You trolled government agency websites and found a solicitation that matches your key words or NAICS.  The statement of work looks promising.  Might as well start writing, eh?

Not so fast.  Is it really a fit?  What are the risks?  Is it worth the return on your investment of time?

While those questions may dampen the enthusiasm of our clients, we advise a methodical approach to determining whether or not to pursue a bid.  Bid / no bid evaluations are critical… they are methodical… they are not terribly time consuming. 

And, this common sense step might just save you a ton of time.  A properly developed proposal for a public sector solicitation will likely take your organization at least 50 hours, and could require upwards of 400.  And it’s not a great American novel – rather a dry writing exercise.  (I’ve written more than 320 government bid responses.  Nothing sexy about a government bid response.)

So… to bid or not to bid?  How do you answer this question?  Have any tricks, or use your gut instincts?  (Fair warning – we might mock you if you answer that you rely 100% on gut feeling.)

You could also avoid answering the question and just check out our opinion.  (We’re good at this stuff.)