Job titles vary, but someone must own the bid from concept to contract.
Defining roles by responsibility, not job title
The challenge
In many organisations, the roles of Business Development Manager (BDM), Capture Manager, Account Manager and Bid Manager overlap. Titles vary, but the real challenge is ensuring someone owns the opportunity from initial idea to contract signature.
Overcoming the challenge
We often see sales, account or BD professionals juggling multiple responsibilities: identifying new opportunities, nurturing existing clients, and picking up the lead when a renewal or new bid arises. In some industries, the same person acts as both BDM and Capture Manager. That's fine - as long as the responsibilities are clear.
What matters most isn't the job title. It's ownership.
Someone must lead the end-to-end bid journey. That means:
Developing the win strategy.
Engaging the client early.
Keeping everything customer-focused.
For larger, complex, long-lead opportunities, a dedicated Capture Manager may be needed once the business decides to invest in a campaign. Their role is to assess win chances, and build and execute the plan to winning before the RFP lands. As the RFP approaches, their involvement tapers off and the Bid Manager ramps up - leading the submission and post-submission work.
During capture, a solution or programme lead joins the team. Their job is to co-create solutions with the client, influence the spec, and develop the concept. They work with pricing teams, using competitive pricing inputs, and often stay on to deliver the solution after the win.
In simpler, product-based bids, this role may be filled by the sales or account manager. We think this approach is clear and we know it works if implemented correctly.
How we can help
At Strategic Proposals, we help clients:
Build, design and enhance processes that have buy-in from all stakeholders
Clarify roles and responsibilities across the bid lifecycle
Design and support process transformation projects
Build win strategies that align with client needs
Train teams to lead opportunities from concept to contract.
