How a Solid Pursuit Strategy Will Improve Your Win Rate

Ashley (Kayes) Floro, CPP APMP • March 16, 2026


In the competitive world of government and commercial contracting, winning more work is rarely just about writing better proposals. However, organizations often focus heavily on improving proposal quality while overlooking a critical upstream factor: whether they should be pursuing the opportunity at all. A thoughtful pursuit strategy helps teams focus their time, resources, and energy on opportunities that align with their strengths, relationships, and long-term business goals. By applying discipline to the pursuit process and using metrics such as win rates and capture rates to guide decisions, companies can better prioritize the opportunities that truly move the needle for the business. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how understanding these metrics and applying a structured pursuit strategy can help organizations improve both their efficiency and their overall probability of win.


Win Rate vs. Capture Rate


Before we discuss the pursuit strategy in a bit more detail, I wanted to touch on win rats vs. capture rates. Win rates are calculated by taking total opportunities won and dividing by total opportunities pursued, while capture rates are the total dollars won by the total dollars pursued. Looking at both rates is important in understanding whether you have a healthy pursuit strategy.


Sometimes looking at the numbers in extremes can help. For example, let’s say your team loses one large proposal worth $500M but wins three small proposals worth $10M each. In this instance, your win rate is fairly high (75%), but the impact to revenue is fairly low ($30M). In this example, you’ll see that the capture rate is actually quite low as well ($30M/$530M = 6%). Now let’s say your team wins that one large proposal worth $500M but loses the three small proposals worth $10M each. In this instance, your win rate is comparably lower (25%), but your capture rate is significantly higher ($500M won/$530M pursued = 94%). In this example, the $500M in wins does much more for the company’s overall business performance than the $30M in wins from the example with the higher win rate.


You should aim to have a healthy balance between your win and capture rates. The team should be sure to consider the administrative costs that go into the smaller deals—on both the pursuit side and the execution side. Smaller dollar value proposals often require just as much effort to pursue as larger dollar value proposals—and require almost as much contractual documentation on the execution side. All that is not to say that your company should only go after large opportunities. For example, based on the size of and capabilities of your organization, it may simply be easier to win smaller opportunities. By pursuing opportunities that are in your company’s sweet spot, these multiple small opportunities may keep your win rates high and revenues steady. However, by slowly and strategically pursuing larger efforts, you may be able to expand into contracts that overall will require less administrative support on the pursuit and win side, as well as on the execution side.


How to Use Win and Capture Rates to Better Inform Pursuit Strategies


Capture and win rates are great starting points for assessing the health of a business development organization. For example, if you notice low win or capture rates, you can start to assess the reasons why you might now be winning. I recommend starting with the evaluation debriefs from the customer. If the debriefs cite problems with compliance, then it may be that the process is breaking down at the end, when the Proposal Manager takes the reins. However, if the debriefs cite problems with the solution or lack of customer understanding, it’s much more likely the problem starts much earlier than the RFP drop, during the business development and capture phases. Or there may even be a breakdown in the transfer of knowledge and information between the capture and proposal phases.


Companies can also analyze which customers and services they seem to have higher success rates with and the reasons why this may be the case. For example, you’ll likely notice a higher success rate among opportunities where the team has better relationships with the customer, proven contract success with the customer, and/or proven contract success delivering a similar product or service. In those areas where you notice less success, perhaps you need to build stronger customer relationships, team to strengthen your position within the customer organization, and/or consider subcontracting in product/service areas where you are looking to expand.


Assessing Potential Opportunities


Armed with an understanding of your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can begin to make better informed decisions when assessing potential opportunities. When assessing potential opportunities for a positive pursuit decision, it’s important to ask questions that determine whether the opportunity aligns with the overall company strategic goals, whether the opportunity meets individual business unit goals (if applicable), whether the company has the right capabilities to win and deliver the work, and whether the team has the necessary past performance to support a win. When vetting potential opportunities in the pipeline, teams may consider factors such as the win probability, whether there is adequate time to respond, whether the team has solid customer information, whether funding is available, and whether the opportunity falls within the targeted business market. Other considerations include how well the team can meet the anticipated requirements, whether the contract is worth the effort required to bid, and whether the team has the available resources to sufficiently support the proposal effort. The team may also consider the following guidance when making pursuit decisions:


Similar Product/Service, Existing Customer


Pursuit Indication: Strong


Recommended Strategy:  Because you know the product, market, and customer, you should focus on the competition and understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and likely strategies


Similar Product/Service, New Customer


Pursuit Indication:  Some Caution


Recommended Strategy: Because you don’t know the customer and market as well, you should first focus your efforts on learning the market and customer. You’ll want to establish your company in the market and build relationships with the customer before focusing on the competition.


