The most important thing you can do is take a long look in the mirror and ask the question: “Am I ready for this fiscal year?” Maybe not – status quo may not be enough to be ready. You know a surge in government spending is on the horizon, but you may not have everything in place within your organization to ride the wave.
For instance, the reality is that an increase in defense spending means less money to go around in other areas. Competition will be fierce in areas where the opportunities are fewer. To get ready, make sure you’ve checked all of the boxes on this list to prepare your capture management process for the shift in government spending.
❏ Assess Your Capture Management Process
Before you can start planning for new opportunities, you need to know you can manage prospects from the first contact all the way through to the award and beyond. That starts with a long and honest look at your existing capture management process.
Are you using the right software? Do you have a team that can grow with your opportunities? Can your software find the weak links in your pipeline, and help with the planning to plug the gaps?
❏ Line Up Workers
Your current team can handle your existing capture management needs, but what happens when 30 prospects balloon into more than 100? You’ll need more staff, in a hurry. Until those prospects materialize, and you can accurately assess your needs going forward, it may not make a lot of sense to hire new full-time people.
Instead, hiring experienced consulting help, with expertise specific to the agency you’re courting for new contracts, might be helpful. Not only do you rapidly get a consultant up to speed, you also gain access to expert help at a fraction of the cost of a new employee.
Plus, you can control costs. If, against all predictions, defense spending remains static, and the budget remains largely the same, you can let the consulting help go without the expense of unemployment.
❏ Integrate Process and Platform with CRM
When you have the right people and the ability to scale your capture management team, you also need the right tools. You’ll want something that does more than just a spreadsheet. As the number of prospects grow, you’ll need a CRM pipeline solution specifically geared toward government contracting.
Capture Executive software helps you track every prospect and contact, so you know where you are with every deal. That is valuable information when working with consultants and your in-house capture management team. The more you know, the more you can plan and prepare.
❏ Develop the Right Partnerships
Now is the time to start looking at partnership opportunities. When your internal process is as ready as you can get it, it’s time to start looking outward. If you don’t have any contracts with the Department of Homeland Security, it might be time to start wooing a company that does for a potential partnership.
The same is true for military contracts or infrastructure. If you pivot your offerings to meet changes in government spending patterns, a partner with an existing relationship with these agencies can be invaluable.
❏ Get Proposal Help
Remember the need for more workers? It’s never more important than when looking at proposal preparation. All the upfront work you do comes down to that final document. If it isn’t perfect, you could miss out on an ideal opportunity. Even if you have enough people to handle the day-to-day capture management tasks, make sure you can also handle the surge in proposals. Have consulting companies lined up with agreements in place so when you do need surge support, you can simply reach out and have immediate support.
