Winning That Government Contracting Award · Session 2 of 4

Team Roles and Responsibilities

Brandon Mason · Maryland Small Business Development Center
Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Scan now: your worksheet

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Before we start

Scan your worksheet

Point your phone camera at the code. Or click the link in the Zoom chat.
Fill in page 1 now. Name, email, business, where you are today.
Keep the tab open. We come back to it three times today.

Link is in the Zoom chat

When you submit at the end, the slides, the compliance matrix template and every link from today land in your inbox.

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Today

What we're covering

01The full proposal team at a glance
02The six functional areas
03What each role does (and doesn't)
04Color reviews: built-in quality control
05Scaling it for a small business
06Where small businesses drop the ball

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The master view

Six areas, eighteen hats

1Business developmentBusiness developer · lead executive

2Capture & proposal mgmtCapture manager · proposal manager · coordinator · volume leads

3Proposal developmentWriter · editor · graphic artist · desktop publishing

4Solution developmentSolution architect · program manager

5Contracts & pricingContracts manager · subcontracts manager · cost strategist

6Color review teamsReview team lead · reviewers

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Area 1

Business development

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Area 1 · Business development

Find it, qualify it

Business developerfinds opportunities, builds relationships, qualifies leads

Lead executiveopens doors, sets strategic direction

In a small business, both are usually you. That continuity is an advantage.

Monitor SAM.gov, GovWin, agency forecasts
Build relationships with COs and program managers
Attend industry days and pre-solicitation conferences
Qualify opportunities through the pipeline
Make the first Go/No-Go recommendation

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Area 2

Capture & proposal management

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Area 2 · Capture & proposal management

Capture manager: owns the win

Writes the capture strategy and win themes
Manages customer engagement through the pursuit
Coordinates the competitive analysis
Drives Go/No-Go with data
Hands the knowledge to the proposal team when the RFP drops

Write it down.

Usually the owner. Make it intentional.

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Area 2 · Capture & proposal management

Proposal manager: owns the process

Builds the proposal schedule; tracks deadlines
Builds the compliance matrix (Section L → Section M)
Assigns sections to writers and volume leads
Runs the daily stand-ups
Runs the color reviews
Owns final production and submission

Primary tool

Compliance matrix

Maps every requirement in Section L to every evaluation criterion in Section M. Template in your inbox today; we use it in Session 3.

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Area 2 · Capture & proposal management

Two hats, one head

Capture hat

Strategy

Why will they pick us?

YOU

Proposal hat

Execution

Compliant, on time, on page count

Same person is fine. Know which hat you're wearing.

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Area 2 · Capture & proposal management

Coordinator & volume leads

Proposal coordinator

Manages the shared drive and tools
Tracks document versions
Printing, binding, shipping if hard copy
Verifies clearances

Volume leads

One lead per major volume
Technical · Management · Past Performance · Cost
Owns that volume's compliance and quality

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Area 3

Proposal development

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Area 3 · Proposal development

The people who build the document

WriterDrafts sections from the win themes and the compliance requirements

EditorConsistency, grammar, readability, page limits

Graphic artistOriginal process diagrams, org charts, schedules. Not clip art.

Desktop publishingLayout, fonts, margins, headers, page numbers: final production

Proposal writing is a skill. A good writer can move you from a 70 to a 90.

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Worksheet checkpoint · Section A

Which hats are you wearing?

Tap Next to Section A. Tick every role you cover yourself today, then name the one you're skipping and who could cover it.

Link is in the Zoom chat

Lost the tab? Scan again.

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Area 4

Solution development

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Area 4 · Solution development

How we'll do the work

Solution architectdesigns the technical approach and methodology

Program managerplans execution, staffing and management

Often the owner. You have the substance; the hard part is making an evaluator who never met you score it high. Pair with a writer.

Technical approach and methodology
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
Staffing plan and org chart
Risks and mitigations
Transition plan from the incumbent
Quality control and performance measures

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Area 5

Contracts & pricing

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Area 5 · Contracts & pricing

Where proposals win or die

Contracts managerterms, conditions, FAR / DFARS compliance

Subcontracts managerteaming agreements, flow-downs

Cost strategistprice-to-win, builds the cost volume

Cost volume = direct labor + indirect rates + ODCs + fee. Contract type (FFP, T&M, cost-plus) changes all of it.

Get help here.

Government pricing is not commercial pricing.

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The area that terrifies most small businesses, for good reason. Government pricing is not commercial pricing: FAR Part 31, DCAA compliance, cost accounting standards, indirect rates. The contracts manager reads the terms most people skip and flags what you can't do. Often outsourced to an attorney or contracts consultant; fine, but someone reads them. The subcontracts manager matters if you're teaming, and most of you should be early on. The cost strategist builds your price. Lowest price isn't always how you win: on best value a stronger proposal at a higher price can win. My advice: get help. If you don't have a DCAA-compliant accounting system, don't know your indirect rates, or have never built a cost volume, find an accountant who specializes in government contracts. Not the place to wing it.

Area 6

Color review teams

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Area 6 · Color review teams

Pink, red, gold

Write

Pink team~30–40% done. Right strategy? Right direction?

Revise

Red team~80–90% done. Score it like the government.

Revise

Gold teamFinal. Ready to submit?

Submit

Small business version: 2 or 3 trusted outside readers.

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Scaling it

Your version of the team

Function	Who does it in a small business
BD & capture	You, the owner
Proposal manager	You, or your most organized person
Writer	You, or a hired proposal writer
Solution architect	You, the technical expert
Pricing	You, or a govcon accountant
Color reviews	2 or 3 trusted outside reviewers

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Scaling it

Three things worth outsourcing

1Proposal writingIf writing isn't your strength. It moves your technical score.

2Cost volumeIf you're new to government accounting. Non-compliant pricing sinks a great proposal.

3Color reviewsYou can't objectively review your own work. Buy them dinner.

Everything else you can do yourself, on purpose.

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Worksheet checkpoint · Section B

Who reads it before you submit?

Section B: pick who reads your next proposal, name one person you could ask to review it, and the one function you'd get help with first.

Link is in the Zoom chat

Lost the tab? Scan again.

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Watch for these

Where small businesses drop the ball

Can sink you

No compliance matrix: guessing at what's required
Cost volume as an afterthought
No version control: the final has mismatches

Costs you points

No capture strategy: writing starts when the RFP drops
Owner does everything: burns out, ships a B-
No review cycle: nobody reads it first

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Today

What to remember

1Functions, not titlesEvery function gets covered, whatever your size

2Write the capture planThe most critical and most skipped role

3Know your hatStrategy and execution are different mindsets

4Buy help wiselyWriting and pricing pay for themselves

5Review before you submitColor reviews are free quality control

6Build your reviewers nowBefore the RFP drops, not after

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What's next

Submit your worksheet

Friday, Oct 2 · 10:00 a.m. · Session 3

How to read an RFP

What every section of a solicitation means
Sections L and M, side by side
Building your compliance matrix
What the government is really asking for

Worksheet · Section C

Write your one step, then submit.

Your inbox gets: this deck with notes, the compliance matrix template, and every link from today.

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Questions?

Brandon Mason · Maryland SBDC
bwmason@umd.edu

No-cost, one-on-one consulting. Register as an SBDC client: mdsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/signup

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Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.

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