(1) Make the proper investment in time and resources to support the full BD lifecycle.
(2) Recognize that consistently successful BD requires a combination of research, intelligence gathering, and relationship building.
(3) Be patient and manage expectations for growth through Federal Government contracts.
(4) Know your capabilities / experience, and perform Pursuit / No Pursuit Analysis to make smart bid decisions.
(5) Before submitting a prime bid on a Federal Government contract, build a portfolio of subcontractor past performance.
(6) Carefully research potential teaming partners to find companies with the best qualifications.
(7) Track the opportunities being pursued in a pipeline.
(8) Use your pipeline as not only a bid tracking tool, but as a strategic planning and business analytics tool.
(9) If you are a small business with capabilities / experience that meet the Government’s requirements, then always make the time to submit responses to Sources Sought Notices (SSNs) and Requests for Information (RFI).
(10) After you a submit a SSN/RFI response, follow up to gain customer understanding/advocacy and to perform opportunity shaping.