As an experienced capture management process consultant, working with numerous clients provides a platform in which you begin to identify areas of improvement that are shared from client to client. Although the companies may differ in size, be in varying states of maturity, and are focused on differing lines of business, there are five key mistakes that are consistently identified through the consulting process.
These mistakes often go unnoticed, and companies don’t even realize they’re making them. Below are five questions to help you identify and sidestep these common pitfalls.
Is your capture management process repeatable?
When a forecasted opportunity begins to pick up momentum, is there a specific process that is initiated? If so, this process should have clearly defined roles for all of the team members throughout every step of the process. With a repeatable process, leadership and team members have the ability to be more strategic in their decision-making. The repeatability of the process enables an organization to exercise continuous process improvement.
Do you manage your business with reactive decisions?
Reactive decisions rarely provide value for a business. They’re made in an instant, based on emotions rather than deliberate thought, and do not reflect strategic business processes. Although not all business scenarios can be planned for, spending time in planning and strategy development sessions, will enable you to anticipate the likelihood of scenarios, and identify processes to address them appropriately.
Are your revenue projects instantly available?
Do you and your teammates have real-time access to existing projects? Using information from current business to drive new business isn’t a fresh idea. Knowledge and understanding of your existing projects – including revenue generated, type of services being performed, level of expertise of project personnel, and status of the project – is all useful intelligence related to your internal capabilities. Utilize this in the capture process to drive business towards your company. These are your assets!
Do your capture executives consistently update your current system?
If you are expending the financial resources to support a capture management system, it is providing little value if the system isn’t consistently updated. Although many capture management systems deliver a degree of intuitiveness in how to manage information, the information has to come from somewhere. You have the ability to make your capture management system work for you, but you must be willing to make updates to ensure ongoing information integrity.
Do your capture executives share information about competition, teammates, and government trends?
Capture executives, often by the nature of their executive role and existing networking relationships, are able to obtain information about competition – new and existing, and potential teammates for bolstering your pursuit decision. Capture executives also gain knowledge of government trends in lines of business, contracting and procurement developments, and support for small businesses. This is all vital business intelligence that can support and drive, business goals and capture decisions.
Executives should be sharing this information on a regular basis with team members. A platform should exist within your company that enables knowledge share on an accessible basis. The better the information, the more strategic your business decisions can be – and advantage to everyone.
