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Anissa Milner Named New Vice President of Sales and Marketing

We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years! We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years! We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years! We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years! We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years! click here We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years! We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years! We are excited to welcome Anissa Milner as our Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Anissa has a wealth of experience selling and managing GovCon customers, and she set a corporate record for new business sales, of Proposal software, in a previous role. Anissa’s role will be to expand CaptureExec sales and build a sales team to create exponential growth in the future. She will also manage and evolve our Marketing & Branding efforts to better tell our story and reach an even wider audience. Anissa graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Communications and has achieved many Sales & Coaching Certifications during her career. We are looking for great things from Anissa over the coming years!

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News

Welcome Natalie Hensel | Customer Support Specialist

We are excited to announce that Natalie Hensel has been promoted to Customer Support Manager. Natalie has done an incredible job this past year organizing our Customer Support process, documenting the entire CaptureExec system, setting up Quarterly Customer calls and creating the new Vignette training sessions. Natalie’s first assignment is to train our newly hired Customer Support Specialist in all things Support. She will then begin managing the scheduling and delivery of all Implementation and Training for our new customers, as well as Training support for all our existing Customers. Natalie will also be responsible for the entire customer Renewal process. We are very well known in the industry for our superior Customer support and Natalie will be creating an even better experience with her Customer Support Team that she will be managing. We are excited for Natalie and look forward to her new management role! We are excited to announce that Natalie Hensel has been promoted to Customer Support Manager. Natalie has done an incredible job this past year organizing our Customer Support process, documenting the entire CaptureExec system, setting up Quarterly Customer calls and creating the new Vignette training sessions. Natalie’s first assignment is to train our newly hired Customer Support Specialist in all things Support. She will then begin managing the scheduling and delivery of all Implementation and Training for our new customers, as well as Training support for all our existing Customers. Natalie will also be responsible for the entire customer Renewal process. We are very well known in the industry for our superior Customer support and Natalie will be creating an even better experience with her Customer Support Team that she will be managing. We are excited for Natalie and look forward to her new management role! We are excited to announce that Natalie Hensel has been promoted to Customer Support Manager. Natalie has done an incredible job this past year organizing our Customer Support process, documenting the entire CaptureExec system, setting up Quarterly Customer calls and creating the new Vignette training sessions. Natalie’s first assignment is to train our newly hired Customer Support Specialist in all things Support. She will then begin managing the scheduling and delivery of all Implementation and Training for our new customers, as well as Training support for all our existing Customers. Natalie will also be responsible for the entire customer Renewal process. We are very well known in the industry for our superior Customer support and Natalie will be creating an even better experience with her Customer Support Team that she will be managing. We are excited for Natalie and look forward to her new management role! We are excited to announce that Natalie Hensel has been promoted to Customer Support Manager. Natalie has done an incredible job this past year organizing our Customer Support process, documenting the entire CaptureExec system, setting up Quarterly Customer calls and creating the new Vignette training sessions. Natalie’s first assignment is to train our newly hired Customer Support Specialist in all things Support. She will then begin managing the scheduling and delivery of all Implementation and Training for our new customers, as well as Training support for all our existing Customers. Natalie will also be responsible for the entire customer Renewal process. We are very well known in the industry for our superior Customer support and Natalie will be creating an even better experience with her Customer Support Team that she will be managing. We are excited for Natalie and look forward to her new management role! We are excited to announce that Natalie Hensel has been promoted to Customer Support Manager. Natalie has done an incredible job this past year organizing our Customer Support process, documenting the entire CaptureExec system, setting up Quarterly Customer calls and creating the new Vignette training sessions. Natalie’s first assignment is to train our newly hired Customer Support Specialist in all things Support. She will then begin managing the scheduling and delivery of all Implementation and Training for our new customers, as well as Training support for all our existing Customers. Natalie will also be responsible for the entire customer Renewal process. We are very well known in the industry for our superior Customer support and Natalie will be creating an even better experience with her Customer Support Team that she will be managing. We are excited for Natalie and look forward to her new management role! this contact form We are excited to announce that Natalie Hensel has been promoted to Customer Support Manager. Natalie has done an incredible job this past year organizing our Customer Support process, documenting the entire CaptureExec system, setting up Quarterly Customer calls and creating the new Vignette training sessions. Natalie’s first assignment is to train our newly hired Customer Support Specialist in all things Support. She will then begin managing the scheduling and delivery of all Implementation and Training for our new customers, as well as Training support for all our existing Customers. Natalie will also be responsible for the entire customer Renewal process. We are very well known in the industry for our superior Customer support and Natalie will be creating an even better experience with her Customer Support Team that she will be managing. We are excited for Natalie and look forward to her new management role! We are excited to announce that Natalie Hensel has been promoted to Customer Support Manager. Natalie has done an incredible job this past year organizing our Customer Support process, documenting the entire CaptureExec system, setting up Quarterly Customer calls and creating the new Vignette training sessions. Natalie’s first assignment is to train our newly hired Customer Support Specialist in all things Support. She will then begin managing the scheduling and delivery of all Implementation and Training for our new customers, as well as Training support for all our existing Customers. Natalie will also be responsible for the entire customer Renewal process. We are very well known in the industry for our superior Customer support and Natalie will be creating an

