Glossary / Business Development
Capability statement
A capability statement is the one-page document a company hands to contracting officers, small-business specialists and primes. It carries the company's core competencies, a few differentiators, past-performance references, the company data buyers look for (UEI, CAGE code, NAICS codes, size and socioeconomic status, contract vehicles) and a point of contact. Buyers use it to decide whether to set a buy aside, which firms to invite to quote and whom to call for market research.
Why it matters to your pipeline
A capability statement is the first thing a buyer sees and often the only thing. One written in the buyer's language, with the codes the buyer searches on, gets a company counted in market research and into the small-business specialist's list. GovSmith builds the client's statement from its Library, so it stays current as the company's facts change.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
A small-business specialist at the Department of the Interior receives a capability statement from a drone-survey firm with NAICS 541370 and past performance on two state projects. Two months later the firm is one of five invited to quote on a $140K mapping job.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.