With backlogs drying up for firms everywhere, there is an increased pressure on every RFP response or proposal for new work. There is also a tendency to go after everything that comes in the door. Every new lead seems to be one worth following up on, because it could at least be a job to keep people busy.

That actually isn’t the case. Marketing budgets are being scrutinized more heavily than ever and time charged to marketing, whether from marketing staff or billable professionals, makes up the majority of most AEC firm budgets. So every hour spent responding to a shot-in-the-dark RFP is valuable, because it’s an hour that could be spent doing something else AND because it hits a marketing budget that could be on the chopping block in a few months.

Additionally, other firms are out there scrapping for new work right now too. So, the odds (that weren’t great in the first place) are now likely worse because competition has increased. Your proposal may have just become one out of twenty, instead of one out of six.

When firms develop a strong Go/No-Go criteria for proposals, they should stick to it even in the tough times. There are reasons that you win new clients, and those reasons should be your criteria for determining whether a new opportunity is a strong potential or a waste of time.