Capture Management — Definition & Strategy

Definition

Capture Management is the strategic process of identifying, qualifying, and positioning a firm to win a specific, high-value contract well before the formal [RFP (Request for Proposal)](/glossary/rfp) is ever published.

Explanation

In enterprise sales, if you wait for the RFP to be published before you start trying to win the deal, you have already lost.

Capture Management is the art of pre-selling. A Capture Manager's job begins 6 to 18 months before a major contract goes out for bid. Their goal is to influence the buyer's thinking, understand the underlying political dynamics of the procurement, and shape the eventual RFP requirements so that they heavily favor their firm (often using an [RFI](/glossary/rfi)).

The Capture Plan

A formal Capture Plan is an internal strategy document that details:

1. The Intelligence: Who is the real economic buyer? Who is the incumbent? Why is the client unhappy with them?
2. The Strategy (Ghosting): How will we highlight the competitor's weaknesses without naming them directly?
3. The Teaming: Do we need to sign a [Teaming Agreement](/glossary/teaming-agreement) with a partner to cover a capability gap?

Commercial Checklist for Capture Management

1. Pre-RFP Influence: Did we meet with the stakeholders before the RFP was drafted?
2. Incumbent Analysis: Do we know exactly what the incumbent is charging and where they have failed?
3. Price to Win (PTW): Have we calculated the exact price point required to win the deal, and engineered a solution that allows us to hit that price while maintaining [Margin](/glossary/margin-leakage)?
4. [Bid/No-Bid Decision](/glossary/bid-no-bid): If the capture phase reveals we cannot unseat the incumbent, do we have the discipline to walk away before the RFP drops?

Related Concepts

• [RFP (Request for Proposal)](/glossary/rfp)
• [RFI (Request for Information)](/glossary/rfi)
• [Bid/No-Bid Decision](/glossary/bid-no-bid)