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bid management

CIO Bulletin Names BIT Solutions in List of 30 Most Influential Companies of the Year 2020

BIT Solutions, LLC – automating the entire capture management process. BIT Solutions, LLC – automating the entire capture management process. There are a lot of companies in the market to help you with CRM solutions and help you establish B2B businesses. But having software that already understands how to sell to the government can give you a huge lead against your competition! We did our research into software for Government Contractors and found a solution that manages every aspect of selling to the Government including the overall health of your company and the health of your Pipeline. We talked to the founders, Skip Blackburn and Drew Blackburn, and here is the detailed discussion we had. What is the history of BIT solutions? We are a software company with extensive experience in managing complex Government sales and developing software to automate manual processes. And, in addition, we offer consulting support for the government contractor space. Our customers are government contractors who do business with Government Agencies and Commands. Our CaptureExec™ Software is a Cloud based, enterprise-wide solution to automate and integrate every aspect of the capture process selling to the government. If a customer is looking at Salesforce, Dynamics, or any other software to manage their sales process, they need to make certain they talk to BIT Solutions first – twice the features at half the price! What is CaptureExec™ and what is the process? Our software is designed from the standpoint of the executive; owners of companies, division executives, department managers that run sales teams who sell to the government. We optimize, automate, and organize a repeatable process for the individual contributors to manage every aspect of a capture process, from inception to win. Therefore, anything they have to do, the system guides them, tells them what questions to ask the Government, and when to ask it in the cycle. It shows them during the process of what information they need to gather. It helps them understand how to shape a deal in that capture process. From the executive standpoint, it helps the executives understand, at all times, what the health of their business and pipeline look like and what they need to do to improve different aspects of their business. All the manual processes have been automated and integrated to solve the real business needs of the Sales Enterprise. We have created our CaptureExec software to allow each company to define their own best practice in winning deals, and the software allows them to create the questions of what to ask and when to ask in our system and have their sales team follow their prescribed best practice for each different company that uses our software. investigate this site What are your offerings? How are they unique? Currently, we are split 50/50 for our CaptureExec software and our Consulting Services. In consulting, we do everything from Pre-B&P (Strategic, Account management, and Capture Management) – to B&P (Proposal management, Graphics, Color reviewers, Writers, Editors, PTW, Blackhat leaders, and Strategic experts). We cover the gambit from both sides of the need for consulting to support Government Contracting companies. We have experts that manage across the board of what customers need during surge times for support as well as customers that are just getting started in the Federal marketspace. We can help them find and win contracts to grow their business. What have you learned from your clients? What areas have you made changes in based on what users have pointed out? That is a great question! We get a lot of new feature and function requests from our customers as they use the system and say, “This is a great dashboard with excellent information on it that helps me run my business.” They will say, “One thing that I have done in spreadsheets or Word docs or PowerPoint in the past, is keeping track of this information so that I can work with the CEO and brief them on a weekly basis. Can you create a matrix display process on the dashboard that we can utilize and see that information and be able to slice and dice it?” The answer is always YES! We take those ideas and we work with those customers to draw up all the interactions throughout the enterprise and we add those features in new upgrades. Every quarter we release a new version of the software with functions, features, and improvements that we have gotten back from our customers or in interactions with other people in the industry, where we have learned about new features that would benefit our customer base. Therefore, we are constantly evolving our CaptureExec software to make it more user friendly and more functional for every level of user that utilizes our system. Meet the founders Skip Blackburn is a Founding Partner and the CEO of BIT Solutions, LLC. He has led BIT Solutions through the startup phase, the design & development process, and the sales & marketing efforts. The company has grown consistently since 2012. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Mathematics from Towson University and attended the MBA program at Loyola College of Baltimore. Skip Blackburn Skip was a partner in a software firm in the late 1970s for 20 years before selling the company, which designed and developed Enterprise Software to manage every aspect of the Non-Profit Association market. He then gained significant Executive & Capture experience from companies including Sarcom, Accenture, IBM & SAIC where he led companies, divisions, and teams on large, complex captures for many years. With this knowledge, he designed the capture management software, CaptureExec™, and formed BIT Solutions, LLC. Drew Blackburn is a Founding Partner and the CTO of BIT Solutions, LLC. Since the company’s start in 2012, he has led the BIT Solutions development team for every aspect of the capture management software and database integration process. Drew Blackburn Drew has been developing and managing web-based systems for the past 15 years and has been instrumental in implementing, maintaining, and

