Let’s rip the Band-Aid off: if your first sight of (some!) government opportunities are when the final solicitations hits SAM.gov, your chances of winning are about as good as getting a coffee at Starbucks without someone spelling your name wrong.

If you’re thinking about marketing in government contracting like it’s a regular ol’ B2B or B2C gig, you’re going to have a bad time. Uncle Sam doesn’t care about your TikTok strategy, and procurement officers aren’t browsing Instagram for the next hot IT services firm. This market has its own rules, rhythms, and red tape.

Let’s be real: if you’re just waiting for that shiny, huge, $100M RFP to drop before you start thinking about how to win a government contract, you’re already behind. Way behind. Capture management is the art—and hustle—of getting ahead of the competition before the government even knows it’s releasing a big solicitation.

Okay, deep breaths, everyone. We’ve collectively survived Zoom fatigue, embraced hybrid work, and learned to love (or at least tolerate) Teams meetings. Just when you thought you had a handle on digital collaboration in government contracting, along comes the “Metaverse.”

The Debrief Debacle: How to Actually Get Useful Feedback (and