Your Blueprint for Beating the Competition
A capture plan isn’t a document you write for compliance - it’s your playbook for winning. It forces you to think through how you’re going to beat your competitors, what the customer really wants, and what it will take to get the contract. Companies with good capture plans win 3x more often than those that wing it. The reality: Most companies either skip capture planning entirely or write generic plans that collect dust. Winners use capture plans as living documents that guide every decision and action during pursuit.Pro tip: Your capture plan gets created automatically when you decide to bid an opportunity. Start filling it out immediately - waiting until the RFP drops is too late.
What Goes in a Winning Capture Plan
Executive Summary (The One Page That Matters)
This is what your executives and capture team read first. Make it count:- What We’re Chasing: One sentence describing the opportunity and why it matters to your business
- Why We’ll Win: The 2-3 strongest reasons the customer should choose you over everyone else
- Our Strategy: How you’re going to position against the competition and win
- Win Probability: Your honest assessment (if it’s under 30%, question whether you should bid)
- Investment Required: What this pursuit will cost in dollars and people
Solution Overview (What You’re Actually Going to Deliver)
Don’t write a generic solution description - show you understand their specific problem:What They Really Want
What They Really Want
- The real problem they’re trying to solve (not just what the requirements say)
- How they’ll measure success (the metrics that matter to their boss)
- The constraints that keep them up at night (budget, schedule, politics)
- What they care about most in the evaluation (technical excellence vs. low cost)
How You'll Solve It
How You'll Solve It
- Your specific approach to their specific problem
- What makes your solution different and better
- The biggest risks and how you’ll handle them
- Why your approach gives them the best outcome
How You'll Execute
How You'll Execute
- Your project management approach (especially if you do it better than competitors)
- The team structure and key people they’ll work with
- Major milestones and delivery schedule
- How you’ll ensure quality and avoid problems
- Your plan for transition and getting started
Competitive Positioning (Know Your Enemy)
Figure out how to beat each competitor before they can beat you:Size Up the Competition
| Competitor | Their Strengths | Their Weaknesses | How They’ll Attack | How You’ll Counter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incumbent Co. | 5 years of customer relationship | Outdated technology approach | ”Don’t risk change" | "Innovation without disruption” |
| MegaCorp | Unlimited resources | High overhead costs | ”We can do everything" | "Right-sized, focused solution” |
| LowBid Inc. | Rock bottom pricing | Limited capabilities | ”Cheapest option" | "Best value, not lowest cost” |
Your Strategic Position
What Makes You Dangerous:- Past performance that directly matches their needs
- Technical capabilities competitors can’t match
- Key people with relevant experience and relationships
- Customer relationships built over years
- Areas where competitors are stronger
- Potential customer concerns about your approach
- Resource or capability limitations
- Past performance gaps or weaknesses
- Market trends that favor your approach
- Customer pain points you can uniquely address
- Technology shifts that give you an advantage
- Partnership opportunities that strengthen your position
- Strong competitors with better positioning
- Budget cuts that reduce opportunity value
- Technical challenges you can’t overcome
- Schedule pressures that favor incumbents
Your Winning Messages (Win Themes and Discriminators)
Win Themes: Why They Should Choose You
Win themes are your best arguments for why the customer should pick you. They must pass three tests:- Customer-focused: Solve their specific problems and priorities
- Differentiating: Something competitors can’t say as convincingly
- Provable: Backed by hard evidence they can verify
Build Themes That Win
1
Start With Their Problem
What keeps the customer up at night? Your theme must address their real pain point, not your product features.
