What do we know? What don't we know?
Remember that capture planning is a journey to gain knowledge and improve our positioning for a pursuit, and like any journey, it will take time for our positioning to evolve, our team to gain intel, and our staff to build relationships with key client players. It is also important that we not only capture information throughout this process, but take time to review what we’ve learned and confirm it is still accurate, identify areas where we are lacking information, and develop action plans to keep our progress moving forward.
Throughout the Capture Planning process, ask yourself: “What is Garney doing to gain trust and be liked by the client and the decision makers?” Capture Planning is the process that will help us find and uncover these answers so when an RFP advertises, we can prepare a proposal and presentation that speaks to the client in a way such that they think: “this team understands my needs and has solutions.” If the selection process comes down to two qualified teams, it is likely the client will choose the team they know and trust more, so building client relationships is crucial.
To help us understand where we are in our capture planning efforts, the following are four phases of capture planning and common activities and goals associated with each phase:
1. RESEARCH
- Opportunity background and summary
- Client overview, relationship status, touch points, and interactions
- Client issues and influencers
- Evaluation process and selection criteria
- Competitors and incumbents
- Past performance
2. ANALYSIS
- Project team identification
- Teaming SWOT analysis
- Competitor SWOT analysis
- Win theme development
3. STRATEGY
- Finalize organizational chart
- Win strategy development
- Continued client relationship building
- Strategic pre-positioning
4. EXECUTION
- Teaming agreements
- Continued client relationship building:
- Site visits and client meetings
- Finalize theming
- Draft proposal components (resume, project profiles, etc.)