As an incumbent, business development (BD) activities during the contract period are just as crucial, if not more so, than the efforts made when responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP). These ongoing BD efforts are vital for two primary reasons: they help maximize the profitability of the current contract and prepare the company for a successful recompete. There are three main BD objectives for incumbent contracts: 1) achieving the business case goals set for the opportunity, 2) identifying and exploiting opportunities for contract growth, and 3) preparing effectively for the contract recompete.

A key element of capturing new work is Resource Management; ensuring that the necessary resources, including personnel, technology, and financial stability, are available to perform the contract fully. Financial stability (consistent cash flow, adequate reserves, access to credit, etc.) prevents a number of issues, from schedule delays to labor challenges, and reduces exposure to penalties and damages due to contract non-compliance.

It’s important for Business Development (BD) leaders to capture the metrics necessary for properly managing the BD activity. Not all BD leaders do, and many succumb to a common pitfall of only capturing the metrics necessary for completing briefing or status charts. Consequently, BD leaders tend to manage the BD activity to those metrics, missing important information that would have been useful if known.

Strategic Planning is a business process used for assessing an organization’s position; establishing goals; creating a plan to achieve those goals; allocating resources; and evaluating success.

There are several commercially available publications, companion guides and handbooks for training or supporting Capture Management. However, most are thin when it comes to meaningful content, meaning analysis, strategy development or solutioning.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is often colloquially referred to as the “bible’ for government contracting. Given its critical importance, one might reasonably expect that all Business Development (BD) professionals, particularly those in leadership roles or serving as Capture Managers, would possess a functional understanding of it.

A new trend has emerged in how companies are recruiting and selecting Business Development professionals. In an effort to be more selective, companies are requiring applicants to provide more and more detailed histories on bid and proposal activities.

Capture tools serve as instruments to communicate vital information to leadership and stakeholders.

Often, they are integrated into gate, step, or milestone briefings, to supplement textual data with visual aids, making the information more comprehensible for bid/no-bid decision-making.

Business Development (BD) is a crucial aspect of many companies. However, there's often a challenge known as the "interoperability gap."

An essential element of professional development is maintaining relevance. The simplest way to keep an active connection – and thus remain relevant, is through professional reading.

Probability of win (pWIN) is a mathematical calculation for predicting the likelihood of winning the

opportunity you’ve bid, expressed as a percentage or whole number.

Opportunity updates are driven by acquisition process triggers. Preparation of these briefings can often be time consuming for capture managers.

Selecting teammates requires care as it alters the financial, operational, and risk profile of your solution. The Capture Manager identifies potential teammates, evaluates their fit and impact on the solution, and proposes them for teaming consideration.

Adding too many opportunities creates an unrealistic pipeline and results in distorted business metrics due to over-saturation. Establishing a manageable, accurate pipeline requires strategic opportunity evaluations.