If you find out about projects in time, you may have an opportunity to influence design in such a manner as to give yourself a competitive advantage. It happens...quite often in fact.

Stage 2
Stage 2 is when you should qualify the lead. Is it a good fit for what you do well? The sooner you reject unqualified leads, the less time you will waste on them and the more time you'll have to spend on leads that could turn into profitable work. Make sure the project is going to be built before investing a lot of time in it.

Consider the client, the design team, and, if already chosen, the construction manager or general contractor. Do any of them have a history of messy, costly projects? If so, consider tossing the project out of the funnel.

Stage 3
Look at the project realistically and verify you are capable of performing the work efficiently. If not, you have almost no chance of winning the project at a price that will be profitable. Don't take the chance. Toss the project out of the funnel.

Stage 4
Explore your prospect's willingness to pay a premium for your superior services. Sell, sell, sell. The first three stages are about evaluation of the opportunity. Stages 4 and 5 are about changing the competitive landscape and closing the deal.