B&P is a precious resource, a pool of investment dollars. Used wisely, B&P can perpetuate one’s existing position in the market, grow existing product lines, and expand into new fields of endeavor. The prudent use of B&P can be the difference between achieving short, intermediate and/or long term business goals and failing to do so. All too often, however, companies can fall into patterns of conduct that effectively vitiate that investment.

Some common traps to avoid on the road between the decision to pursue a solicitation and the award of a contract include the following:

1. Rely on what you hear and read at “Industry Day” meetings and pre-solicitation conferences – These statements are, to be sure, well-intentioned and probably reflective of the speakers’ actual, then-current mind sets, but they are irrelevant if contradicted by the words of the solicitation.

2. Believe all that “back channel” communication about what the Government “really wants” – However important and well-informed that source is, if the “chatter” does not mesh with the words of the solicitation, reliance on it is folly. So, if your source tells you that this is going to be a “price shoot-out” but the RFP says that “Technical” is the most heavily weighted factor, believe the RFP.