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bid management

10 Most Inspiring CEOs to Watch

Skip Blackburn, Founder and CEO of BIT Solutions, has a knack for always seeing the bigger picture, built from all the pieces of experience he picked up over a lifetime of Government Solution sales. The steadfast leader wakes up every day with the burning question in his mind of “what could make this world better? What could make it easier for people?” He is supported every day by his Co-Founder, Drew Blackburn, CTO who has a vision for the technology solutions, always asking “What if…” Together they started BIT Solutions with laser focus on what the duo wanted to accomplish from the company and offer the customers. “I spent many years manually constructing Capture Management sales reports and presentations for Gate Reviews and meetings, which kept me from valuable time in front of the customer.” says Skip.“As an Executive, I managed sales teams that would have done the same. I knew there was a better way, and set out with the goal to create software that automated these types of manual processes.” site web Skip Blackburn, Founder and CEO of BIT Solutions, has a knack for always seeing the bigger picture, built from all the pieces of experience he picked up over a lifetime of Government Solution sales. The steadfast leader wakes up every day with the burning question in his mind of “what could make this world better? What could make it easier for people?” He is supported every day by his Co-Founder, Drew Blackburn, CTO who has a vision for the technology solutions, always asking “What if…” Together they started BIT Solutions with laser focus on what the duo wanted to accomplish from the company and offer the customers. “I spent many years manually constructing Capture Management sales reports and presentations for Gate Reviews and meetings, which kept me from valuable time in front of the customer.” says Skip.“As an Executive, I managed sales teams that would have done the same. I knew there was a better way, and set out with the goal to create software that automated these types of manual processes.” Skip Blackburn, Founder and CEO of BIT Solutions, has a knack for always seeing the bigger picture, built from all the pieces of experience he picked up over a lifetime of Government Solution sales. The steadfast leader wakes up every day with the burning question in his mind of “what could make this world better? What could make it easier for people?” He is supported every day by his Co-Founder, Drew Blackburn, CTO who has a vision for the technology solutions, always asking “What if…” Together they started BIT Solutions with laser focus on what the duo wanted to accomplish from the company and offer the customers. “I spent many years manually constructing Capture Management sales reports and presentations for Gate Reviews and meetings, which kept me from valuable time in front of the customer.” says Skip.“As an Executive, I managed sales teams that would have done the same. I knew there was a better way, and set out with the goal to create software that automated these types of manual processes.” Skip Blackburn, Founder and CEO of BIT Solutions, has a knack for always seeing the bigger picture, built from all the pieces of experience he picked up over a lifetime of Government Solution sales. The steadfast leader wakes up every day with the burning question in his mind of “what could make this world better? What could make it easier for people?” He is supported every day by his Co-Founder, Drew Blackburn, CTO who has a vision for the technology solutions, always asking “What if…” Together they started BIT Solutions with laser focus on what the duo wanted to accomplish from the company and offer the customers. “I spent many years manually constructing Capture Management sales reports and presentations for Gate Reviews and meetings, which kept me from valuable time in front of the customer.” says Skip.“As an Executive, I managed sales teams that would have done the same. I knew there was a better way, and set out with the goal to create software that automated these types of manual processes.” Skip Blackburn, Founder and CEO of BIT Solutions, has a knack for always seeing the bigger picture, built from all the pieces of experience he picked up over a lifetime of Government Solution sales. The steadfast leader wakes up every day with the burning question in his mind of “what could make this world better? What could make it easier for people?” He is supported every day by his Co-Founder, Drew Blackburn, CTO who has a vision for the technology solutions, always asking “What if…” Together they started BIT Solutions with laser focus on what the duo wanted to accomplish from the company and offer the customers. “I spent many years manually constructing Capture Management sales reports and presentations for Gate Reviews and meetings, which kept me from valuable time in front of the customer.” says Skip.“As an Executive, I managed sales teams that would have done the same. I knew there was a better way, and set out with the goal to create software that automated these types of manual processes.” Skip Blackburn, Founder and CEO of BIT Solutions, has a knack for always seeing the bigger picture, built from all the pieces of experience he picked up over a lifetime of Government Solution sales. The steadfast leader wakes up every day with the burning question in his mind of “what could make this world better? What could make it easier for people?” He is supported every day by his Co-Founder, Drew Blackburn, CTO who has a vision for the technology solutions, always asking “What if…” Together they started BIT Solutions with laser focus on what the duo wanted to accomplish from the company and offer the customers. “I spent many years manually constructing Capture Management sales reports and presentations for Gate Reviews and meetings, which kept me from valuable time in front of the customer.” says Skip.“As

