How to tell if a federal bid is worth your time
Four questions that kill an unwinnable solicitation on day one instead of day nine.
Most small firms lose the bid before they write a word — by chasing solicitations they were never positioned to win.
Why it matters: Proposal effort is the scarcest resource a small business has. Every hour spent on an unwinnable bid is an hour not spent on one you could take.
The screen
Four questions, asked in order. A "no" on any of the first three ends it.
- Are you eligible? Set-aside type, NAICS code, size standard, active registration. This is binary — check it first, not last.
- Can you show past performance? Not adjacent work. The evaluators are scoring what they asked for.
- Do you have the capacity? If award day would break delivery, winning is the risk.
- Do you know the buyer? A first contact made at solicitation is a first contact made too late.
The trap
Volume feels like progress. Ten submitted bids look better on a dashboard than two — right up until the win rate is reported.
What to do instead
- Screen hard, early. Kill the weak ones on day one, not day nine.
- Write the eligibility check down. A rule beats a judgment call made under deadline.
- Reinvest the hours. Fewer bids, more time on each, better positioning for the next cycle.
The bottom line: Disciplined qualification is not saying no to work. It is spending your effort where it can actually convert.
