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Articles tagged with: capture manager
Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – March 2013
Welcome to Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – March 2013 Edition!
Click to read Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – March 2013
The complacency of incumbent teams is now a thing of legends, and everyone has at least one story of the incumbent we were sure the customer loved who lost and, in some instances, lost big.
The good news is that techniques exist to get your team out of its complacent rut. Check…
Can you hire an effective capture manager?
This article was originally published February 22, 2013 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
The CEO of a mid-tier company asked me why many capture managers turn out to be ineffective and, in his case, could he have done something differently in the interview process to predict their effectiveness before hiring them.
This is a difficult question because most capture managers will interview well, but some will not live up to expectations once on the job. I thought I would share some insights about this situation…
5 questions to derail an LPTA procurement
This article was originally published December 19, 2012 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
Recently, while teaching a capture management class, a capture manager asked me what he could do when the contracting officer for a pending IT services bid said he wanted to use lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) evaluation criteria versus the traditional best-value tradeoff approach.
The capture manager and the government program manager wanted to avoid a price shootout, but the contracting shop wouldn’t agree.
When confronted with this situation, here are five questions…
Fed up with proposal politics? Ask Proposal Doctor
Dear Proposal Doctor,
My proposal has become a hornet’s nest. The capture manager is intensely unpopular. She makes arbitrary and often unwise decisions with zero transparency. People have to go behind her back to get her decisions reversed because she will not engage in discussion.
Although this could be a unifying force, instead the proposal team has broken up into factions, each trying to curry favor with senior management in an effort to get the capture manager replaced with a candidate of choice. The amount…
Audio Tip: Three Keys to Creating Winning Proposals
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This month, capture and proposal development expert and columnist for Washington Technology magazine, Bob Lohfeld, offers three keys for creating winning proposals.
Creating winning proposals is not the same as writing a proposal. Anyone can write a proposal for government work, given enough time and resources. However, only one bidder writes the winning proposal. The best proposals have three things in common:
- They are directed and written by talented people experienced at writing proposals.
- They follow a similar, defined process.
- They are designed in an environment that creates proposals efficiently.
Your capture and…
Ask the Right Questions to Understand Customer Objectives
This article was originally published April 5, 2010 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
Did you know the leading indicator for predicting whether you will be successful in a government bid is how well you understand the customer’s requirements and objectives?
As a capture team leader, one of your first jobs is to understand and document your customer’s requirements and objectives. Requirements are the activities a company must do when it performs the contract. They include technical and management tasks described in the scope of work, generally found in Section C of a federal government request for proposals. But they can also…
Dear Proposal Doctor,
People say I have a big head, but believe me, I would prefer to only wear one hat. Unfortunately, my capture manager is not doing his job. Communications with subcontractors are erratic and inconsistent, the pricing team does not have a strategy, and progress towards a viable solution is slow. Every time I jump in to help with these items, the team is so grateful to have someone providing direction. In fact, if not for my efforts, nothing would have been accomplished on…
Capture Manager Creates Chaos in Post-RFP Collaboration
Dear Proposal Doctor,
Please help me to not kill my capture manager! This person is still running some of the meetings even though the RFP is out. The meetings are long and rambling. There are no agendas and no action items.
Proposal contributors are losing faith that we know what we are doing. They want to work on their sections. I am afraid that the energy is sapping out of the team just at the time that it should be ramping up.
Since my jurisdiction has concealed hand-gun…
Capture Management Requires Planning
This Q&A with Bob Lohfeld was originally published in Washington Technology magazine August 7, 2008.
by David Hubler
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.
Q: How does it work?
Lohfeld: After identifying an opportunity before the RFP is released, the company performs an early stage qualification review to make sure the deal fits the company and that there is a reasonable chance of winning. A capture team is then created from…
3 Keys to Creating Winning Proposals
This article was originally published June 14, 2010 on WashingtonTechnology.com.
A defined and efficient process is essential to success.
Creating winning proposals is not the same as writing a proposal. Anyone can write a proposal for government work, given enough time and resources. However, only one bidder writes the winning proposal. The best proposals have three things in common:
- They are directed and written by talented people experienced at writing proposals.
- They follow a similar, defined process.
- They are designed in an environment that creates proposals efficiently.
Your capture and proposal managers bring necessary skills to plan, staff, lead and control your capture…
