Developing an Opportunity Pipeline“Simplifying a complex concept”

Presenters: Ms. Tan V. Wilson, Entellect, LLCMr. Thomas Petruska, Contracts Unlimited, Inc.

June 10, 2015 10:00am – 11:00 am

Session TopicsUnderstanding Federal

Business Development LifecycleWhy is a BD Pipeline

important Inputs: Where to find the

opportunities Selection: Gate ReviewsKnowledge Management:

Where and how to manage dataNow what?Key Take Aways

Tan V. Wilson Background Over 21 years of program management

experience and certified Project Management Professional (PMP) Over 10 years of Federal contracting, project,

and proposal management experience with both Civilian and Defense Agencies Shipley Trained Proposal Writer and Manager Notable Proposal Wins:

– INSCOM Global Intelligence– NIH CIOSP3– SAMHSA Domains IV and V Contracts– DIA SIS Contract– HUD Big Buy Contract

Thomas Petruska Background Over 37 years of specialized experience with

commercial and government contracts -including preparation and negotiation of Team Agreements, Non-disclosure Agreements, equitable adjustments and certified claims, termination settlement proposals, and other agreements Extensive experience with preparing and

supporting GSA Schedules and the Multiple Award Schedule Program Experienced with preparing and negotiating

business transactions agreements such as software licenses, terms of sale and purchase order agreements, and participating in M&A transactions

Understanding Federal Business Development Lifecycle

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Business Development Lifecycle

•Opportunity Profile •Stakeholder Buy-In•Capture Project Plan

•Capture Team Kickoff•Bid Development•Bid Review•Stakeholder Approval

•Negotiation & Contract Formation

•Contract Fulfillment•Opportunity Growth

Pre-Bid Phase

(Capture)

Post-Bid Phase

(Program)

Bid Phase

(Proposal)

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What is Business Development?Business development involves activities focusing on:

– Identifying and qualifying new business opportunities–Determining which opportunities and customers to

pursue–Conducting multiple gate reviews Business development planning:

–A disciplined approach to establishing strategic and tactical activities

–Seamlessly integrate process with IT tools and infrastructure

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What is Capture Management? Capture management involves activities focusing on:

– Client interactions and the importance of understanding requirements and objectives

– Build and maintain collaborative knowledge management system– Capture plans and capture team organization development– Opportunity assessment reviews, positioning, competitive

assessments, and establishing price-to-win– Bid/no-bid decisions (multiple times) Capture planning:

– A disciplined approach to establishing strategic and tactical activities

– Builds customer intimacy to possibly win contracts– Creates a pricing strategy

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Five Key Capture Process Areas

Manage Capture Process

•Develop Capture Plan

•Determine Key Management Actions

Build Relationships•Form & Train Capture Team

•Expand Customer Relationships

Gather & Analyze & Assess Data

•Opportunity•Customer•Competitor•Self

Develop & Implement Strategies

•PTW•Win•Teaming•High-level Proposal Solutions

•Black Hat Review•Program Execution•Turn Strategies into Action Plans

Transition to Proposal Planning

•Identify Proposal Team

•Proposal Management Plan

•Proposal Strategy Session

•Draft Executive Summary

•Collect High-level Proposal Collateral

1 2 3 4 5

http://sbdl.shipleywins.com/

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Right People, Processes, and Tools

“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere.” – Ronald Reagan

Executive Leadership, Business Development Managers, Capture Managers, Proposal Managers, Program Managers

Pre-Bid (BD and Capture)Bid (Proposal)Post-Bid (Program/Project)

EZGovOpps, GovWin, Salesforce.com, Privia, SharePoint, Asana

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Why is a BD Pipeline Important

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Benefits of a Good Pipeline Stability

– Minimizes the ebbs and flows– Forecasts and visualizes new potential business to help set and

maintain business goals– Balances short- and long-term opportunities Long Term Focus

– Minimizes the immediacy to produce sales now– Forces more critical and strategic review and consideration of

potential new opportunities Better Allocation of Resources

– Align the appropriate BD professional with the best opportunities for success

– Allows BD professionals to better qualify and nurture new opportunities

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Elements to a Typical Pipeline Status (Capture, Canceled, or No-Bid)Opp ID (RFP, GovWin, etc.) Contract Name Agency/Office Set Aside (SDVOSB, F/O, etc.) NAIC Codes Estimated Value (if prime) Company Value (if sub) RFP Release Date Proposal Due Date Award Date Comments BD Lead

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Stages of a Pipeline Identification

– Are your leads aligned with your services and qualifications?– Have you identified short and long term opportunities? – Are your leads too heavily focused towards GWAC/IDIQ/MATOC or

single award contracts? – Are your leads aligned with your Tier 1 (current work) and Tier 2

(future or similar work) Agencies/Customers? Qualification

– Do you know the customer, scope of work, have the right past performance, etc.?

– Is there an incumbent, is it wired, or requires esoteric certifications or experience?

– Have you performed a SWOT analysis? – Have you conducted critical gate reviews?

