Empower Business Growth by Learning How to Scale BD Resources

Scaling your business development (BD) efforts is essential to sustained growth. But scaling isn’t just about taking on more opportunities—it’s about doing so in a way that’s strategic, disciplined, and ready for the unexpected. Whether you’re a small business aiming to break into mid-sized territory or a mid-sized firm targeting larger contracts, knowing how to scale business development efforts effectively can make the difference between success and stagnation.

Start with a Realistic Business Growth Pipeline

One of the most common pitfalls in business development is overextending your resources by pursuing every opportunity that comes your way. Instead, build a realistic, disciplined pipeline aligning with your capabilities and growth objectives. Start by evaluating your current capacity and setting clear criteria for the contracts you should pursue. In Lohfeld Consulting’s experience, companies focusing on a targeted pipeline have a much higher win rate than those spreading themselves too thin. They also avoid employee burnout and turnover caused by over-committing.

Acquire an Adequate Budget to Support the Pipeline

Scaling business development requires investment. Without an adequate budget, even the best-laid plans can fail. This is why allocating funds for proposal development and the entire BD cycle is crucial. A secure, prepared financial plan is the backbone of successful business development.

Hire Highly Qualified BD, Capture, and Proposal Professionals

As your business grows, the complexity of the contracts you pursue will likely increase. Hiring highly qualified and certified business development, capture, and proposal professionals is crucial to managing this complexity effectively. These professionals bring forth expertise, best practices, and a strategic approach, ensuring your bids are compliant and compelling. Certified professionals can help you navigate the intricacies of federal contracting, provide valuable insights into your competition, and craft proposals that stand out to evaluators.

Train Internal Staff to Support Bids and Proposals

Don’t overlook the value of training your internal staff to support BD efforts. Cross-training employees in business development, capture management, and proposal writing increases your team’s overall capacity and provides a deeper support bench when needed. Mentorship programs can be particularly effective in pairing less experienced team members with seasoned professionals to help them grow their capabilities.

Leave Room for the Unexpected

Even the most well-planned strategies can be upended by unforeseen challenges. Perhaps all your high-priority RFPs drop simultaneously, or you experience a losing streak that forces you to bid on more contracts than anticipated. Whatever the scenario, building flexibility into your scaling efforts is crucial. This flexibility could involve having extra proposal writers on standby or setting up master service agreements with firms like Lohfeld Consulting to acquire resources when needed. By preparing for the unexpected, you can respond quickly when challenges arise, ensuring your business remains on track.

Understand Your Capacity to Scale

As you plan your scaling efforts, it’s essential to understand your organization’s capacity to grow. This includes assessing your team’s workload, the availability of resources, and your ability to maintain quality while expanding your operations. Scaling too quickly without the necessary support can lead to burnout, missed deadlines, and declining proposal quality. Regularly evaluate your capacity and adjust as needed. This might involve staggering your growth plans, bringing in temporary support, or pausing specific initiatives to ensure your core operations remain strong.

Conclusion

Scaling business development is not just about growth—it’s about sustainable, strategic development that prepares your business for the challenges and opportunities ahead. By starting with a disciplined pipeline, ensuring you have an adequate budget, hiring certified professionals, and leaving room for the unforeseen, you can empower your business to grow confidently and effectively. Remember, the key to successful scaling is planning, budgeting, and preparing so your business can achieve new heights in the federal contracting space.

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By Brenda Crist, Vice President at Lohfeld Consulting Group, MPA, CPP APMP Fellow

Lohfeld Consulting Group has proven results specializing in helping companies create winning captures and proposals. As the premier capture and proposal services consulting firm focused exclusively on government markets, we provide expert assistance to government contractors in Capture Planning and Strategy, Proposal Management and Writing, Capture and Proposal Process and Infrastructure, and Training. In the last 3 years, we’ve supported over 550 proposals winning more than $170B for our clients—including the Top 10 government contractors. Lohfeld Consulting Group is your “go-to” capture and proposal source! Start winning by contacting us at www.lohfeldconsulting.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube^(TM).