive into the data behind the Public Sector Value-Added Reseller Market

💼 How to select the right partner(s) for your business

Depending on your goals, the right partner might:

• Maintain strong existing relationships with your target accounts

• Hold places on the frameworks those buyers rely on

• Demonstrate a proven track record of winning business with them

• Show clear growth and momentum in public sector sales

In this section, we’ll break down the key data-led factors to assess before you move on to softer considerations like culture and fit - and show you how to pinpoint partners that meet these criteria.

🏛️ How to find a partner with existing relationships with your target accounts

The first step is to build a data-led list of target accounts. This helps you understand where to focus and who the right partners might be.

Start by using a public sector market intelligence tool to identify:

• Which verticals and buyers spend the most in your niche

• Which verticals are growing fastest in your sector

• Which buyers have upcoming contract expiries in your niche

You may also want to consider additional factors such as:

• Who the incumbent suppliers are

• Where buyers are based

• The value of incumbent contracts

• Which accounts have signalled early buying intentions (e.g. in meetings, strategy papers, or procurement pipelines)

Once you’ve created your target account list, you can pinpoint the right partners or resellers by discovering:

• Which frameworks those buyers use - and which firms already hold places on them

• Which suppliers are already embedded in those accounts - and how long they’ve been winning work there (a proven revenue track record signals trusted relationships)
  
  

🔎 How to find a partner on the right frameworks

Relationships are only half the battle. Even if a supplier is well-trusted within an account, you’ll struggle to win work together if they can’t access the frameworks your buyers actually procure through. The next step, then, is to map framework coverage.

Start by identifying which frameworks your target buyers rely on in your sector. With more than 4,000 live public sector frameworks, this isn’t straightforward - usage varies by region, vertical, and even individual authority. Many buyers depend on niche frameworks that others barely touch.

From there, look at which suppliers are listed on those frameworks.

Many established suppliers make this information public. For example, Bytes has a dedicated webpage listing its framework memberships, along with a guide to the scope of each.

While this method won’t show you whether a supplier is actively winning work - or how often a framework is being used - it does give you a useful comparative view of which firms are on which frameworks, provided you’re willing to invest some time into research.

👉 With Tussell, you can see the hard data on exactly which frameworks your target buyers rely on - and which suppliers are actually winning through them. This makes it far easier to identify the right partners and build relationships that unlock future opportunities.

Want to know more? Speak to our sales team to see how Tussell can help you pinpoint the frameworks and partners that matter most.

📈 How to find a partner with a growth trajectory in the public sector

Relationships and frameworks can open doors - but you also need to know whether your partner has momentum. A partner who isn’t growing may hold you back. That’s where analysing their growth trajectory becomes essential.

Start by using a market intelligence tool to track your prospective partner’s revenue from the public sector - both overall and within the strategic verticals that matter most to you.

Next, dig into their contract award history. Ask yourself:

• Is their pipeline growing or stalling? Look at the trend in the value and volume of new contract wins over time.

• Are they securing repeat business? Frequent contract extensions and reprocurements signal strong performance and trusted relationships with buyers.

• Are they moving into new areas? Expanding into fresh categories or departments suggests momentum and strategic ambition.

• Are they securing business in your chosen vertical? Many larger firms operate across numerous service lines - check their contract awards to see if their public sector growth is actually relevant to your ambitions.

By combining revenue trends with award-level insights, you can separate partners with genuine growth trajectories from those standing still.

⚖️ How to keep tabs on existing partnerships

Securing a partnership is only half the battle - the real challenge is making sure it continues to deliver value. This is especially true if you’re relying on partners as your primary point of access to the public sector.

To avoid missed opportunities, you need visibility on your partners’ activity. A market intelligence tool can help you:

• Track upcoming contract renewals – so you know when re-bid opportunities are on the horizon.

• Monitor recent contract awards – to see where your partner is gaining traction, and whether you should be part of the conversation.

• Analyse public sector revenue trends – to confirm that their footprint in your target markets is growing, not shrinking.

• Keep an eye on their framework memberships – if your partner misses a key framework renewal, they're likely to be locked out of future awards.

By monitoring these signals, you can stay connected to every opportunity that matters - and step in early if a partnership isn’t delivering value or keeping you in the loop when opportunities for your business arise. 

🌟 Conclusion: making partnerships work for you

For many firms, partnerships are one of the most effective - and sometimes essential - routes into the public sector market.

The right partner can unlock frameworks, extend your credibility, and open doors to buyers and opportunities you couldn’t access alone. But success doesn’t come from chance encounters or gut feel - it comes from using hard data to identify, evaluate, and manage those partnerships.

By taking a data-led approach, you can:

• Pinpoint the partners who hold the right frameworks and relationships.

• Validate that they’re on a genuine growth trajectory.

• Keep tabs on their contract wins, renewals, and revenue trends to ensure the partnership keeps delivering.

This level of intelligence gives you the confidence to invest in the right relationships - and the clarity to course-correct when a partnership isn’t performing.

👉 With Tussell, you can do all of this in one place. From uncovering potential partners and resellers to tracking their market activity and staying ahead of renewal cycles, Tussell gives you the insight you need to build partnerships that win in the public sector.

Ready to find out which partners could transform your public sector go-to-market strategy? Speak to our sales team.