Capture planning is like a stroppy teenager. It is estranged from the (work winning) family and too often stays in its room!
I was an early adopter of capture planning (c.2000). It is no longer in nappies and has done some growing up but I think it is fair to say its growth and integration into the broader business development family has been somewhat stunted.
Many organisations now recognise capture planning is crucial to successful work winning. The fragmentation between marketing, sales, capture, and bidding functions has hindered its potential to become a fully grown adult. Like many teenagers, capture planning hasn’t quite worked out its place in the family – does it sit in sales or bidding or is it a separate function?
I have often argued that you need to have both sales and bidding experience to be a successful capture manager. You need the creative and empathetic skills of sales and the rigour and discipline of bid management. It requires the maturity to recognise the role each skillset plays in being the ‘glue’ in the business development process.
Early in my career, I was sent on a SPIN selling course (SPIN Selling: Complete Guide to Sales Success | Huthwaite International), which I can recommend it’s simple, effective approach to anyone who works in business development. If everyone in business development saw themselves as a salesperson and received sales training, it would go a long way to delivering cohesive and effective capture planning.
Capture shouldn’t be seen only as a tool for large deals, or as a separate activity lurking in its bedroom (that the rest of the business development family is too afraid to go into!). To transition into a mature and indispensable part of the family, capture should be a seamless, second-nature component throughout the business development lifecycle.
It will take hard work and a fresh mindset to foster a holistic approach to work winning. We have to move away from sales throwing an opportunity over the fence to bidding and walking away thinking their work is done. Equally, the bidding and delivery functions mustn’t lose sight of what the client really wants and fall into the trap of just going through the motions to deliver a tender.
By working in harmony with other elements of business development, effective and mature capture planning can ensure all parts of the organisation are aligned towards the common goal of winning business. Only then can capture planning truly outgrow its teenage years and become a fully-fledged member of the business development family.
Virginia Ainscough
Virginia is the owner of Lanvine Services Ltd. She is the world’s first Certified Expert Capture Manager and is an experienced bidding and sales professional (M.ISP). She is highly skilled in Capture Management, Business Development, Bid Strategy, Sales and Bid Processes. Starting dialogues with clients to determine their needs and then working with a multi-disciplinary capture/bid team to win the opportunities is what Virginia finds most satisfying.