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bid management

Government Bidding Basics That Impact Win Performance

Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. navigate to this site Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. Most government sales business today requires a structured process to be followed. Unlike the commercial side, the government has a significant amount of public reporting and transparency, as well as multiple rules forbidding favoritism. Not paying attention to these rules results in many vendors losing bids without even being considered, a common rookie mistake. (more…)

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capture management

How Government Contractors Can Improve Their PWin…(Percent Win)

While PWIN (percentage win), is clearly an easy metric to apply to sales and performance of capture with a targeted customer base, it doesn’t lend itself so easily to the government arena. That’s because there are a number of fundamental differences between government and the open market, and it’s important to understand these differences if a vendor wants to be successful on public Organization bids. While PWIN (percentage win), is clearly an easy metric to apply to sales and performance of capture with a targeted customer base, it doesn’t lend itself so easily to the government arena. That’s because there are a number of fundamental differences between government and the open market, and it’s important to understand these differences if a vendor wants to be successful on public Organization bids. Lots of Opportunities Exist With $500 billion regularly available just for small businesses due to targeted procurement, the federal government alone is a major market mover. On top of this market slice, there are public funds for general procurement and every state and local government offers millions in contracting as well. The problem is that a vendor needs to follow certain steps to reach success. It’s not as simple as calling someone up and getting a meeting to make a pitch, regardless of what Hollywood makes things look like. With $500 billion regularly available just for small businesses due to targeted procurement, the federal government alone is a major market mover. On top of this market slice, there are public funds for general procurement and every state and local government offers millions in contracting as well. The problem is that a vendor needs to follow certain steps to reach success. It’s not as simple as calling someone up and getting a meeting to make a pitch, regardless of what Hollywood makes things look like. Learn the Field The most common mistake new businesses to government make involves assuming government procurement is simple – one just has to show up and everything is organized to respond. Wrong. Increasing your Pwin success starts with learning which Organizations need what your business offers. That means doing research to learn what Organizations do, what their mission is, how they operate, where they exist, and what they need that government doesn’t provide itself. Answer these questions for each potential Opportunity and a vendor is already at the front of the pack framing the beginning of a capture strategy. The most common mistake new businesses to government make involves assuming government procurement is simple – one just has to show up and everything is organized to respond. Wrong. Increasing your Pwin success starts with learning which Organizations need what your business offers. That means doing research to learn what Organizations do, what their mission is, how they operate, where they exist, and what they need that government doesn’t provide itself. Answer these questions for each potential Opportunity and a vendor is already at the front of the pack framing the beginning of a capture strategy. Government is also not one size fits all. There are small Organizations and big Organizations and departments in between. Some consolidate a need into one package and others break a large need down in multiple parts across multiple markets. This too affects your ability to win if you don’t know how a bid is going out to market. Studying an Organization’s program, talking to its people, discussing with managers how they operate, and studying how the program puts out bids provides a tremendous amount of information on how to bid as a vendor. Government is also not one size fits all. There are small Organizations and big Organizations and departments in between. Some consolidate a need into one package and others break a large need down in multiple parts across multiple markets. This too affects your ability to win if you don’t know how a bid is going out to market. Studying an Organization’s program, talking to its people, discussing with managers how they operate, and studying how the program puts out bids provides a tremendous amount of information on how to bid as a vendor. Awareness & Promotion While many larger government levels manage many departments and groups below them, they often operate as silos. That means vendor information and bidding detail are not shared very well. Where it is, an Organization tends to be more interested in touting its assumed savings via a clunky master contract than actually finding valuable commonalities. But this is starting to change as government begins to move into the arena of big data and digital procurement. Information about different department vendors is quickly becoming available, but department government managers have yet to be properly trained on how to use that data effectively. While many larger government levels manage many departments and groups below them, they often operate as silos. That means vendor information and bidding detail are not shared very well. Where it is, an Organization tends to be more interested in touting its assumed savings via a clunky master contract than actually finding valuable commonalities. But this is starting to change as government begins to move into the arena of big data and digital procurement. Information about different department vendors is quickly becoming available, but department government managers have yet to be properly trained on how to use that data effectively. In the meantime, your business needs to increase the PWin on every deal by making yourself known with good old-fashioned Capture. Government is not very keen on social media. You need to get out and use personal networks, mailers, posters, conventions, meetings, hallway events, town halls and non-profit events for goodwill to make your presence known. That then puts your name on their radar, and then you get notified under a requirement known as fair and reasonable efforts to put a bid to market. Being a known vendor, believe it or not, comes down to the right people being personally aware of your business’ existence. Forget sharing Facebook likes; this is