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Stages of a Pipeline (continued) Pursuit

– Have you made bid/no bid decisions?– Do you have the resources to develop a compliant and compelling

proposal? – Are there too many bids?– How may bids are outstanding?– Are you able to bid and make a reasonable profit and provide an

adequate return on investment? Award

– Allows BD professionals to better qualify and nurture new opportunities

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Inputs: Where to find the opportunities

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Navigating WebsitesUSASpending.gov (https://www.usaspending.gov) FPDS.gov (https://www.fpds.gov) Federal Agency Acquisition and Procurement Links

(http://oamp.od.nih.gov/acquisition-offices/contract-tool-box/federal-links) GovWin/Deltek (https://govwin.com) $$EZGovOpps (https://ezgovopps.com/home/) $$GSA Forecast

(http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/101163)

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Publications

Carroll Publishing (http://www.carrollpublishing.com) $$Set Aside Alert (http://www.setasidealert.com/) $$ IT Dashboard (https://itdashboard.gov/) – Exhibit 53 (report of all agency IT investments)– Exhibit 300 (specific IT investments)Performance.gov (http://www.performance.gov/)

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Selection: Gate Reviews

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Purpose of Different Review StagesGate Review 1: Qualify Opportunity –Verify that the opportunity is aligned to your corporate

capabilities and qualifications –Determine whether the opportunity is sufficiently defined–Validate if opportunity is real and funding is availableGate Review 2: Pursue Opportunity –Determine whether to initiate formal capture process–Determine key customer hot buttons–Determine key win themes –Validate or adjust win strategy –Develop price to win analysis/strategy

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Purpose of Different Review Stages (continued)

Gate Review 3: Bid/No Bid Decision –Verify the ability to win (win themes, discriminators, key

personnel, team members, etc.)–Address any gaps or proposal risks–Complete capture processGate Review 4: Bid Validation–Conduct after final RFP is released–Determine if there are any “deal breakers”

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Recommended Review Time Goals (New Opportunities)

OPPORTUNITY SIZE

Stage Up to $5M $5+M −$15M > $15M

Identification

Within 15 days of adding opportunity into pipeline

Within 15 days of adding opportunity into pipeline

Within 15 days of adding opportunity into pipeline

Qualifications/PursuitAt least 45 days before expected RFP release

At least 90 days before expected RFP release

At least 180 days before expected RFP release

Preliminary Bid/No BidAt least 30 daysbefore expected RFP release

At least 60 days before expected RFP release

At least 90 days before expected RFP release

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Knowledge Management: Where and how to manage data

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Selecting the Right Tools How do you collaborate? Are your team at

one location or geographically dispersed? – Artifacts – storage and version control– Technology – Open Source and Subscriptions Are your tools aligned with your processes

and needs? – Artifacts - Checklists and Forms– Technology - SharePoint, Privia,

Salesforce.com Are your tools flexible and tailorable?

– Artifacts – spreadsheets versus an Access database

– Technology – Shared network drives versus cloud-based tools (e.g., DropBox, Box, etc.)

Knowledge Management and Communication Tools With an increased number of geographically dispersed teams, we all need to not only be mobile, but able to collaborate in a virtual environment. Cloud Storage

– Box.com (free and subscription)– Dropbox (free and subscription)– Evernote (free and subscription)– Google Drive (free)

Real Time Collaboration (free and subscription)– Join Me (desktop sharing and teleconference)– Uberconference (desktop sharing and teleconference)– Skype (video and group teleconferencing)– Microsoft Lync and CRM

“It is not a question of how well each process works; the question is how well they all work together.” — Lloyd Dobyns and Clare Crawford-Mason

Now what?

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Consider Building a TeamAfter identifying opportunities, assemble the team that

completes the skills and capabilities you need to win the contract.Be sure to comply with SBA and VA rules.VA requires mandatory debarment for misrepresentation of

eligibility. Consider mentor-protégé to build pipeline

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Confidentiality / Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA)Purpose of this Agreement

– Protects your Trade Secret Information

– What are your Trade Secrets? Take Inventory.– Protects the proprietary information of other businesses.

– Used when discussing joint business efforts.

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Forming Your TeamCollaboration to benefit from each company’s unique

capabilities.Enhanced performance to government at reduced

A Team is formed when: 2 or more contractors combine in a joint venture to act as a

single entity to prepare a proposal for a prospective government contract; or,

One company acts as a prime contractor and the other

Caution: Teaming agreements are NOT subcontracts

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Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTA) Characteristics

Applicable to GSA Schedules.Both have privity with the Government.Team Lead can be any party to the ArrangementPrices must be at or below the GSA Price List.The IFF is applicable to all parties to the

Arrangement.

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Joint Venture Purpose and SBA RulesFormed for a single purpose- earn a profit.Single legal entity – type of partnership.Not an on-going enterprise.Combine abilities – work closely

A SDVOSB may Joint Venture with one or more other SBs.The SDVOSB and the other SB must be small under

the NAICS Code for competitive procurements, orThe JV must be small under the NAICS Code in a sole

source procurement.

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SDVO SubcontractingSDVO set-aside procurements, count SDVOSBs

subcontractors work toward the limitations on subcontractingNon-SDVO procurements, normal limitations are

applicableBe careful of ostensible subcontractor affiliation In an SDVO set-aside procurement, the

subcontracting limits apply to the JV, not your VOSBThe 40% rule for unpopulated 8(a) JVs is not

applicable but at least one SDVO SB should control the JV.

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Key Takeaways The size, value, and diversity of your pipeline matters Develop a repeatable and scalable processes tailored to your

company for collecting, reviewing, and maintaining your pipeline Develop and properly maintain your knowledge management

system by using the right tools for your company Use technology to support and enable your company to keeps

individuals focused on the common goal Pause to collect lessons learned and debrief your team after each

capture and proposal effort Team carefully and for the right reasons and with the right

organizations

Questions? • Tan V. Wilson

– Entellect, LLC– tanwilson@entellectllc.com or 703.489.1947– www.entellectllc.com

• Thomas Petruska – Contracts Unlimited, Inc. – tpetruska@contractsunlimitedinc.com or

877.327.3812 – www.contractsunlimitedinc.com

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