Background

RSC2, Inc. is a professional services company for the federal government with six core offerings: C5ISR, acquisition, program management, IT and cybersecurity, systems engineering, and training. To better understand RSC2’s business development challenges and triumphs, we spoke with Dave Oathout, Vice President of Solutions and Growth. 

As the leader overseeing the entire business development lifecycle, from strategy and market segmentation to capture, proposal development, and contract execution, Dave provided insights into how RSC2 streamlined its business development lifecycle, improved strategic alignment, and enhanced operational efficiency with NextStage.

The Challenge: Navigating Complexity in GovCon Business Development

Operating in the highly competitive GovCon space, RSC2 faces three main challenges:

1. Prioritizing the Right Opportunities: With a vast number of opportunities available, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and core competencies requires careful evaluation.

2. Early Intelligence on Opportunities: Gaining sufficient insight into government opportunities ahead of an RFP is difficult, limiting the ability to craft tailored solutions in a timely manner.

3. Orchestrating an Integrated Business Development Pipeline: Without an organic, seamless process for managing BD efforts, inefficiencies, misalignment, and wasted resources hinder operational effectiveness.

The Search for a Better Solution

RSC2 previously tried various tools including Salesforce, Pipedrive, GovWin, Costpoint, and even spreadsheets. These options either required too much administrative overhead or failed to provide a structured yet flexible approach to pipeline management. The company needed a platform that:

• Fit the way RSC2 conducts business rather than forcing the company to conform to rigid workflows.

• Enables a data-rich pipeline that provides context beyond simple opportunity lists.

• Offers a balance between automation and user customization.

The Solution: NextStage's All-In-One Business Development Platform

Since adopting NextStage, RSC2 has transformed its business development operation. NextStage provides the optimal balance of structure and flexibility, allowing the company to:

• Align BD Processes with Strategic Goals: By leveraging NextStage’s customizable Kanban-style workflows, RSC2 ensured that every opportunity in their pipeline supported their long-term vision.

• Gain a Competitive Edge in Opportunity Analysis: The market research tools within NextStage allow RSC2 to conduct faster, deeper analyses, empowering their BD team to make informed decisions early in the capture process.

• Enhance Efficiency and Resource Utilization: The platform’s ability to provide a “God’s eye view” of BD operations helps leadership prioritize resources effectively, maximizing team productivity.

  “NextStage allows me to orchestrate the entire BD ecosystem across a diverse portfolio, contract vehicles, and sources so that we are using our time well.”

Results & Impact

The adoption of NextStage has yielded significant and measurable improvements for the entire business development lifecycle. RSC2 gained better visibility into the pipeline, allowing leadership to make data-driven decisions that position the company for sustained growth and have led to several key outcomes:

• 60-70% Reduction in Pipeline Administration Time: Instead of daily pipeline administration reviews, the company now operates on a more efficient bi-weekly review cadence.

• Increased Proposal Volume Without Increasing Staff: RSC2 has been able to significantly increase bid volume while maintaining the same BD team size for years, outpacing competitors with larger teams.

• Improved Strategic Focus: The company now submits higher-quality proposals that are better aligned with its strengths, increasing win probability and reducing wasted effort on low-success-rate bids.

• Stronger Team Retention and Work-Life Balance: With streamlined processes, Dave’s team no longer faces unnecessary late nights and weekends, reducing burnout and improving retention.

  
  

Beyond the technology, one of the key factors driving RSC2’s continued use of NextStage is the partnership they’ve built with the NextStage team. As Dave puts it:

“NextStage isn’t just a tool we use; it’s a strategic partner in our growth. Their team is hyper-responsive, evolving the platform alongside our needs. It’s not just software, it’s a force multiplier for our BD staff.”

Looking Ahead: The Future of Business Development in GovCon

As the government contracting space evolves, RSC2 sees NextStage as an essential component in navigating upcoming trends, particularly the integration of generative AI. While AI presents powerful opportunities, the ability to strike the right balance between automation and human expertise will be critical. With NextStage continuously evolving, RSC2 is confident in its ability to stay ahead of the competition and drive sustainable growth.

Conclusion

By adopting NextStage, RSC2, Inc. has streamlined its business development lifecycle, improved strategic alignment, and enhanced operational efficiency. For federal government contractors looking to integrate business development, capture, and proposal management, NextStage offers a proven, flexible, and highly effective solution.