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capture management process

How Should I Conduct a Black Hat Review Process?

Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. find out this here Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. Government Account Management, Capture Management, and Proposal Development are rich with color-based processes. From small businesses to large Top 100 federal prime contractors, the processes remain relatively similar. This is attributable to the fact that they’re adaptable and valuable tools for planning and organizing an overall win strategy. (more…)

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capture management

Top 5 Ways to Improve Your Capture Management Process

The success rate of your firm’s capture management process — the critical time between choosing to pursue a government procurement and ultimately submitting your proposal – is a critical determinant as to whether your business will succeed and grow or, at best, remain a small business. And although many firms do get into a steady rhythm with this process, there are always opportunities, to stop, analyze your metrics, and move forward more in a manner that is much more aware of all steps of your capture management process. As a firm, you only have a certain amount of money allocated to work through the capture management process of all the deals you intend to work each year.  What you don’t want to do is spend money blindly throughout the capture process only to decide at the end to not work through the RFP process because you didn’t have enough information at your finger tips to make that decision early. Luckily, there are five simple things you can to do improve your capture management process immediately.       Establish your capture management strategy       Create a repeatable capture process for evaluation       Spend time with your Capture Executive (Capture Manager)       Objectively evaluate each opportunity       Stop the capture process early       Establish your capture management strategy       Create a repeatable capture process for evaluation       Spend time with your Capture Executive (Capture Manager)       Objectively evaluate each opportunity       Stop the capture process early Establish Your Capture Management Strategy Begin by establishing your capture process strategy as a team.  There are many questions that need to be asked during every capture, and those should be designed, defined and reviewed by everyone.  These are the basic building blocks of a successful capture process, and thus should be discussed by both CEOs and Capture Executives (Capture Managers). every By establishing this capture management strategy ahead of time, you can ensure that both you and your Capture Executives are on the same page, share the same expectations, and can move forward in the procurement process together. Create a Repeatable Capture Management Process Setting concrete, repeatable processes is the key to a better winning percentage (PWIN) for each capture your company is tracking.  If the same questions are asked, the same data collected and stored, the same process used for NDAs, TAs and SubKs, etc., you are then able to define the BEST company process that allows you to manage and bid the most likely to win opportunities. In doing so it becomes very easy to grade each capture and know how “cooked” each deal is throughout the process. BEST You can better manage your sales team and opportunities by creating and using visual performance measurements that will help to ensure that your capture management team is working efficiently and effectively to deliver winning bids. Spend Time with Your Capture Executive (Capture Manager) Once you have a repeatable process (ISO-like) in place, it is often easy to let your Capture Managers go, and not continue to review there they are on each capture, and which ones they have collected the most information on. Don’t do that. What if the capture is NOT the right fit for your company?  There is only so much money that you have allocated for managing the capture process, and you want to spend it where is will have the best return on that investment.  And unless you have a management-focused CRM or capture executive/management software to instantly show you which deals to chase and which to drop, this type of awareness is difficult to manage. Speak with your Capture Executives regularly. Be it once a week, once every two weeks – don’t wait until the deliverables are not met to hear that they are behind. Understand the problems and address them immediately. Objectively Evaluate Each Opportunity When it comes to government procurement, the opportunities are constantly changing. Deals where you are the incumbent may not be the best deal for the future of your company. Deals that were a “perfect” fit last week, may not be the perfect fit today. At every Gate Review process, it is important to really review the potential fit of the requirements; the fitness of the competition; the margins on the overall deal; and the cost of acquisition for the bid. Be careful not to spend money trying to win or worse, winning a deal that will cost you money year over year and not help your company grow. fit go right here fitness Stop the Capture Process Early A successful company should manage the capture executive/management process from inception to win.  But just as important is to know when to STOP the process and find another opportunity.  It is important to evaluate each capture process at least four (4) times throughout the entire process. In Conclusion A successful capture management process requires the cooperation of all members of your firm’s capture management team, as well as the C-Suite executives of your firm. For it’s not without total cooperation that shared goals and deliverables can be developed and delivered, and that the entire procurement process can be optimized.

