The proposal bid/no bid decision is crucial to proposal writing success. Make the bid/no bid decision early and base it on a realistic assessment of your chances to win. The decision should be made before or immediately upon RFP release.

A realistic assessment of your chances to win a contract should be based on your knowledge of the customer prior to the release of the RFP. Don't bid if you don't know the customer.

Indicators for a "yes" bid decision are:

• You have pre-sold the customer.
  
• You know the procurement history and have information on your chances of successfully competing for the contract.
  
• Your capabilities are a perfect or near-perfect match with the requirements outlined in the RFP. Remember that a subcontractor can fill capabilities that your company lacks.

Indications for a "no" bid decision are:

• You are bidding blindly and all the information you have is contained in the RFP.
  
• You are attempting to stretch your qualifications and capabilities to meet the requirements.
  
• There is an incumbent contractor. Most incumbents re-win their contracts. You shouldn't bid unless you know the customer is unhappy or you have special knowledge of the procurement.
  

Spend time and money gathering information for the bid/no bid decision, ideally as part of the sales process. It is more efficient and less costly to spend the time and money up front than to spend it writing losing proposals.

Management should be intimately involved in the bid/no-bid decision making process. Proposal writing needs to be done right or not at all; doing it poorly creates exorbitant sales costs and low staff morale.