The Value Proposition: Why Your Business Goals Should Include a Business Development/Capture Consultant

First, let’s start with the two terms, “business development” and “capture.”?Forbes feature writer, Scott Pollack, has a pretty good definition, “Business?development [BD] is?the?creation of long-term value for an organization from customers, markets, and relationships.” ??Capture, for our purposes here, is defined as a specific set of actions to qualify, pursue and win a specific opportunity.?Said another way, BD is the sensing and shaping actions of an organization that initially finds or creates opportunities and capture is the downstream, tactical component that assesses and wins contracts.

Today there are many consultants in the GovCon space.?These consultancies range from large, publicly traded companies to single individuals who consult as a sole proprietor or LLC.?They provide general BD and capture services or very specific portions of those functions, e.g., setting up customer meetings, proposal writing or “color team” reviews, etc.

Why are there so many??I submit it’s for several reasons:?

1)???Winning (and keeping) government contracts is complex, which causes a barrier to entry.

2)???Subject matter experts (SMEs) who know the ins and outs of the government procurement process help to increase the probability of winning a contract (called the pWin).?There are also consultants who help you execute and keep your contracts!

3)???This process knowledge is valuable to both new and seasoned government contractors,

hence companies or individuals can make a profit providing this service.

Let’s get back to value.?What is the value of a BD/Capture consultant??The answer is: it depends.?What is your expertise with the government procurement process, specific to the agency you are targeting??How large is your BD/Capture team??Are you trying to enter a new market/customer segment??How large is the opportunity you are pursuing and what kind of customer intimacy do you already have established??Significant in the BD definition above, is the last word: “relationships”.?It has been said the government procurement process is all about people and money.?But a dollar can’t spend itself, so it really is all about PEOPLE.?BD and Capture consultants can provide missing or additional agency procurement expertise as well as expand your businesses relationships to customers AND teammates.

Many government contractors have in-house business developers and capture managers.?According to several online salary sources, the average annual salary (+bonuses) of a business development director is ~$235K, while a capture manager commands ~$150-190K.?This is not the cost to the business.?The fully burdened cost for a BD director could approach $400K and the capture manager cost to the business is well north of $300K.?The cost of in-house business development and capture capabilities is significant and can limit growth.?Businesses can get stuck in a “chicken or egg” dilemma needing growth but unable to afford another indirect FTE.?Additionally, your best BD person has a large network and market knowledge, but he or she can’t know all your potential customers and market growth segments intimately.

BD/Capture consultants offer decades of expertise in a particular agency’s buying practices, processes, contracts, and priorities.?They bring an expanded network and customer intimacy in the market segment you want to enter.?Consultants bring velocity (speed in the right direction) to your pipeline by finding, assessing and qualifying opportunities more efficiently.?They know the competitive landscape and can help your company make the best teaming decisions.?You can use consultants for limited scope/duration to manage costs.?In other words, you can get these benefits for much less than the cost of an in-house employee.

At Fed Sherpas, we’ve helped start-ups new to government contracting as well as top tier defense contractors.?We’ve also assisted non-profit companies.?Our consultants help augment client’s BD teams long-term as well as participate in specific proposal efforts lasting a few hours or days.?We’ve helped other clients with contract compliance requirements and keeping the contracts they won.?

Our Sherpa Ethos:?KNOW THE WAY, HELP CARRY THE LOAD.?As seasoned professionals and/or former senior government officials, Fed Sherpas’ consultants are adept at creating strategies for success (they know the way) and can assist our clients with tactical execution (help carry the load).

If you have ambitious goals of growing your revenue in the federal market, it makes sense to add Fed Sherpas to your team!?

Reach out to us at our website www.fedsherpas.com