From Capture to Proposal: It’s all part of the plan!
FROM CAPTURE TO PROPOSAL: IT’S ALL PART OF THE PLAN
Congratulations; you have a bid decision. All your hard work during the business development and capture phases has paid off, and now you are ready to develop and submit that winning proposal. The capture manager already developed and diligently maintained a capture plan. Now you have to make the transition and publish the proposal management plan.
What is a proposal management plan? It is the roadmap developed by the proposal manager and based on the capture plan that provides guidance about the opportunity and the win strategy for the other proposal team members. It ensures they have the information and material needed to produce a quality proposal. It is tailored for each proposal effort depending on its size and complexity and contains the following information:
| Proposal Management Plan Elements | Contents |
| Proposal summary | 1) General information such the customer name, contract name, solicitation number, type of contract, estimated contract value, period of performance, draft and final RFP release dates, proposal due date 2) Capture plan 3) Project scope of work and deliverables |
| Customer profile | 1) Procurement office 2) Customer personnel (technical program manager, contracting office, contracting officer’s technical representative, etc.) 3) Evaluators and members of the Source Selection Board |
| Competitive analysis | 1) Comparison between your company and each competitor 2) Competitor strengths and weaknesses 3) Customer’s perception of the competitors 4) Potential solution each competitor may bid 5) Opportunities for ghosting |
| Strategy and messaging | 1) Capture strategy 2) Proposal strategy 3) Pricing strategy |
| Messaging | 1) Customer hot buttons and pain points 2) Win themes 3) Discriminators 4) Features and Benefits 5) Corporate experience and past performance |
| Team roles and responsibilities | 1) List of team members, including subcontractors and vendors, and each person’s assigned proposal responsibility 2) Contact information for each team member (name, address, email address, office phone number, cell phone number, etc.) |
| Proposal operations | 1) Location of War Room 2) Technology 3) Procedures 4) Submitting material 5) Version control |
| Proposal documentation | 1) Proposal outline 2) Writing assignments 3) Writers’ resources · Storyboards · Templates · Style guide 4) Draft Executive Summary |
Typically, the plan is distributed to the proposal team during the kickoff meeting. Like the capture plan, the proposal management plan is revised as new information about the opportunity is available. The proposal manager ensures the plan is easily accessible to all team members, which is especially important if someone is working virtually.
