10 Essential Capture Management Steps to Win More RFP Contracts
Capture Management is the art of research and insight into your client and the opportunity available. Without this, you have nothing. No idea. No plan. No strategy. Nothing. But how do you get started? The perfect approach to Capture Management doesn’t really exist, it is very much a case of trial and error to work out what works best for your business with the results to match.
I start with the basics. Understanding as much as possible about the client. This info I first glean from official documents — corporate plan, policy and process documents, any media — books, websites, podcast, video. The latter is often where I get my best information. And finally any insights, we have as a business from mutual contacts, the wider network and from the team at large.
My first action is always to create what I call a “Bid Bites” document. This is any quote or information I think is relevant which I can find from information online, from the sources listed above. Quotes which relate to the structure or future of the business, from press releases and other formats. Podcasts, interviews and video content. I have had a good deal of success with this in the past. As with a lot of things it will depend on what is available. Large corporations will often have more information online than smaller startups, but it is still a very valuable exercise whatever the size or status of the client you are researching.
My most recent success story utilising this approach was with a startup one of my clients was looking to win an RFP opportunity through. The CEO had recorded a podcast 2 weeks previously where he spoke about:
the growth of the business
how they got started
what was working for them & not
future plans
This information was an absolute gift. Many key areas we all want to understand but can’t get access to those in the right position. Don’t get me wrong, it took a fair few hours to listen, take notes, think about my own strategic angle, and positioning to get it to where I needed it to be. Sometimes you hit gold and sometimes you don’t. In this case, the info gained gave my client more than a strategic edge leading to a winning RFP. This is how you win. Going over and above to find the gold which really does separate you from the competition.
Some of the examples I have given above relate to finding the information and the strategy behind it in terms of practical steps. This for me is where the magic happens, but before you get to this point, there are a few steps which must first be taken. My 10 Steps to essential Capture Management starts here:
STEP ONE: Opportunity Identification
Finding the right opportunity can often be half the battle. The trick is in understanding your ideal client and how you align your business with theirs. You can improve the quality of the opportunities on offer by:
Make sure you are signed up to all relevant portals which you know will be useful to your organisation. This is an ever evolving task which needs to be considered regularly.
Attend industry events and procurement briefings regularly for the clients you are looking to attract.
Build out a pipeline of pre-RFP opportunities especially in established sectors, where you know the contract renewal dates are reliable. Align your organisational goals with this pipeline as this will act as a more effective tracker.
STEP TWO: Opportunity Qualification
This will always come down to whether it is a viable opportunity or not. The bid/no bid analysis is possibly the most important process in the bid cycle. The problem with many an RFP is not the opportunity itself, but more that the business tendering for it is simply not suitable. Qualifying the opportunity is always step number one whatever part of the sales arena you sit within.
The opportunities you are presented with will vary greatly depending upon the business you operate within. RFP opportunities typically come from industry or government procurement portals, the sales team, buying groups and more. The quality and suitability of the opportunities will depend on the strength of other parts of your operation. Understanding the value of this and how to improve upon it is crucially the first step.
Questions you might want to ask yourself include:
Is this a job which suits your capabilities?
Do you have a relationship with the customer?
Can you meet and exceed all technical and contractual requirements?
What is your strategy? Why should you win?
If your bid/no bid analysis is a bit rusty, download my template so you can make changes to your own more easily.
STEP THREE: Relationship Building
Capture starts way before the RFP is dropped. This all comes from an evolved and well organised bid cycle. The understanding and value that business is never won over night. Any form of sales is always about relationship building. No-one is awarding high value contracts to organisations they don’t know. Great capture looks like engaging early with key-decision makers in order to understand the their business, challenges and preferences. Then utilising this knowledge to tailor your solution and messaging to the greatest effect.
Staying ahead of the competition is key. You do this by being pro-active. Connecting with clients regularly not just when you are trying to drum up business. The goal is always to establish trust and demonstrate leadership in your sector, so the client seeks you out.
STEP FOUR: Competitive Analysis
Understanding your own competitive advantage as well as that of your competitors is essential. Understanding who else is likely to bid on an opportunity, and how your business fares in comparison is key. This involves identifying your primary rivals, assessing their strengths and weaknesses (in your view point) and developing how to differentiate your own solution as a competitive advantage. This is where winning starts.
Some of the best strategies to utilise this approach include the analysis of competitors through the SWOT technique. Intelligence gathering on competitors past performance. As well as effective win/loss analysis from similar opportunities. Developing clear win themes and stand out differentiators which highlight value over competition, make winning all the easier.
STEP FIVE: Bespoke Solution
Crafting a bespoke solution to your client is always the best way to convert within the RFP process. Creating a generic proposal is the easiest way to fail. Using all information you have on client need to develop a tailored solution which addresses all core aspects of the RFP to the greatest effect. Making sure to align the solution with all suitable language and evaluation criteria.
