The bid/no-bid decision: a simple scorecard
Bidding on the wrong tenders is expensive. A quick, honest bid/no-bid scorecard protects your capacity for the opportunities you can actually win.
Why a bid/no-bid gate matters
Every proposal costs real hours and pulls senior people off delivery. Without a gate, teams chase visible tenders instead of winnable ones, and the win rate falls. A lightweight scorecard makes the decision explicit and defensible.
Six questions to score
Score each from 1 to 5: (1) Do we meet every mandatory eligibility requirement? (2) Do we have directly relevant past experience? (3) How strong is our win-probability versus the competition? (4) Is there an incumbent, and can we displace them? (5) Is the margin acceptable at a competitive price? (6) Do we have the capacity to deliver a strong bid by the deadline?
Sum the scores. A high total is a pursue; a middling total is a watch (pursue only if capacity allows); a low total is a pass. The exact threshold matters less than applying it consistently.
Honesty is the whole point
The scorecard only works if you answer honestly, especially on eligibility and competition. A disciplined "no" frees the capacity that turns a marginal "maybe" elsewhere into a win.
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What is a bid/no-bid decision?
It is a structured go/no-go assessment of whether to pursue a tender, scoring factors like eligibility, relevant experience, win-probability, incumbent presence, margin, and capacity.
When should I decide not to bid?
Pass when you cannot meet a mandatory requirement, have little relevant experience, face a strong incumbent with no displacement angle, or lack the capacity to submit a competitive proposal on time.