New Product/Service, Existing Customer


Pursuit Indication:  Caution


Recommended Strategy: You’ll want to proceed with caution. First focus on filling capability gaps and making sure you have a solution that meets the needs of your customer. Then turn your attention to learning about the competition.


New Product/Service, New Customer


Pursuit Indication:  Weak/Success Unlikely


Recommended Strategy: You should drop this opportunity from the pipeline. If you decide to pursue this opportunity, it will require significant resources and will still likely have a very low probability of success.


By spending energy on opportunities that fit the business goals and that have a higher chance of success, you’ll not only save time and money, you’ll improve the morale of your resources. In addition to lowering your overall win and capture rates, consistently pursuing opportunities with low probabilities of win is an ineffective use of resources, which can burn out your staff, lower morale, and result in increased capture and proposal staff turnover.


Final Thoughts


In this world of bids and proposals, we all certainly want to win more. But there are so many factors that impact a company’s probability of win, and a number of things throughout the opportunity lifecycle can impact a company’s chances of winning (both positively and negatively). However, one key thing that you can do to positively impact your chances of winning is to simply pursue the right opportunities. Select opportunities that make sense for your business strategy, where you have strong relationships or can build strong relationships before the Request for Proposal (RFP) drops, where you have demonstrated success delivering similar products or services. Select opportunities where you have sufficient time to address any gaps, weaknesses, or showstoppers. Remember, once the RFP is released, it’s very likely too late to mitigate any of these potential flaws in your approach, capabilities, or solution. It’s no wonder that pop-up or short-notice efforts typically have a much lower win rate than strategically targeted and well-positioned opportunities. This is all why starting the process early and applying a solid pursuit strategy really are so critical to improving your chances of winning and increasing your overall win and capture rates.

Six Strategies to Tackle Tight Page Limitations

By Ashley (Kayes) Floro, CPP APMP • March 25, 2026
Tight page limitations are continuing to be a challenge as contracting officers streamline their acquisition processes. When faced with tight page restrictions, we often find ourselves struggling with trimming five pages of material into two pages of allocated space. However, sometimes the content we are working with is so long because it is simply overly wordy. In this article, I present six tricks for eliminating waste. 1. Use Active Voice With active voice, the subject of the sentence comes first and performs the action in the sentence. Active voice is more straightforward and concise than passive voice. It typically results in shorter, sharper sentences. So not only does it take up less real estate, it flows better and is easier to understand. Passive: It was decided by the Program Manager to streamline the program. Active, Strong Verb: The Program Manager streamlined the program. 2. Eliminate Redundancies Remove redundancies that take up extra space and don’t add value. I present some examples below.
icons demonstrating how to write clearly