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capture management

Government Contractors – How planned process improves your sales business

Government contracting holds great promise, but it continues to confound many businesses, leaving only a few mega-entities and adept companies winning bids regularly. There are core reasons why this occurs and it often has to do with sellers not having a planned process in their approach. Be Realistic About Which Organizations You Can Sell To Frequently government contractors come into the public market and just assume someone will be available to help guide them to a specific need. This myth is propagated by Organizations that help guide contracting and procurement to find more private vendors in the overall population available to Organizations. However, once the vendor is actually dealing with an Agency or Command, the leadership expect that the vendor has their game together and can meet specific needs without needing to be “fit” into the system. Those who hit this wall unaware are often culled out, dropped, rejected or ignored as not being ready for prime contracting. Frequently government contractors come into the public market and just assume someone will be available to help guide them to a specific need. This myth is propagated by Organizations that help guide contracting and procurement to find more private vendors in the overall population available to Organizations. However, once the vendor is actually dealing with an Agency or Command, the leadership expect that the vendor has their game together and can meet specific needs without needing to be “fit” into the system. Those who hit this wall unaware are often culled out, dropped, rejected or ignored as not being ready for prime contracting. Your success in government contracting and procurement is helped by researching the target Organizations first. Don’t just go into government contracting like you go to the supermarket and expect everything to be in a neat section for you. Dig into the Organizations and determine what they do, why they exist, what their operations provide and where they work. This valuable information is easily available on most government websites. In addition, the government budget documents are key indicators for where money is spent. You will need to learn how to read them, so you understand the flow of money. A bit of exposure to government accounting and terminology can go a long way in identifying which programs rely heavily on procurement and what they actually buy. That, in turn, becomes valuable ammo for your targeted capture and bidding on government opportunities. Your success in government contracting and procurement is helped by researching the target Organizations first. Don’t just go into government contracting like you go to the supermarket and expect everything to be in a neat section for you. Dig into the Organizations and determine what they do, why they exist, what their operations provide and where they work. This valuable information is easily available on most government websites. In addition, the government budget documents are key indicators for where money is spent. You will need to learn how to read them, so you understand the flow of money. A bit of exposure to government accounting and terminology can go a long way in identifying which programs rely heavily on procurement and what they actually buy. That, in turn, becomes valuable ammo for your targeted capture and bidding on government opportunities. Know Your Government Audience Too often government marketing is focused on the Organization’s Program Manager or Executive Officer. Granted, these are the most important people in the process as they will be a major part of the Source Selection Board,  but they are not the only players involved in the actual procurement. The contract specialist or contract officer is someone you definitely want to become friendly with so you can help shape how a deal will be released – small business vs full and open, set-aside work, NAICS codes, number of IDIQ awardees, etc. In addition, there may be funding by another agency or command who will have input into who is selected for the work.  You need to make certain you understand the full flow of funding so you can help your customer and your company by knowing how the entire procurement process will work. Also, always get to know the Small Business Advocates at the Organization – they can help you if you are a small company, get in front of the right people at the organization, help shape the deal to your specific small business status and support your efforts to find work that fits your talents.  But if you are a large company, they can still be your best friend – ask them for a list of small companies that have done work for the Organization before and is well liked, if you need a WOSB to support your team, they can find you a list to interview. So be certain to follow down every path and meet regularly with all of them to always have the pulse of the entire opportunity. Too often government marketing is focused on the Organization’s Program Manager or Executive Officer. Granted, these are the most important people in the process as they will be a major part of the Source Selection Board,  but they are not the only players involved in the actual procurement. The contract specialist or contract officer is someone you definitely want to become friendly with so you can help shape how a deal will be released – small business vs full and open, set-aside work, NAICS codes, number of IDIQ awardees, etc. In addition, there may be funding by another agency or command who will have input into who is selected for the work.  You need to make certain you understand the full flow of funding so you can help your customer and your company by knowing how the entire procurement process will work. Also, always get to know the Small Business Advocates at the Organization – they can help you if you are a small company, get in front of the right people at the organization, help shape the deal to your specific

