Proposal Management

How New Offerors Can Outperform Incumbents and Win

By Brenda Crist, March 10, 2026

Think about the last contract you lost to an incumbent. At what point did you know you were behind? The honest answer is usually before the customer releases the RFP. Incumbents do not win on proposal quality alone—they win because challengers let them control the customer relationship, the requirements, and the competitive narrative.