Capture Management Takes Plenty of Time

It’s been quite a while since my last blog entry. Hence the title of this post.

As is typical of most new business pursuits, the positioning phase generally takes the majority of time within the capture cycle. Think of it in terms of writing a good manuscript, and then having it published later. To the point your likely to spend the better part of the year doing the following:

• Establishing the overall win strategy
• Creating a well defined call plan
• Defining a very clear message to be delivered in the call plan
• Identifying the best people within the organization, or within your strategic partners to implement the call plan
• Adjusting your messaging based on the customer(s) responses
• Assessing the best advertising medium
• Modifying your capture plan along the way
• Fine tuning your team along the way
• Evolving the win strategy
• Determining key people, in particular your Program Manager

For the most part these are aspects of your capture effort that take significant time to mature. When coupled with the level of competition in today’s federal markets, it is extremely wise to begin the capture process as early as possible.

As a general rule, a minimum of 12 months is needed for programs up to $50 million, and 18 months is needed for programs over $100 million. Although the volume of contracts is geared more toward large IDIQ multiple award programs, you still should be identifying the targets in your pipeline early enough to effectively implement a successful capture strategy.

Give yourself the proper time to capture , and you’ll see your  win percentage improve dramatically.