In This Week's Newsletter:

• Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: DAF SEIC III

• Four To Follow: Four Interesting Pursuits

• Guest Feature: Securing Buy-In for Your Strategic Plan

• Capture Corner: CRM Tools: Capture and Transitions

Opportunity Alert – DAF SEIC III

Contact Katie: [email protected]

Department of the Air Force, Systems Engineering and Integration Contract (SEIC III).

On July 18, 2025, the government issued an RFI and Draft PWS under both GSA MAS (SIN 541330ENG and 54151S) and OASIS+ UNR. Responses to the RFI are due no later than 5:00 PM ET on August 11, 2025. The competition type for this $350M effort is currently unknown. The estimated release date for the final RFP is August 2026, with a projected award timeframe of December 2026. For Business Development, Capture Management, Price-to-Win, and Proposal support, contact Hinz Consulting today.

Four to Follow

1. Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), S25-0001 PCO Operations and Regulatory Business Support. On July 23, 2025, USACE issued a Sources Sought notice requesting capability statements in response to the market survey and the Draft PWS. Responses to the market survey and questions on the Draft PWS are due no later than 3:00 PM ET on August 1, 2025. The competition type and value of this opportunity are currently unknown. Continue to monitor Sam.gov for further information on this opportunity.

2. U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Joint Special Operations Forces Readiness Training Support (SOF)(JFIRES). On July 16, 2025, USSOCOM issued an RFI requesting responses from 8(a) small businesses for personnel support tailored to its evolving training mission. RFI Responses are due no later than 11:00 AM ET on August 26, 2025. The projected release for the final RFP on this $260M opportunity is November 2025, with an estimated award timeframe of April 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for updates on this effort.

3. USSOCOM, Whole Marine Program Support for the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command (MARSOC). USSOCOM has a requirement for contracted support, episodic, Subject Matter Expertise (SME) support, software services, and maintenance for the Whole Marine Program (WMP). The estimated timeframe for release of this $10M IDIQ is October 2025, with a potential award timeframe of February 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for further movement on this effort.

4. Department of Energy (DOE), Strategic Intelligence Partnership Program Support. On July 18, 2025, the Contracting Office issued an RFI seeking small businesses to support the expansion of the Special Technologies Laboratory's (STL) Strategic Partnership Program/Strategic Intelligence Partnership Program (SPP/SIPP) project portfolio. Responses to this RFI are due by the close of business (5:00 PM ET) on July 25, 2025. The procurement timeline and value for this Small Business set-aside opportunity are currently unknown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for further updates to this opportunity. 

Securing Buy-In for Your Strategic Plan

by Alison French

Ever spend months putting together a strategic plan, only to hit roadblocks during execution? Start with people, not just priorities.

One of the overlooked—but critical—steps in successful strategic execution is securing buy-in from the people bringing the plan to life. Even the most visionary goals stall if stakeholders don’t feel heard, inspired, or connected to the way forward.

Buy-in isn’t about compliance—it’s about fostering commitment. That means starting early and involving key voices in the planning process itself. When team members see their insights reflected in the final strategy, they champion it. To achieve this, invite cross-functional participation, ask meaningful questions, and listen with intention.

Equally important is how the plan is communicated. Explain not just what you’re doing, but why it matters—and how individuals and teams contribute to success. Paint a clear picture of the future and the role each person plays in getting there. When people can connect their daily work to the big picture, they’re more likely to buy in.

Transparency throughout the process builds trust and reinforces that this is a shared direction— not a top-down directive. Sustain buy-in by making progress visible. Celebrate early wins, revisit goals regularly, and create space for feedback.

A strategic plan is only as strong as the commitment behind it. When people feel ownership of the journey, they become the catalyst for progress.

Alison French is the Managing Director of Alto Solutions, LLC, and works with organizations and their people to navigate change, improve leadership and communications, and build strong teams through facilitation, training, consulting, and coaching with a foundation in brain science and a focus on kindness.

CRM Tools: Capture and Transitions

Contact Nick: [email protected]

In the world of government contracting (GovCon), where compliance, long sales cycles, and competition define the landscape, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools are indispensable. When implemented correctly across an organization, these platforms streamline complex processes, particularly in capture management, enabling pursuit teams to drive opportunities efficiently and ensuring smooth transitions to program management post-award or strategic pivots when bids are lost.

Driving Pursuit Success with CRM in Capture Management

Capture management is the backbone of winning government contracts, requiring meticulous coordination among business development, capture, and proposal teams. A specialized GovCon CRM centralizes opportunity management by providing a unified platform to track leads, manage relationships, align strategies, and record customer and competitor intel. Multiple CRMs built for GovCon integrate federal market intelligence directly into the CRM, allowing pursuit teams to identify recompete opportunities, research competitors, and build relationships with key agency contacts—all within the same workflow. This real-time access to data empowers teams to focus on high-probability opportunities.

CRMs standardize processes like opportunity qualification, capture planning, resource alignment, and proposal development, ensuring consistency and adherence to best practices. Customizable dashboards provide real-time pipeline visibility, enabling data-driven decisions and accurate forecasting. This is critical in GovCon, where lengthy sales cycles demand precise planning and resource allocation. By fostering collaboration and reducing silos, CRMs help pursuit teams deliver tailored, high-quality proposals that meet stringent agency requirements.

Seamless Post-Award Transition to Program Management

Winning a contract is only half the battle; transitioning to program management is where CRMs prove their value after the award is made. A robust CRM integrates with Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems to streamline contract intake by digitizing documents and extracting key details such as clauses and deliverables. This minimizes manual work and ensures program managers have immediate access to critical contract data, enabling them to focus on compliance, risk management, and delivery.

CRMs also maintain a comprehensive record of customer interactions, ensuring continuity as the opportunity moves from pursuit to execution. This visibility supports compliance with regulations and helps manage deliverables, funding, and performance metrics efficiently.

Strategizing After a Loss

Losing a bid can be disappointing, but it also offers an opportunity for growth. CRMs enable pursuit teams to document debriefing insights, track competitor strategies, and analyze loss factors within the platform. By leveraging CRM analytics, teams can identify patterns, refine their approach, and strengthen relationships with agency contacts to capitalize on future opportunities, turning losses into valuable learning experiences.

Why GovCon-Specific CRMs Matter

CRM tools are essential for navigating the GovCon landscape. GovCon-focused platforms are specifically tailored to the industry’s unique needs, encompassing compliance, security, and complex workflows. They ensure data encryption, role-based access, and adherence to standards such as CMMC, thereby safeguarding sensitive information.

These tools empower GovCon firms to operate efficiently, boost competitiveness, and maximize win potential. They drive pursuit success through streamlined capture management, ensure seamless transitions to program management, and provide actionable insights after losses.

By investing in a GovCon-specific CRM and implementing it correctly, companies can enhance collaboration, compliance, and outcomes in their pursuit of valuable government contracts. Contact me if you’d like more information on how Hinz Consulting can help your organization select, implement, or customize its CRM tools and processes to improve capture rates.

• August 18th: Premier Navy Procurement Expo in San Diego, CA

• August 18th: Small Business Expo in San Diego, CA

• August 25th: National Homeland Security Conference in DC

About Hinz Consulting

Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:

• Proposals

• Capture

• Price To Win

• Competitive Intelligence

• Strategic Pricing

• Production

• AI Services

• Training

• BD Transformation 

• Process/Methodology 

• Tools and Template

• Small Business