Updated September 2026: in 2018 I wrote about returning to the office on a Monday with two bids on my plate, only to lose one because we lacked expertise in the client's applications, and being given another the next day. I have rewritten it into advice on handling a bid your team cannot support.
After taking a client call on the drive back from my home town, I returned to the office on Monday worried about two bids and a demanding delivery expert. When I logged in, I found we were back to one bid, because our team lacked expertise in the applications the client used. The remaining bid had little work for me, so I asked the delivery expert to send details to the account team directly, with me copied, so the work would still be tracked against my name. The next day, I was assigned another bid.
When should a team decline to support a bid?
When it cannot deliver what the client needs at a credible level. Bidding without the skills risks a poor proposal, a lost deal, or worse, a won deal that cannot be delivered. Saying no early, with a reason, protects the account team's credibility.
How do you say no to an account team?
- Be specific: name the applications or skills you do not have.
- Offer alternatives: a partner, another internal team, or a narrower scope.
- Put it in writing: so the decision is recorded.
- Do it quickly: late withdrawals damage relationships far more.
Is it fair to let others do the work while you are copied?
It is efficient when your role adds nothing, and many teams track presales activity by mail threads. It is fair only if your tracker shows your actual contribution. Claiming work others did undermines trust once people notice, and they usually do.
What does losing a bid mean for your workload?
Usually a new one soon after. Use the gap to update standard content and note what expertise the team lacked, so the next similar bid can be answered or declined faster.
What should you tell your manager?
Which bids are live, which were dropped and why. Managers plan capacity from that information, and it shows you are thinking about the team's pipeline, not just your own tasks.