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capture management process

Use Your “Gold Card” to Improve Your Capture Management Process

As we continue to mention how securing a face-to-face meeting with the Government can help to improve your Capture Management process, figuring out how to do so can be challenging. Often times there are hurdles you must tackle to get to the right individuals. Small business advocates can certainly be helpful, but you’re not the only business they’re working with. Because of that, the responsibility is encumbered upon you to continue to push to make those connections. In doing so, be aware and prepared for some of hurdles and subsequent strategies that can help you find success. The Gate Keeper Initially, let’s address the Gate Keeper. This is the person who controls who gets on the phone or more importantly, on the calendar. It’s nothing personal, but it’s their job to reduce the number (and necessity) of meetings. If you’re not able to influence them, it is going to be very challenging to get a meeting scheduled. As an example, how many times have you been sitting in the waiting room of your physician’s office and a pharmaceutical representative comes in, hauling their giant black suitcase behind them? As this is a common occurrence, you’ve likely noticed that there are some who are immediately allowed back to the physician’s area, and others who are shut down before they’re able to finish their introductory sentence. This is a Gate Keeper issue. Some have served their time with the Gate Keeper, and others have not. Like the pharmacy rep, you want to be the one immediately allowed through the door. How does that happen? Persistence.   Visit, Call and send Emails – be nice, don’t waste their time, make friends. served their time Bypass the Gate Keeper How would we do that? Think stalker. Figuratively speaking… and perhaps literally, to some degree. To clarify, by stalker we mean utilizing various means to DIRECTLY reach the person with whom you’re trying to set up a meeting. utilizing various means to DIRECTLY reach the person with whom you’re trying to set up a meeting This can include reaching out to the Gate Keeper in a number of ways – visit the office in person, make phone calls, email introductions and meeting requests. Persistence. Persistence our site Making Your Impression But here’s the thing, your Capture Executive will have to remember that the Boss is in high demand and initially they have roughly thirty seconds to capture the Boss’ attention. If you haven’t prepared an elevator speech for your company and its capabilities, do it. You’re going to need it when you’re dealing with high level folks. That thirty seconds should address what you can do for them. Your corporate history doesn’t matter in this scenario – save that for the big meeting, and even then, keep it applicable. This likely goes without saying, but DON’T turn strategic stalking into something annoying. Make your visits, phone calls and emails evenly dispersed and purposeful. roughly you you them them Use the Gold Card The Gold Card is the modern day name drop. It’s using the previous status and connections of recognized individuals to secure meetings. who

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capture management

Capture Management: 5 Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making

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? 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? 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. read the article Are your revenue projects instantly available? 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? Do your capture executives consistently update your current system? Do your capture executives share information about competition, teammates, and government trends? Do your capture executives share information about competition, teammates, and government trends? 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.

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black hat

Why Black Hat Review Processes Work

There are many methodologies for implementing a Black Hat review process, but the key to making it work is obtaining quality data and seeing the task through to its finish. After you know plenty about what you’re up against, you need to create an actionable plan that ensures you win the bid. Understanding the Competition and Your Weaknesses To write a winning proposal, you must understand how your competition operates. During a Black Hat review process, an internal team and external consultants emulate the competition and develop their strategies, ghost their weaknesses and downplay your strengths. This exercise, typically performed by Black Hat review teams, is specifically designed for performing SWOT analysis, which reviews strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This Black Hat review process takes into account the competition’s past performance, how it reacts to client problems, the abilities of its top capture personnel and other key differentiators — not just how they pitch themselves. Creating Action Items and Writing the Bid Capture management personnel know that if you don’t translate what you learn into a concrete strategy, a Black Hat review is simply an academic exercise. Action items should be discussed and built after the process has concluded, when all team members have a better understanding of the competition — and of your own company. From such an exercise, you visualize your competitor’s strategies and figure out how to outdo the competition in a government contract bid. In this sense, no bid should ever be developed in isolation of your competitor. Additionally, the Black Hat process should make establishing price points, downplaying competitor strengths and highlighting your advantages easier. Making the Most of Black Hat Review Process In order to have the best information about your competitor on hand, you must obtain intelligence and specific data throughout the entire capture process. Additionally, the team working the Black Hat review should be very familiar with the competitor; ideally, you’ll have someone who has worked for that firm in the past. If you don’t have anyone with that kind of inside knowledge, bringing in outside consultants is a great option. Lastly, the Black Hat review process leads to a White Hat review process: During this exercise, your team analyzes how a competitor targets your capabilities and addresses your solutions. After all, your competition wants to win that government contract just as badly as you do. your he said your As with any technique, it’s useless if you don’t establish a formal methodology for implementing it. Plan thoroughly before you start the process.

