Recompete Wars: How to Stay Indispensable to Customers

Every year, about 20% of a company’s contracts must be recompeted, making recompetes a critical part of maintaining and growing your government business. However, winning a recompete isn’t just about submitting another proposal—it’s about proving your long-term value and staying ahead of the competition.

So, what’s the biggest factor in helping to win a recompete? To find out, we conducted a poll across multiple LinkedIn groups, gathering insights from 257 respondents in the bid and proposal community. Here’s how they ranked the most important factors:

• 45%: Proactive Positioning
• 38%: Strong Past Performance
• 10%: Better Pricing Strategy
• 7%: High Customer Ratings

Key Takeaways from the Results

Proactive Positioning (45%) – The top-ranked factor, proactive positioning, highlights the importance of shaping the customer’s perception of your company long before the recompete begins. This includes building strong relationships, influencing acquisition strategies, and reinforcing your company’s strengths through targeted engagement and strategic marketing.

Strong Past Performance (38%) – Nearly as critical as proactive positioning, past performance proves that your company has successfully delivered in the past and can be trusted to do so again. Government evaluators want measurable results, innovation, and consistency—all of which should be effectively documented and communicated in your proposal.

Better Pricing Strategy (10%) – While pricing is essential, offering a lower price won’t guarantee a win. Instead, pricing should be part of a broader strategy that aligns with the customer’s budget, demonstrates cost-effectiveness, and reinforces your competitive advantage.

High Customer Ratings (7%) – While positive customer feedback is valuable, it isn’t the most decisive factor in securing a recompete win. However, strong relationships and satisfied customers can be powerful references and differentiators in a competitive environment.

How to Use These Insights to Secure Your Next Recompete Win

Start Positioning Early – A recompete win begins before the RFP is released. Stay engaged with the customer, influence the acquisition strategy where possible, and ensure your value proposition is clear and compelling.

Differentiate Your Value – Don’t assume incumbency gives you an automatic advantage. Instead, focus on your discriminators, including new innovations, efficiencies, cost savings, and customer benefits.

Leverage Past Performance – Showcase quantifiable success stories, customer testimonials, and key performance indicators (KPIs) that prove why your company is the best choice for continued contract performance.

Align Pricing with Value – While better pricing alone isn’t the key to winning, your pricing strategy should reflect the value and efficiencies your company offers.

Conclusion

Winning a recompete requires more than just submitting a proposal—it demands strategic, proactive positioning, compelling past performance, and a clear demonstration of value. Taking a long-term, relationship-driven approach and addressing the key factors that matter most to evaluators can increase your chances of securing your recompete—and ensuring your company’s continued success.

Relevant Information

• The Champion’s Playbook: Defending Your Incumbent Contract Against New Challengers

• The Decline of the Incumbent Empire

• The end of the incumbent empire – 10 ways to unseat the incumbent

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).