News & Knowledge Center
Articles tagged with: capture team
Building the technical solution – the Lego effect
One of a capture and proposal team’s goals should be early translation of client requirements into a solution addressing critical client business issues. Early development of a preliminary solution allows the team to preview the proposed solution with clients to verify decisions, test alternatives, and make create awareness of information that might improve their perception of us. Previewing also allows us to gather valuable feedback to refine our detailed solution so it is client-centric and specific. Previewing may also help shape requirements that will appear in the RFP, providing us with a competitive advantage.
Building the technical solution (The…
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…
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…
What Drives the Best Capture Managers?
This article with Bob Lohfeld was originally published in Washington Technology magazine October 9, 2009.
By David Hubler
Good capture managers are known for their business and technical skills, understanding of complex government requirements, and intimate knowledge of their company’s competencies.
“Nobody is born knowing how to program a computer. But the competitiveness, I think, is born,” said Bob Lohfeld, president of Lohfeld Consultant Group, a consulting firm that specializes in capture management. “And you’ve got to have gifted ability if you’re going to play at…
Planning for Better Capture Management
This interview with Bob Lohfeld was originally published in Washington Technology magazine October 9, 2009.
Oct 09, 2009
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 the line operation…
3 Steps to Improving Your Proposals
This article was originally published August 27, 2010 on WashingtonTechnology.com.
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.
Surprisingly, not all companies do such reviews. Even more…
To Succeed, Deliver What You Promised
This article was originally published November 9, 2010 on WashingtonTechnology.com.
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…
