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John Posada is right on the money with his post. You should always
try to filter out the losers - and - you will probably lose a greater
proportion of proposals if you are breaking ground in a new market.
Another point that I should mention -- usually bidders can request the
evaluation sheets and notes from the bid decision. For example, if
your company sent in a competitive bid, had all of the qualifications
and all of the resources to do the job, but still didn't win ... call up the
person managing the contract and ask to see all of the documentation
relating to the decision. This information should be freely available
to all bidders. You can also ask the contract manager to explain why
you lost the bid -- and use that information to refine your approach,
or scare the heck out of them if the decision was a bit suspect.
Cheers,
Rowena
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Rowena Hart
Technical Writer
Intrinsyc Software, Inc. http://www.intrinsyc.com