Manually pulling federal opportunities from SAM.gov is one of those small, repetitive tasks that quietly steals hours from a capture team every week. Open the site, search by NAICS, click the opportunity, scroll for the attachments, download each one, rename them, drop them in SharePoint, copy the metadata into your proposal tool. Multiply by 30 opportunities per week and you have an analyst's full day disappearing into clicks. Proposal Connect reduces the entire flow to three clicks once SAM.gov is connected. Here is exactly how it works.
Key Takeaways
- 1 Once SAM.gov is connected, importing an opportunity takes three clicks: open Capture, find the opportunity, click Import.
- 2 Imported records include solicitation metadata, all attachments, contracting office, and POCs - ready for AI analysis and gate reviews.
- 3 Bulk import and saved filters let a single analyst sweep 50+ daily opportunities and triage them into the pipeline in minutes.
One-Time Setup: Connect SAM.gov
Before the three-click import works, you need to connect your SAM.gov API key once. This takes about two minutes.
- Go to sam.gov/data-services and request a free API key. Approval is usually immediate for registered SAM.gov users.
- In Proposal Connect, open Settings > Integrations > SAM.gov.
- Paste the API key, click Authenticate, and confirm the connection status flips to green.
Need a deeper walkthrough? See How to Connect SAM.gov with Proposal Connect.
The Three Clicks
With SAM.gov connected, every federal opportunity you want to track is three clicks away from your capture pipeline.
From the sidebar, click Capture. The discovery view loads with live SAM.gov opportunities filtered by your saved preferences (NAICS, set-aside, agency, posted date). If this is your first visit, set up a default filter set so you do not start from a blank firehose.
Scan the opportunity cards. Each card shows the title, agency, NAICS, set-aside, posted date, and response deadline. Click the card you want. A side panel opens with the full SAM.gov description, contacting office, attachments list, and POCs.
Click the Import button. Proposal Connect pulls the solicitation record, downloads every attachment (PDFs, DOCX, ZIP archives), creates a new solicitation in your pipeline, and runs the files through the AI ingestion layer so they are ready for analysis. You see a confirmation toast and the opportunity appears on your capture board.
That's it. The opportunity is now a tracked solicitation. From here you can run RFP analysis, build a compliance matrix, kick off a Go/No-Go gate review, or assign it to a capture manager.
What Actually Gets Imported
The Import button is not a shallow link to SAM.gov. It pulls the full record into your account so you have everything offline and AI-ready.
Solicitation Metadata
Solicitation number, title, type (RFP/RFQ/RFI/IFB), full description, posted and response dates.
Classification
Primary NAICS, PSC, classification code, place of performance.
Set-Aside Detail
Set-aside type (8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB, total small business, full and open) preserved on the record.
Contracting Office
Department, agency, sub-agency, and office hierarchy with addresses.
Points of Contact
Contracting officer, specialist, and program POCs with email and phone, mapped to CRM contacts.
Attachments
Every PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and ZIP linked to the opportunity, downloaded and stored under the solicitation.
AI-Ready Embeddings
Imported documents are processed for the knowledge base so RFP analysis runs immediately.
SAM.gov Link
Original SAM.gov notice ID kept on the record so amendments and Q&A can be re-pulled later.
Pipeline Placement
Auto-added to the capture board at the right pipeline stage so capture managers see it immediately.
Filter Before You Import
SAM.gov publishes thousands of opportunities every day. Without filters, the discovery view is noise. Set up filters once and your team only sees what is worth importing.
NAICS Code Filter
Filter by your registered NAICS list. Capture only opportunities you are eligible to bid on.
Set-Aside Filter
Match opportunities to your certifications - 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB, total small business.
Agency Filter
Track specific departments or agencies where you have past performance and relationships.
Date Filters
Posted date and response deadline filters keep stale or already-closed opportunities out of view.
Bulk Import for Daily Sweeps
For larger BD teams running daily SAM.gov sweeps, single-opportunity imports are fine but slow. Multi-select and batch import lets one analyst process the whole day's matches in minutes.
- Apply your filter set in the discovery view.
- Multi-select opportunities by checking the box on each card.
- Click the bulk Import action in the toolbar. Each opportunity becomes its own solicitation in the pipeline.
Pair this with daily filter sets and your capture team can keep a complete pipeline view without anyone touching SAM.gov directly.
What to Do Right After Import
Importing an opportunity is the start of capture, not the end. The next moves are:
- Run RFP analysis. The AI agent reads the solicitation and produces a structured summary - scope, evaluation criteria, key dates, set-asides, incumbent signals.
- Build the compliance matrix. One click extracts Section L/M requirements and traces them to proposal sections.
- Run a Go/No-Go gate review. Score the opportunity against pursuit criteria before you commit B&P resources.
- Look up the incumbent. If a current vendor is named, run the vendor analyzer for instant intel on their active contracts and capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I import a SAM.gov opportunity into Proposal Connect?
Three clicks once SAM.gov is connected. Open the Capture page, find the opportunity in the discovery feed, and click Import. Proposal Connect pulls the solicitation, attachments, points of contact, NAICS, set-aside, and key dates into your pipeline.
Do I need a SAM.gov API key?
Yes. Request a free key at sam.gov/data-services and paste it into Settings > Integrations > SAM.gov. The key is stored on your account and never leaves it.
What gets imported with an opportunity?
Solicitation number, title, description, dates, NAICS, PSC, set-aside, place of performance, contracting office, points of contact, and every attachment. Documents are processed for AI analysis automatically.
Can I filter SAM.gov opportunities before importing?
Yes. Filter by NAICS, PSC, set-aside type, agency, location, posted date, and response deadline. Save common filter sets so daily sweeps take seconds.
Can I bulk import multiple opportunities at once?
Yes. Multi-select opportunities and import them as a batch. Each becomes its own solicitation in the pipeline.
What happens after I import?
The opportunity becomes a tracked solicitation. You can run AI RFP analysis, build a compliance matrix, run a Go/No-Go review, generate proposal sections, and assign team members. The original SAM.gov notice ID is kept so amendments can be re-pulled.
How is this different from manually downloading from SAM.gov?
Manual download means visiting SAM.gov, locating the opportunity, downloading each attachment one at a time, creating folders, and re-keying metadata. Proposal Connect does all of this in one click and links the result directly into AI analysis, gate reviews, and compliance workflows.
Stop Hunting Through SAM.gov by Hand
Connect SAM.gov once and import federal opportunities into your pipeline in three clicks. Filters, bulk import, and AI-ready ingestion built in.
Disclosure: This article is published by Technuf LLC, the company behind Proposal Connect. SAM.gov is a public federal system; Proposal Connect uses the official SAM.gov data services API to pull opportunity data on behalf of authenticated users. Product capabilities referenced were accurate as of April 2026.