From Awarded to Active: Key Takeaways from the TXShare Supplier Accelerator

On April 9, 2026, Civic Marketplace and TXShare hosted the first TXShare Supplier Accelerator, a focused, one-hour session designed to help awarded TXShare Suppliers turn their cooperative contracts into active public sector revenue. The session brought together procurement professionals, Civic Marketplace leadership, and two TXShare Suppliers to share what is actually working, what is not, and what suppliers can do differently starting this week.

Here are the key takeaways.

What your TXShare contract actually unlocks

Elisa Littrell, Purchasing Agent at TXShare / NCTCOG and former Chief Procurement Officer at the City of McKinney, opened the session by reframing what it means to hold a TXShare contract.

"Being awarded a TXShare contract is no small accomplishment. You have been evaluated, vetted, and established as a qualified, compliant, ready-to-buy solution for government agencies. That is a big deal."

TXShare contracts are CFR 200 compliant, meaning they meet federal procurement requirements. For government buyers spending grant money, this distinction matters enormously — a contract that does not meet CFR 200 standards still requires a separate bid process, even if a cooperative contract exists. TXShare removes that barrier entirely.

The practical implication for suppliers, according to Lisa, is to lead with outcomes, not compliance mechanics. "There is one sentence that often changes the conversation: you can move forward on this without issuing an RFP." That single line is worth more than ten slides about cooperative contracting.

She also noted something suppliers frequently overlook: not every government buyer knows what a cooperative contract is, even within the same organization. Some departments use them regularly. Others have never heard of them. Knowing who you are talking to before you walk in matters as much as knowing your contract.

Understanding the environment you are selling into

Ron Holifield, President of Civic Marketplace and a former City Manager for 20 years, offered a perspective that most suppliers never get to hear directly.

"The commonality across all of my Fortune 500 clients was that they were clueless about how government actually worked. Most of them did not even understand the difference between a city manager and a mayor."

Ron's framing of how cities are structured was one of the session's most useful reframes. A city is not one customer. It is closer to a multinational holding company, with completely unrelated departments — streets, parks, police, water, library — each with its own buyer, budget, and decision process. Suppliers who approach government as a single entity miss this entirely.

He outlined three principles for effective government sales. 

1. Deliver excellence: Local government is a small club, and a bad reputation travels fast — the parks director in Kentucky will talk to the parks director in Florida. 
2. Nurture authentic relationships: Not transactional ones, but genuine ones. "Just closing the deal is a short-term mentality. Nurturing the relationship is a long-term mentality, but if you build authentic relationships, you will sell a lot more." 
3. Play the long game: Understand their strategic plans, their budget cycles, their political pressures. When you understand where they are going, you can understand how to help them get there.

On the Civic Marketplace profile, Ron was direct: "Think about your profile as location, location, location. If you don't load good information that makes it easy to tell your story, when buyers come in looking and you've got a blank there, they don't go deeper with you." With over 200 buyers searching the platform monthly, a complete and compelling profile is not optional.

Two suppliers, two stories, one shift in common

Andrew Howard, Principal at Team Better Block, has spent 26 years in transportation planning and recently completed his first project through TXShare. His approach has shifted considerably since getting awarded.

"I'm not exactly selling — hey, there's a contract, you can hire me. It's more of: here are some things available in the marketplace to quickly move transportation projects forward. If you had the ability to do those this year, would you want to move forward?"

Andrew's insight was about making his clients look like champions, not just selling a service. Transportation managers want wins they can show their council members. Projects that move faster, cost less, and demonstrate progress. His job is to be the person who makes that possible. He also noted something practical: he has stocked his website with the TXShare logo and references Civic Marketplace in every conversation. "It just legitimizes what we're trying to do. We're part of a new generation of suppliers who want to make procurement easier for everyone."

Nick James, Founder of Whiteglove AI, joined the session from a conference in San Antonio — a fitting detail, given his emphasis on relationship building. His story started differently from Andrew's.

"Starting a startup in AI and robotics, I like to call it holding your breath. You take a giant deep breath, and there's only a limited amount of oxygen. When you come across clients like government, who have extremely long sales cycles, you tend to run out of that oxygen supply very quickly."

Before discovering TXShare, Nick told his whole team they were done with government. It was too slow, too prohibitive, too costly to pursue. The McKinney CIO changed that by introducing him to cooperative contracting. "This is the ultimate cheat code," Nick said. "TXShare and Civic Marketplace — it's really like a breathing tank. It shortens that sales cycle and helps you get to a paid contract a whole lot faster."

His advice for other suppliers was grounded and honest. The profile is a starting point, not a strategy. "It feels like Amazon for civic buyers — but you cannot stop there." What actually moves the needle is being on the road, meeting people, listening to their problems, and building the kind of trust that makes a government buyer feel confident choosing you. "Be patient and ask the right people the right questions. Keep your buyers aware of your contract ID early — they will need it when it comes time to generate a purchase order."

What came up in Q&A

The session's Q&A surfaced several practical questions that are worth noting here.

On using the TXShare and Civic Marketplace logos: Suppliers have full license to use both logos on their websites, in conference materials, and across their marketing. TXShare also provides free marketing materials — flags, signage, and branded assets — for suppliers attending conferences. Request them through the TXShare vendor page.

On approaching government buyers: Both Andrew and Nick recommended going directly to the department buyer rather than starting with the procurement office. Keep them informed of your TXShare membership and your contract ID early, that information is required when a purchase order is generated. Lisa added that reaching out to both the department and the procurement office is worth doing, since procurement staff are already familiar with TXShare and will see your contract as less work, not more.

On CFR 200 compliance and grant funding: Ron highlighted a point that is particularly important for suppliers in technology and infrastructure categories. When a government entity is spending federal grant money, the procurement process must meet CFR 200 standards, even if they are buying locally. All TXShare contracts are built to that standard, which means suppliers on TXShare can serve grant-funded buyers without triggering a separate bid process. This is a significant competitive advantage worth understanding and communicating.

Three things to do this week

Al closed the session with three specific actions for every supplier in attendance.

Audit your Civic Marketplace Supplier Business Profile. Make sure your geographic coverage is accurate, your certifications are listed (SBE, HUB, women-owned, veteran-owned), and you complete as many profile sections as possible. Check that Civic Marketplace emails are not going to your spam folder, timely responses to quote requests matter.

Pick one department in one city and reach out. Lead with what they can accomplish, not with the contract. Take Andrew's approach: what problem are you trying to solve, and how can you help them get a win this year?

Find a procurement conference or event in your region and register. Civic Marketplace maintains an up-to-date events calendar on the supplier page. Get in the room and start building the relationships that close deals.

Watch the full session

The recording of the TXShare Supplier Accelerator is available here:

This is the first in what Civic Marketplace and TXShare plan to build into an ongoing supplier enablement program. Future sessions will focus on specific supplier categories and bring fresh case studies from suppliers who have found their footing in the cooperative model.

If you have questions about your TXShare contract or your Civic Marketplace profile, reach out to the team at [email protected]. Lisa Littrell at TXShare is also available to help suppliers understand their contracts and connect with eligible entities, do not hesitate to reach out.