When should you gather information for opportunity/capture qualification?

Gathering information for opportunity or capture qualification is crucial in the early stages of the business development lifecycle. The focus during market identification involves understanding the overall landscape, identifying potential opportunities, and determining fit with strategic objectives. By collecting relevant data at this stage, teams can assess the viability of the opportunity based on market needs, competition, and alignment with organizational strengths.

This information is foundational for making informed decisions about whether to pursue a specific opportunity or to invest further resources in developing a capture strategy. It allows organizations to prioritize opportunities based on their potential for success, helping to streamline efforts and concentrate on the most promising prospects.

In contrast, gathering information during opportunity or capture development is more focused on refining the strategy based on a specific opportunity that has already been identified, while proposal response development is aimed at crafting a competitive proposal in response to a request. Continuous gathering emphasizes ongoing assessment and adaptation but may not cater to the essential insights needed at the very onset of the process as found in market identification.