Managing opportunities well is critical for construction firms — not just to win work, but to decide which work is worth pursuing in the first place. Opportunities sit at the center of bidding, estimating, and early project planning, making them one of the most important areas to structure correctly.
This guide focuses on how to manage opportunities effectively inside ProjectMark, with an emphasis on consistency, decision-making, and collaboration across teams.
What an Opportunity Represents
An opportunity represents a potential project your company may pursue. It captures everything your team knows at a given moment — before a project is awarded and before delivery begins.
Opportunities typically originate from:
- Client inquiries
- Invitations to bid
- RFPs or tenders
- Repeat or negotiated work
Because opportunities often require real effort — estimating time, internal reviews, and coordination — managing them carefully helps teams avoid wasted work and misaligned priorities.
Capturing the Right Essential Information
One of the most important aspects of opportunity management is deciding what information is required at each stage.
Early on, opportunities should focus on essentials, such as:
- A clear and consistent project name
- Client and location
- High-level project size or value
- Key dates (bid deadlines, expected start)
- An initial confidence or probability rating
This information allows teams to quickly understand:
- What the opportunity is
- How real it is
- Whether it’s worth pursuing further
Best practice:
Avoid trying to complete every field upfront. Opportunity data should evolve as decisions are made and more information becomes available.
Structuring the Pipeline for Company-Wide Alignment
A well-structured opportunity pipeline helps the entire company work from the same playbook.
Stages should represent meaningful decision points, not just activity. For most teams, this includes clear moments where the company decides whether to continue investing time and resources.
When structuring your stages:
- Keep them simple and easy to understand
- Make sure everyone agrees on what each stage means
- Define what must be true for an opportunity to move forward
This consistency makes it easier to:
- Compare opportunities
- Forecast future work
- Communicate status across teams
Defining and Using Go / No-Go Decisions
Go / no-go decisions are a natural part of construction opportunity management. They help teams focus on work that aligns with capacity, expertise, and business goals.
Use opportunities to support these decisions by capturing:
- Fit with your company’s capabilities
- Risk level and complexity
- Competitive positioning
- Resource availability
Even when an opportunity does not move forward, keeping a clear record of the decision helps teams:
- Understand why work was declined
- Learn from past pursuits
- Improve future decision-making
Managing Financial Expectations During Bidding
Opportunities are where financial expectations begin to take shape — but they are still estimates.
As an opportunity progresses:
- Update projected values as bids are refined
- Adjust cost assumptions as scope becomes clearer
- Reflect changes in confidence or likelihood
Keeping financial data current helps ensure reports and forecasts reflect reality, not outdated assumptions.
Collaborating Effectively During Pre-Construction
Opportunities often involve multiple contributors, including estimators, project managers, and business development team members.
To keep collaboration effective:
- Assign roles intentionally
- Add team members when their input is needed
- Use tasks to support specific bid milestones
Clear ownership and up-to-date information help prevent confusion and duplication of effort.
Preparing for a Smooth Transition to Project
When an opportunity is awarded, it becomes the foundation for a live project. The cleaner the opportunity, the smoother the transition.
Before converting an opportunity:
- Confirm key information is complete
- Ensure financial assumptions are reasonable
- Review notes, documents, and decisions
This reduces rework and helps project teams start with the right context.
Keeping Your Opportunity Pipeline Healthy
Opportunity management doesn’t end when a bid is submitted.
Regularly review your pipeline to:
- Archive opportunities that are no longer active
- Keep stages and probabilities up to date
- Use activity history to understand how decisions were made
A clean pipeline gives leadership confidence in forecasts and helps teams plan workload more effectively.