2
Make Your Claim
One clear sentence about why you’re the best solution to their problem:
- “We reduce cybersecurity incidents by 95% while cutting costs 30%”
- “Our approach modernizes your systems without disrupting operations”
- “We deliver on-time and under-budget because we’ve done this exact work before”
3
Prove It
Back up your claim with specific, verifiable evidence:
- Relevant past performance with measurable results
- Technical demonstrations or case studies
- Customer references who will validate your claims
- Awards, certifications, or third-party validation
4
Ghost the Competition
Make it clear why competitors can’t make the same claim:
- What they lack that you have
- Weaknesses your strength exposes
- Why their approach is inferior to yours
Win Theme Example
Customer Problem: “We need cybersecurity that actually stops attacks without breaking our operations” Our Theme: “Our cybersecurity framework has protected critical infrastructure for 15 years with zero successful breaches while maintaining 99.99% system availability.” Proof Points:- 15 years protecting DoD networks with zero successful attacks
- 50+ installations with perfect security record
- 99.99% uptime maintained throughout security implementation
- 24/7 monitoring with average 90-second response time
Discriminators
Discriminators are specific advantages that set you apart from all competitors. They must be:- Unique: Only you can claim this advantage
- Relevant: Important to the customer’s decision
- Provable: Demonstrable with hard evidence
Types of Discriminators
Technical Discriminators
- Proprietary technology or methods
- Patent-protected innovations
- Unique technical capabilities
- Performance advantages
Past Performance Discriminators
- Relevant contract experience
- Exceptional performance ratings
- Customer testimonials
- Award or recognition history
Team Discriminators
- Key personnel qualifications
- Unique expertise combinations
- Customer relationships
- Security clearance levels
Corporate Discriminators
- Socioeconomic status advantages
- Financial strength and stability
- Geographic presence
- Facility and equipment advantages
Price-to-Win Analysis
Market Research
Gather pricing intelligence through:- Historical contract awards in similar scope
- Industry benchmarking data
- Competitor pricing patterns from past pursuits
- Customer budget discussions and insights
Pricing Strategy Development
Cost-Plus Strategy
Cost-Plus Strategy
Best when:
- High technical risk or uncertainty
- Customer values innovation over cost
- Strong past performance premium
- Focus on technical excellence and risk mitigation
- Justify higher costs with superior capabilities
- Emphasize value and long-term benefits
Best Value Strategy
Best Value Strategy
Best when:
- Evaluation emphasizes technical merit
- You have strong technical advantages
- Price is important but not dominant factor
- Optimize price while maintaining technical advantages
- Focus on value propositions and benefits
- Target the competitive “sweet spot”
Low-Price Strategy
Low-Price Strategy
Best when:
- Procurement is primarily price-focused
- Requirements are well-defined and low-risk
- You have sustainable cost advantages
- Aggressive cost optimization
- Streamlined solution approach
- Focus on efficiency and productivity
Price-to-Win Modeling
Build pricing models that consider:- Independent cost estimates (ICE) ranges
- Competitor pricing capabilities and patterns
- Customer budget constraints and expectations
- Win probability at different price levels
Capture Plan Development Process
Phase 1: Initial Assessment (Bid Decision)
- Market research and opportunity analysis
- Initial competitive assessment
- High-level solution concept
- Go/no-go recommendation
Phase 2: Detailed Planning (Early Capture)
- Comprehensive requirements analysis
- Detailed competitive intelligence
- Win theme development
- Initial pricing strategy
Phase 3: Strategy Refinement (Active Capture)
- Solution optimization based on customer feedback
- Competitive strategy adjustments
- Pricing model refinement
- Team and partnership finalizations
Phase 4: Pre-Proposal (RFP Release Preparation)
- Final strategy validation
- Proposal planning and resource allocation
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Readiness review and approval
Managing Capture Plans
Version Control
- Track plan revisions and updates
- Maintain change logs with rationale
- Archive historical versions
- Distribute updates to team members
Collaboration Features
- Real-time editing for team collaboration
- Comment threads for discussions and feedback
- Task assignment for action items
- Approval workflows for plan sign-offs
Integration Points
- Opportunity data automatically flows into plans
- Competitive intelligence updates dynamically
- Team assignments sync with resource planning
- Gate reviews reference current plan status
Capture Plan Templates
Rogue provides industry-specific templates:- IT Services: Technology solution captures
- Professional Services: Consulting and support contracts
- Construction: Facilities and infrastructure projects
- R&D: Research and development opportunities
- Manufacturing: Product delivery contracts
Customizing Templates
Adapt templates to your organization:- Add company-specific sections
- Customize evaluation criteria
- Include standard win themes
- Set default competitive factors
Start with a template and customize it based on your organization’s capture process and the specific opportunity requirements.
Best Practices
Content Quality
- Be specific: Use concrete examples and quantified benefits
- Stay current: Update plans as new intelligence becomes available
- Focus on differentiation: Emphasize what makes you unique
- Support with evidence: Every claim should have supporting proof
Process Discipline
- Regular updates: Review and refresh plans at least weekly
- Team collaboration: Involve all key team members in development
- Gate reviews: Use plans as basis for capture decision points
- Lessons learned: Capture insights for future opportunities
Strategic Thinking
- Customer-centric: Always view from the customer’s perspective
- Competition-aware: Consider what competitors will do
- Risk-conscious: Address potential challenges proactively
- Value-focused: Emphasize benefits over features