Get to know the decision makers
Identifying the client players is one of the most important steps because these are the people who will decide and influence who wins the pursuit. As part of the capture planning process, the OPL’s goal is to figure out who the selection committee and other decision makers are and what matters to them. We need to strengthen those relationships and create confidence in their belief that Garney will achieve their definition of project success. We want to build trust and positive relationships with the players because people want to work with people they know and like. Building these relationships strengthens our positioning favorably.
Additionally, there may be outside client players like a Client’s Engineer, Commissioner, or other non-voting members that Garney can leverage to build relationships or gain intel of favoritism. Personal connections to the client players help us win work and the OPL should look for opportunities to connect proposed team members with the client.
Client Players Matrix
The CAPTURE PLAN TEMPLATE contains a matrix to organize names, titles, likes, dislikes, teaming relationships, and other notes/actions associated with that player. If Garney is chasing a pursuit for a new client or one that we do not have strong relationships with and we need to spend more efforts understanding the client players, the Marketing Lead can set up a more detailed “Client Players Sheet.” This sheet allows the team to capture extensive details and research on possible players, and identify personal connections or “touch points.”
