Glossary / Business Development
Capture
Capture is the pursuit of a specific opportunity from the moment it is identified until the proposal is submitted. It covers the research on the buyer and the incumbent, the meetings and questions that shape how the requirement is written, the choice to prime or team, the pricing strategy and the win themes the proposal will carry. Large contractors run capture as a discipline with a named capture manager per pursuit; a small firm usually does it in the gaps between delivery work.
Why it matters to your pipeline
Most awards are decided before the solicitation is posted, by the companies the buyer already knows and the way the requirement got written. A firm that starts at the solicitation is answering questions somebody else framed. GovSmith runs the capture work for its clients: the vCM watches the forecasts and the sources-sought notices, qualifies each opening and brings the client in when a decision is theirs to make.
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 sources-sought notice for help-desk support appears eleven months before the solicitation. A small IT firm answers it, meets the program office, learns the incumbent's contract ends in June and that the buyer wants a small-business set-aside. By the time the RFP posts, the firm has a teaming partner, a price and three past-performance references ready.
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.