Step-by-Step Guide to Win Government Contracts

Winning is not easy – it requires teamwork, commitment, training, and patience. But winning is possible, and it is more probably when you plan to win and then execute your plan. OneTeam is here to help you and your team win more government contracts as you create and execute your plan to win.

Winning begins very early in the BD Lifecycle and includes a sound technical approach developed with subject matter experts, a proven management plan, a thorough risk management plan, clear convincing graphics to tell your story, relevant past performance, and the price-to-win.

Get prepared and settle back for a marathon along with power walking, light jogging, and a few short sprints. Your BD Team should work like a well-choreographed relay team as you train together to reach your prize – proposal submission and hopefully a new or renewed government contract!

To recap our 12-part series, best practices from experienced GovCon BD professionals will agree that your BD staff needs to work and train together to Get More from 24 hours in a Day!

• To Win More Government Contracts, you must understand and respect The Deadline and the commitment. Select opportunities that support your company’s strategic plan and capabilities.
  
  
• Recruit the Best Business Development Team, assign roles and responsibilities to the team, ensure your entire BD Team is trained and ready to support the bid, and then work together for the win.
  
  
• Plan, then Execute – How Early Planning Leads to a Win. Plan early and select the best team with a capability matrix, avoid last-minute game-changing revelations and understand the differences in corporate capability to past performance.
  
  
• Set the Pace for a Win with a Training Plan. Develop and execute a capture plan that allows you to continuously assess and re-evaluate your company’s positioning and the competitive landscape through the eyes of your customer.
  
  
• Communicate with your Team using 3 Easy Steps to Communicate Effectively - communicate clearly, solicitate inputs, and communicate often to avoid hurdles.
  
  
• Prepare for the Start Signal – Capture Managers Develop Win Themes. Before the RFP release and develop capture strategies that are customer-focused and company supported. Use the win theme process to identify customer concerns, develop solutions, identify benefits to customers, craft compelling win themes, and get leadership buy-in and customer validation before the RFP hits the streets. 
  
  
• Prepare for the Start Signal – How Proposal Managers Maximize Proposal Win Themes. Create a win theme template, gather data, facilitate strategy discussion and workshops, and help the Capture Manager draft compelling win themes.
• Commit to the Team – Is BD Leadership Support Important? Senior company leadership buy-in and support is critical to success. Color-team reviewers must be committed with the end goal of improving the bid. Capture and Proposal Managers must coordinate and collaborate for a smooth transition from capture activities to proposal development.
  
  
• Adjust and Improve – How Proposal Automation Multiplies your Time Savings as you adjust, improve (automate) and leverage existing technologies. Reduce manual tasks and watch your team efforts multiply!
  
  
• Nearing the Finish Line – Solutions that Maximize Efforts. Look for solutions such as a Past Performance Evaluation Matrix, Past Performance Citations, and Checklists.
  
  
• Post-Race Recovery – Ensuring Success after Government Proposal Submission as you recognize the team, conduct a post-race debrief, and then rest and reset in preparation for the next bid.

This is the last of a 12-part series Get More from 24 Hours. This series is based on the eBook Get More From 24 Hours in a Day and Win More Government Contracts, which contains the entire series with additional bonus content and tutorials. The eBook is evolved from a presentation at APMP's International Bid & Proposal Con 2021, given by OneTeam's Product Manager, Donna Hamby. Download your free copy of the eBook.

OneTeam is a complete, secure, cloud-based collaboration platform for GovCons to track, qualify, capture, propose and win more contracts with fewer resources by streamlining and automating processes. OneTeam was designed and developed by a federal government contractor to address the lack of resources and time, as well as the pain associated with winning government contracts.