Good capture managers are known for their business and technical skills, understanding of complex government requirements, and intimate knowledge of their company’s competencies.

But outstanding capture managers have at least one other asset: an innate drive to win.

Q: What is capture management?

Lohfeld: Capture management is everything a company does to raise its win probability between the time it decides to pursue an expected government contract and the time the RFP is released…

No proposal is ever perfect. Every company executive wishes he or she had just a few more days to tweak the last sections. But after the proposal goes out the door, it is time to reflect on what did or did not go well in the proposal process and what could have been done to improve the outcome. A review of lessons learned is a valuable step in improving proposal development efficiency and raising your win probability on the next bid.

Proposal activities in the government market generally peak in the summer months. The requests for proposals that we have been waiting for all year seem to drop at that time. To handle the peaks and valleys in proposal workload, get additional proposal expertise for must-win procurements or get a fresh view on how to present their solutions, companies reach out to proposal consultants. When you need help from proposal consultants, here are some things you should keep in mind.

Two industry veterans on what companies should try to learn at the debriefing after losing a contract bid

Small businesses with big aspirations often look to government for sales opportunities, but the size of that government-sales undertaking can be overwhelming.

Yes, smaller jobs may be sold to government through a simple purchase order, but true success in getting government business takes more. To become established as a trusted government contractor, your company must be prepared for a resource-intensive process that might take as long as two years. The commitment is big, but the successes can be even bigger.

Win or lose, you are entitled to receive a debriefing from the government to help you understand the basis for an award decision. You must request your debriefing in writing within three days after receiving notification of contract award, otherwise your request might be declined.

Independent reviews ensure that proposals are compliant and responsive to the request for proposals. They also guarantee that proposals are feature-rich and technically and politically sound. Reviews should begin early in the proposal process and continue throughout proposal development. Each review builds quality into the proposal. When done well, reviews raise your competitiveness and increase your win probability.

The victory celebration is almost over, and people are starting to say it’s time to get to work on the new contract. All the parties involved have raised their glasses and toasted to the many contributions made by all the players: the business development, capture and proposal teams. All players deserve a share of the glory that accrues to the winner, and yet there is this nagging feeling that we should put away the champagne glasses and begin preparing to perform the newly awarded contract. For the next five years, it is the operations team that has to carry the ball and fulfill all the promises we made in our proposal.