The Capture Planning Process: Win Before the RFP Drops
By the time an RFP is released, 80% of the competitive battle is already over. Capture planning is how winning teams prepare months in advance.
Why Capture Planning Matters
Industry data consistently shows that organizations with mature capture planning processes win 50-70% of the opportunities they pursue, compared to 10-20% for reactive bidders who wait for the RFP. The reason is simple: by the time an RFP is published, the requirements have already been shaped by someone — if it wasn't you, it was your competitor.
Capture planning transforms proposal development from a reactive, time-pressured scramble into a proactive, strategic process. It gives you time to understand the customer, assess the competition, build the right team, and develop a winning solution before the clock starts ticking.
Phase 1: Opportunity Identification
The first phase is identifying opportunities worth pursuing. Monitor government forecast databases, agency procurement plans, existing contract expirations, and industry intelligence. Not every opportunity is worth pursuing — apply a bid/no-bid framework that considers your probability of winning, the strategic value of the contract, resource availability, and alignment with your capabilities.
For each qualified opportunity, assign a capture manager and begin building your capture plan. The capture plan is a living document that tracks your strategy, actions, and intelligence throughout the pursuit.
Phase 2: Customer Engagement
Understanding the customer's needs, priorities, and decision-making process is the most valuable capture activity. Engage through legitimate channels: industry days, pre-solicitation conferences, RFI responses, capability briefings, and meetings with program managers and contracting officers.
Your goals are to understand the customer's pain points and desired outcomes, learn about the current solution and what's working or not, identify the evaluation team's priorities, position your company's capabilities and past performance, and shape requirements toward your strengths (where ethically appropriate). Document every interaction and share intelligence with your capture team.
Phase 3: Competitive Assessment and Solution Development
Research your likely competitors: their strengths, weaknesses, incumbency status, teaming relationships, and probable pricing. This intelligence drives your competitive strategy — how you'll differentiate your offering and where you'll focus your win themes.
Develop your technical solution before the RFP drops. Identify the right team — key personnel and teaming partners — and secure their commitment. Draft preliminary win themes based on your understanding of the customer's priorities and your competitive advantages.
By the time the RFP is released, you should have a clear win strategy, committed team, preliminary solution, and draft content. The proposal phase then becomes about refinement and compliance rather than invention under pressure.