Write Clearly: Why “More” Isn’t Always Better

By Ashley (Kayes) Floro, CPP APMP • March 23, 2026
In the world of proposal development, there’s a persistent misconception that longer writing signals deeper thinking. Teams sometimes feel pressure to fill pages, add more qualifiers, or expand explanations in hopes that additional words will make their message more persuasive. However, the opposite is often true. Clear writing is powerful because it makes it easy for the reader to understand, evaluate, and remember your message. The goal should be clarity, not volume. The most effective writers know that concise, direct language carries more impact than dense paragraphs and complicated phrasing. In this article, we present seven practical tips to help you write more clearly and effectively. 1. Break Up Long Sentences and Paragraphs Long sentences are one of the most common causes of unclear writing. When a sentence stretches beyond 25–30 words, it is easy for readers to lose track of the main point. Instead of packing multiple ideas into a single sentence, break them into shorter, focused statements. Each sentence should communicate one main idea. Example Less clear: Our team will implement a comprehensive data management framework designed to enhance reporting capabilities while also improving accessibility for users across multiple departments. Clearer: Our team will implement a comprehensive data management framework. This approach improves reporting and makes data more accessible across departments. Shorter sentences reduce cognitive load and help readers absorb information quickly. Similarly, large blocks of text can overwhelm readers. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea or topic. If a paragraph begins to cover multiple points, consider splitting it. Shorter paragraphs make it easier for readers to scan and process information. 2. Avoid Nominalizations Nominalizations occur when verbs are turned into nouns, often ending in -tion, -ment, or -ance. While they are sometimes necessary, they can make writing more abstract and wordier. Whenever possible, convert nominalizations back into strong verbs. Example Wordy: The implementation of the solution will result in the improvement of operational efficiency. Clearer: Implementing the solution will improve operational efficiency. Strong verbs make writing more direct and easier to understand. 3. Choose Strong, Specific Verbs Weak verbs like make, do, provide, conduct, or perform typically require additional words to explain what is happening. Strong verbs communicate action more clearly and concisely. Example Weak: Our team will conduct an analysis of system performance. Stronger: Our team will analyze system performance. Replacing weak verb phrases with precise verbs makes writing sharper and more confident. 4. Remove Unnecessary Words Many phrases in proposal writing add length without adding meaning. Words like very, really, quite, and in order to clutter your sentences. Look for opportunities to tighten phrasing. Examples In order to → To Due to the fact that → Because At this point in time → Now The goal isn’t to eliminate detail, it’s to eliminate filler. 5. Use Active Voice When Possible Active voice makes it clear who is responsible for an action and typically produces shorter sentences. Passive voice can be useful in certain situations, but overuse can make writing vague and indirect. Example Passive: The report will be completed by the team next week. Active: The team will complete the report next week. Active voice improves clarity and accountability. 6. Use Lists When Appropriate When presenting multiple related items—steps, benefits, features, or requirements—lists can improve readability. Lists allow readers to quickly understand key points without digging through dense paragraphs. They also highlight structure and make complex information easier to follow. Final Thoughts When readers can quickly understand your message, they are far more likely to absorb your ideas and act on them. Remember: strong writing isn’t measured by how many words you use. It’s measured by how clearly those words communicate your message.
color team review

Unpopular Opinion: Even With AI Speeding Up the Proposal Process, You Still Need Color Team Reviews

By Ashley (Kayes) Floro, CPP APMP • March 20, 2026
Everyone wants Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be the silver bullet that finally fixes the proposal process. Faster content, fewer late nights, no more staring at a blank page. And honestly? AI does help. But there's one thing it hasn't changed—and that most proposal professionals still don't want to hear: you still need color team reviews. Here's why that's still true, even in the age of AI. Procrastination doesn't care what tools you have According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 95% of adults procrastinate, and approximately 20–25% are chronic procrastinators. About 88% of the workforce procrastinates for at least one hour a day. AI makes content generation faster, but it doesn't make humans more disciplined. Writers will still wait until the last minute. They'll still generate a first draft and call it done. Established proposal methodologies—from APMP best practices to decades of hard-won industry experience—exist precisely to fight this tendency: daily stand-ups, interim deadlines, and structured reviews that force consistent progress rather than a last-minute scramble. The first draft is never the final draft — AI or not For decades, English teachers have required students to submit multiple drafts for exactly this reason. Writing is a process of thinking. Multiple iterations help writers clarify ideas, improve organization, and refine content based on feedback. AI can accelerate the drafting stage, but it can't replace the critical eye of a reviewer who understands your win strategy, knows the customer, and can spot a weak discriminator from across the room. Stakeholder surprises at submission are still catastrophic Here's what poor planning actually looks like in practice: you're ready to hit submit, and a key stakeholder wants something changed at the last minute. A seemingly small thing to them that requires hours of rework: checking cross-references, adjusting content across multiple volumes. Or worse, they reject the entire proposal and demand a full rewrite, with a deadline early the next day. AI doesn't prevent this. Only early, structured stakeholder engagement does. Color team reviews aren't just about catching bad writing. They're about building the buy-in you need before it's too late to act on it. The problems are old. The tools are new. The process still works AI has changed how fast we can produce a draft. It hasn't changed human nature, the need for iteration, or the cost of a stakeholder blindside at the finish line. These structured methodologies were built around enduring realities—and those realities haven't gone anywhere just because the drafting got faster. I get it: color team reviews suck. But proposals without them suck more.