But bigger isn’t always better.

All too often, companies that focus only on big contracts discover there are very lean stretches between contract awards. And that affects the predictability of their earnings.

That’s why here at Money Morning we’re more interested incompanies that can secure a lot of smaller contracts on a consistent basis - and that can transform those deals into predictable, double-digit growth.

We refer to these modest-contract specialists as the "Masters of the Small Bid."

Let me explain…

As we’ve stated, the companies we’re targeting aren’t characterized by headline-grabbing mega-contract wins, but by their proven ability to land smaller, more-stable deals. You see, by spreading their risk across many smaller deals rather than just swinging from the heels every time, the companies we follow are able to generate a consistent stream of earnings - despite a slowing economy, a wrenching credit-crisis and damaged investor confidence.

In short, our "masters" have kept themselves in front of paying customers at a time when other firms are simply worried about having customers.

Let’s look at several strong examples.

A Sample of Strong-Bid Masters

It’s no coincidence that our first example - defense-contractor and aerospace expert Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) - has been around for decades, and is a proven survivor. Remembered as the designer of the P-38 Lightning fighter of World War II fame - an aircraft so deadly that Nazi leaders ruefully dubbed the twin-boomed airplane "The Fork-Tailed Devil" - Lockheed Corp. went on to build the graceful Lockheed Constellation airliner in the 1950s and the cutting-edge F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter in the 1980s.

A disastrous foray into commercial jetliners - in which only 250 airplanes were sold, even though the program lasted from 1968 until 1984 - would have likely bankrupted many companies. But Lockheed’s been a survivor. Indeed, back in the 1990s, to keep pace with a wave of defense-sector consolidations that created a smaller group of bigger players, Lockheed linked up with Martin Marietta Corp. to form Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin re-established its fame with the so-called "Skunk Works" advanced-technology unit, and even today remains a defense-sector heavyweight. But it’s also a Master of the Small Bid. For proof, just look at some recent deals.

Lockheed roared into April, landing a $50 million contract for the U.S. Navy on April 1, and a $234 million Air Force contract on April 2. A week later, the company landed a deal a day for four straight days, in the process rolling up $725 million in total business from the U.S. Army, the Turkish military, and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

The rest of the month saw still more action as the Navy signed on Lockheed for a one-year, $15.5-million contract for continued program management and engineering services for the United Kingdom’s Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program. The company closed the month in a decisive manner with two more major deals on April 30.