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capture management

Can a CRM Improve My Capture Management?

A government contract can be an incredible revenue stream; however, actually landing the deal can be a long and arduous process. That’s where customer relationship management (CRM) software can help. CRM technology is useful in managing and analyzing customer interactions. In the era of “the customer experience”, it’s increasingly vital to solve your client’s needs quickly and effectively. As a contractor, the government is your client. If you are trying to improve your team’s capture management, a CRM can certainly benefit your company. Here’s how… CRM Unifies the Entire Process With CRM software, you can view the entire capture management process in one clear interface. From creating a strategy and understanding your potential customer to analyzing your competition and constructing an ideal team, the right CRM software makes managing the process simple. Because CRM collects all relevant information in one place, the capture management process is also more efficient — which makes landing that government contract a likely possibility. CRM software such as CaptureExec can help shape the success of every opportunity you manage by organizing the process, and motivating team members to usher the opportunity to a win. CRM Lets You Know What Questions to Ask (and When to Ask Them) One of the primary benefits of an exceptional CRM is that it supports your processes. You can better see the big questions you should ask during each step of the capture process via a centralized dashboard. And you’ll be in much better shape to respond to answers. For example, during the pursuit stage and after examining the needs of the client, you will know that it’s time to ask this question: “What type of solution are you searching for?” When the government agency answers, you will be ready to play up your capabilities and resources and cite past performance as evidence. CRM Helps Manage the Entire Team It can takes years to complete a successful capture. And, there are typically many capture team members involved. This makes it difficult for leaders to oversee the process from start to finish. But CRM clarifies roles and responsibilities, as well as communication pipelines, to help managers stay organized and on target. Key players, such as the executive, delivery manager and pricing manager, can move tasks and opportunities smoothly within CRM, using the software’s greatest benefit–transparency– so members of the team can see how their work contributes to the capture management process. CRM Organizes All the Documents You Collect CRM improves company efficiency and customer service quality. Being able to seamlessly organize all the documents you collect throughout the capture process not only keeps everything at your fingertips, but also helps your team know what data is important and determine how to correctly measure progress. In the end, this knowledge enables capture management teams to choose the best strategy for moving forward. CRM’s automation of manual tasks is an added benefit that increases operational efficiency. CRM Keeps Executives Updated Executives need real-time information about the capture process so they can make educated, accurate decisions. CRM is the technology that can provide that. Because the executive team is constantly kept up-to-date, leaders have the correct information for grading each stage of the capture, implementing new strategies, and communicating with government clients. This information can also help decision makers determine whether or not to bring on a capture management consultant. Timely updates help execs know when it’s time to pursue a new opportunity or abandon an old one. Advanced CRM software, provides insight into win percentages, which undoubtedly helps with allocation of resources. Going Forward with CRM Not all CRMs are suitable for every business. You need to find a software solution that fits your company’s needs. You must implement the CRM correctly if you want to put yourself in the best position to land government contracts and exceed customer expectations. find out

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Uncategorized

Capture Management Process: Top 4 Steps Crucial to Success

explanation It’s indisputable that the capture management process is long, multi-faceted and complicated. As discussed in our last blog – even preparation for a capture should begin years in advance. But sometimes it seems that there are not enough hours in the day, week or month to get all necessary steps accomplished. Sometimes it does become necessary to cut some corners and prioritize. And to prioritize effectively, you must understand exactly which steps of capture management are completely crucial to success: Understanding Your Customer’s Requirements Understanding the requirements of your customers can be accomplished in a few different ways. However it is imperative that you recognize that none are mutually exclusive; in fact, you should do all in your power to touch on each of the following points so that you have the most thorough understanding of exactly what your customers are looking for. (more…)

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