Important considerations to factor include within the final submission include whether the solutions answers all points raised, meets with compliance checks and offers a unique proposition which shows true value. Cross-team collaboration is vital at this stage in order to create the most comprehensive proposal possible.
STEP SIX: Partnership Management
Having a partnership agreement with suitable parties already setup is another way of growing business, and creating future opportunities. The option to work as the secondary supplier with another business in your sector is always a winning idea. This can often lead to new contracts and business lines by association. Having this type of partnership agreement already established will create a stronger business relationship and enable more business wins. When you can identify potential partners who can fill capability gaps — especially when many contracts have a multi-discipline approach and don’t offer split lots. This becomes a greater business win in many aspects.
As with all things, the strength of the business will depend upon how those organisations choose to work together, so effective communication will be necessary in order for it to be a success. Choosing potential partners takes time, work and experience. Deliverables for success will include: Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), teaming agreements (TAs) and initial workshare discussions.
STEP SEVEN: Price-to-Win
While there has been a shift from price being the winning factor in business, it is still a factor (obviously). These days alongside quality and technical scores either of an equal weighting or less. Generally speaking not a leading factor as it once was. That said, the pricing strategy still needs to be compelling and realistic. Developing this type of strategy involves an analysis of cost vs profit, current market data and competitor behaviour. Winning a contract which offers no value in any respect to you as a business makes no sense. So be sure to consider all of these factors effectively.
This is often executed by analysing incumbent pricing (where available), running cost models, understanding contract type and future opportunity. The best pricing outcome will always be one which is both competitive and profitable.
STEP EIGHT: Early Engagement
The ideal scenario is always to be on the short list of preferred suppliers before an opportunity drops. Again this comes from relationship building over time, not just at the sniff of new business. Being in a position to influence the opportunity from RFI (Request for Information) stage is the what you should be aiming for. This means our input is valid and required. Putting us in a stronger place when the RFP is issued because we have already made the *unofficial* shortlist to some extent.
When we can engage with the customer early, it means we can help to shape the scope of the opportunity, evaluation criteria and performance metrics. This obviously helps our own position, but also the client because it helps them to understand what is reasonable and what gets rejected.
A business can help increase these opportunities by responding to more RFI requests, getting involved early with PIN (Prior Information Notice) notifications and other early market surveys. As well as sharing white papers and technical documents where appropriate. When you assist in help shaping an RFP in this way it increases the likelihood of a favourable evaluation framework, which benefits all.
STEP NINE: Proposal Planning
In an ideal world, the preparation has been completed in making the proposal submission as easy as possible. This will always be the most important function within the RFP process. Without understanding the client and their needs, you have very little to work with. This is when your proposal goes straight into compliant phase, failing to address the extent of the proposal, and not making it past the first stage.
It is important for capture, bid and sales teams (+ others) to work together effectively to execute on the excellent work carried out in pre-RFP stage. Not the time to take your foot off the gas, but to continue to execute the full range of the bid strategy in order to secure the results needed.
Every RFP needs a bid lead. Passing round a proposal to all stakeholders is never a good idea. Instead all information is fed into one person, then you get the ‘one voice’ approach. It is easy to spot when this has not been the case. Change of nuance, wording, language. It doesn’t flow well and fails to make the impact necessary. It becomes something of a ‘messy’ document. It is not just about the words written but also about how it is all pulled together.
For the best results, utilise an annotated RFP and compliance matrix which is a centralised document tracking the owners for each task. Nothing better than seeing it go from red to green as the RFP approaches completion. Monitor the different sections of the proposal in terms of who is responsible for which section. Adequately communicate the proposal strategy and win themes with all it concerns for the best results.
STEP TEN: RFP Follow-up
Capture Management still continues even once the RFP has been submitted. The internal debrief in many instances is more important than client feedback. We should know ourselves (to some extent) what needs to be improved and how. If we had more time, resource or knowledge. Continuing to track the RFP through evaluation, award and debrief stages is important.
Where possible, you should be looking to engage in constructive communications with the customer (if allowed). Prepare for any clarifications and be looking to arrange a debrief session in order to capture further insights in order to improve for future opportunities. The RFP process is a long game based on improving and refining our practice. There is never an easy fix. Instead it is a game of multi skill which only improves the more we practice.
Next Steps
Capture Management is where the magic happens. It is the driver of all things business development . Proactive vs Reactive gets results. It is the strategic process which starts long before the RFP is released and continues well after submission. When you execute each step well, you have a far greater chance of success. When corners are cut, a lack of investment or no priority is given to this function: you can guess the results. The RFP requires preparation, influence and positioning long before the competition even begins.