By B. Michael Berger, Vice President, Advantage Consulting, Inc.

A couple of years ago, we recognized that there was a step between "finding" and "bidding" new opportunities. It wasn't long before this process had a name - Capture. One of the interesting things about Capture is that while many firms we work with seem to understand the process, most are either not doing it at all, or, if they are, they are doing it badly. In-house discussions led to our President, Doug Allston, developing an entire workshop built around the Capture process - and its now one of our most popular offerings.

This being said, you've got to find 'em before you can capture 'em, so we always say start by learning the business development process THEN move on to capture - one without the other is like trying to get a fish to ride a bicycle.

"So, what's this capture stuff all about?"

Well, Capture is the planning, execution and management of the activities that begin with identification of an opportunity and ends with the decision to bid or not bid. The steps involved in capturing a contract or task order opportunity include developing and executing a plan for determining which clients to meet with and properly preparing for those meetings, documenting and analyzing the information you discover about clients and competitors to create strategies for winning the opportunity, making informed pursue/no pursue and bid/no bid decisions, and helping clients or potential clients achieve their "dreams."

"We've got a lot of plans. Why is this one so special?"

Good question. The capture plan essentially focuses and expands on the seven "golden rules" we place at the heart of any firm's business success: Relationships - How well do we know the client - how well does the client know us? The client's staff - How well do the people who will make contractor selection recommendations know us? Building friendships - Do we meet with top management, middle management and technical level staff? Demonstrations - Are we showing the client or potential client what we can do? Requirements - How well do we know the client's REAL needs, wants, requirements, and dreams? Budget/Price - Do we really know how much the client intends to spend, or are we just guessing? Trust and Confidence - Have we earned it or are we still "drinking our own bath water?"

"Yeah, well I think I can do pretty well on those, why do I need help?"

The funny thing is that a lot of people think they have these factors locked, but the "devil is in the details." If you are great at finding opportunities that you both can and do win, you've probably got a great system. On the other hand, if you find a lot of opportunities that should be perfect for your firm but only winning a few, or rely on a few legacy clients because you aren't confident about going after new ones, then the chances are you haven't figured out the keys to business success and don't have much of a plan.

"Hmm, well, I do wish things were a bit more organized, how do I get there?"

First things first. The best place to start is to figure out what you are doing now. Do you have a "pipeline"? If so, what's in it, where did the leads come from, is an individual or team focused on those clients or potential clients, are the opportunities right for your firm, what do you know about the client's requirements, your actual or potential competitors, the organization's budget, program advocates within the client organization, their view of you or other contractors - should I go on?

"Wow, I used to think all I needed to do was read FedBizOpps - you're serious about this aren't you?"

You bet. Not only do you have to collect a lot of information ("intelligence" if you wish), you need to carefully analyze everything you learn, make good use of it, and make sure you staff stays objective - its amazing how opportunities sometimes take on a life of their own, and how some people will want to pursue a "dead horse" long after the collected information tells you that "no bid" is the best option. You may also need to hire the right people to assist in both the finding and the capture efforts and in executing a project after you win, as well as working with the client so you become a "trusted advisor", putting yourself in a position to "win" an opportunity even before it is announced. Last, but by no means least, you need to have a darn good understanding of the client's budget process and the kind of money your client has available, and make sure your solution will be able to accomplish the anticipated tasks within "that" kind of money.