By establishing a capture management process, businesses position to win and maximize the probability of winning. Especially for large, complex or highly priced opportunities.
This blog delves into capture challenges and benefits, as well as tips for implementing an effective strategy.
Capture management, or capture planning, gives you an advantage with the client, and over the competition. By dedicating resources 12 - 24 months before the tender, a capture process delivers a number of game-changing benefits:
A capture manager’s goal is to increase the chances of winning a contract. They are typically sales or business development professionals assigned to large, complex projects with long sales cycles. They are responsible for research and analysis, as well as the capture plan and win strategy. They work with sales to shape the opportunity and with the proposal manager to develop the proposal.
While capture management is a powerful tool for increasing tender win rates, it does come with its own set of challenges. Understanding these challenges is the first step to implementing a strategy that works for your business and your industry.
Common capture challenges include:
Capture management involves a series of well-planned steps to identify, qualify and pursue strategic opportunities. It can save time and money by prioritizing tenders and better allocating resources. And it can help you influence decision-makers and stand out from the competition.
While capture managers typically focus on large, complex and highly priced opportunities, this process can be scaled back to effectively support medium or small sized tenders as well.
Research the market and organizations to find opportunities that match your capabilities. Assess your current situation and establish criteria and goals. Generate and evaluate ideas, weighing them based on the value they bring to your business.
Determine if the opportunity is a good fit. Consider your strengths, capabilities, and qualifications and conduct a SWOT analysis. Weigh the risks against the potential outcomes, considering qualitative and quantitative factors.
Gather competitive insights and incumbent information. Look for their strengths, weaknesses, and performance on similar projects. Consider their target market and audience, pricing and market share. Identify if they have any existing relationships with the client.
Develop a detailed plan outlining how you intend to win, from identification to award. Include what you need to make the go/no go decision and develop the proposal. For example, client hot buttons, competitor messaging, and even an executive summary outline.
Understand the client's problems and their impact on the organization. Map your strengths to each of the problems you solve. Then, prioritize based on what the client values and question your benefits. Create a preliminary solution as a model for pursuit.
Create a draft win or bid strategy including your solution, its strengths and weaknesses and your unique value proposition and win themes. Highlight what makes you unique and better than your competitors, and how to counter weaknesses. Include strategies related to features, pricing, management, staffing, schedule, and performance.
Define your communication channels and create a plan for client communications, including events, meetings and calls. Work with marketing to proactively create relevant sales-branding content to support each channel. Work with management and sales to allocate resources for capture activities.
Define your communication channels and proactively create relevant content to support each channel. Build relationships with decision-makers and influencers across the organization. Share information and insights to build awareness and position your business.
Work with your proposal manager to translate your strategy into an actionable plan for your proposal process. Create a presentation for the kick-off that shares your vision for the story, messaging, language, and evidence. Interpret vague or ambiguous requirements. Inform the writer's package to help guide contributors.
Price to win or PWIN is a methodology used by capture managers to estimate the price that will most likely win the contract. Analyze a variety of factors, including what the competitors will likely offer, the client’s priorities and budget, and your value proposition. Strike a balance between the features and price that deliver the most client value based on what they prioritize.
Capture management provides a structured framework for winning large, complex or highly priced opportunities. By incorporating these tips, you can increase its effectiveness and achieve long-term success.
Successful capture management is a critical component of a large, complex tender. By understanding your client's plans better, you can influence them. This helps you position your business as their top choice before the tender.