The win rate is one in three. Nobody has priced the other two.

Most proposal-driven businesses know their win rate to the decimal and their cost per win not at all, and the second number is the one quietly setting the margin floor.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The win rate is one in three. Nobody has priced the other two.

A win rate is a comforting number. It is a single figure, it moves in the right direction when things improve, and it can be quoted in a board meeting without qualification. It is also, on its own, close to useless for understanding whether winning work is profitable. In any business that sells through proposals, tenders, quotes or scoped estimates, the cost of the losses is a real cost of the wins. If three bids produce one win, the winning job carries the fully loaded cost of all three. Very…

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