Shift your mindset

One of the best lessons we learned in government contracting was this:
Stop asking “When will I win my first contract?” and start asking “How often am I bidding?”

That mindset shift changed everything. Instead of stressing over the timing of a first award, we focused on volume - stacking bid after bid until the wins started coming.

Government contracting is a numbers game

The reality is simple: the more bids you submit, the sooner you’ll land an award.

Think about it:

  • Each RFQ you submit is a chance to win.
  • The odds may feel low at first, but they compound over time.
  • With consistent bidding, the wins stack, and momentum builds.

Contracting officers look at price, delivery, and confidence in your company. You can’t control everything, but you can control how often you’re putting your hat in the ring.

Measure your bid-to-award ratio

Your bid-to-award ratio is one of the best indicators of how you’re performing in the space.

For example, our ratio is about 1 award for every 20 bids submitted. That’s a 5% win rate. Once we understood the math, the strategy became clear:

  • Want 1 win? Submit ~20 bids.
  • Want 5 wins? Submit ~100 bids.

When you stop waiting and start tracking, the pressure goes down and the wins will go up.

Why consistency beats waiting

  • Removes uncertainty - You know your odds and can plan around them.
  • Builds efficiency - The more you bid, the faster and more accurate your process gets.
  • Stacks experience - Every bid sharpens your understanding of pricing, packaging, and vendor response times.

Bottom line

Government contracting is not about guessing when your first award will come. It’s about how many bids you’re submitting and how consistently you’re submitting them.

Shift the mindset. Track your ratio. Stay consistent. The wins will follow.

Want to improve your bid volume without wasting hours on DIBBS?
GovScraper pulls, organizes, and tracks RFQs so you can focus on quoting and winning—not manual research.


Book a demo today to see how we help you increase bid volume and hit more awards.