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gotchas.md

184 lines · small-business/skills/proposal-builder/reference/gotchas.md at 2574e29

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Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.

1# Gotchas
2
3Failure modes that lose money or lose the job. Proposals are binding documents — a mistake here has a dollar value attached.
4
5---
6

Gotchas

Failure modes that lose money or lose the job. Proposals are binding documents — a mistake here has a dollar value attached.

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7## Gotcha: a quantity estimated from a photo
8
9**Why it matters:** This is the classic way a job goes underwater. A photo without a reference object cannot establish dimensions, and a square-footage guess that is 30% low turns a profitable job into a loss the owner cannot renegotiate.

Gotcha: a quantity estimated from a photo

Why it matters: This is the classic way a job goes underwater. A photo without a reference object cannot establish dimensions, and a square-footage guess that is 30% low turns a profitable job into a loss the owner cannot renegotiate.

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11### Bad
13```
14Approximately 4,200 sq ft based on the photos.
15```

Bad

Approximately 4,200 sq ft based on the photos.
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17### Good
19```
20Square footage not determinable from the photos — nothing in frame for scale.
21Two options: give me the number, or I price it per-unit and add a line that
22adjusts on field verification.
23```
25Photos establish make, model, condition, and access. They do not establish size.
27---

Good

Square footage not determinable from the photos — nothing in frame for scale.
Two options: give me the number, or I price it per-unit and add a line that
adjusts on field verification.

Photos establish make, model, condition, and access. They do not establish size.

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29## Gotcha: no "not included" section
31**Why it matters:** Scope disputes are the single largest source of lost margin in service businesses, and every one of them starts with something nobody wrote down.

Gotcha: no "not included" section

Why it matters: Scope disputes are the single largest source of lost margin in service businesses, and every one of them starts with something nobody wrote down.

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33### Bad
35Scope section only. Customer assumes ductwork is included. It wasn't.

Bad

Scope section only. Customer assumes ductwork is included. It wasn't.

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37### Good
39An explicit list of what a reasonable customer might assume is covered and isn't. It costs three lines and prevents the argument entirely.
41---

Good

An explicit list of what a reasonable customer might assume is covered and isn't. It costs three lines and prevents the argument entirely.

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43## Gotcha: a silent assumption
45**Why it matters:** An assumption the owner knows about but the customer never saw is not protection. It becomes the owner's problem the moment it turns out wrong.

Gotcha: a silent assumption

Why it matters: An assumption the owner knows about but the customer never saw is not protection. It becomes the owner's problem the moment it turns out wrong.

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47### Bad
49Price the job assuming ladder access. Mention it to the owner. Leave it out of the document.

Bad

Price the job assuming ladder access. Mention it to the owner. Leave it out of the document.

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51### Good
53```
54This price assumes roof access by the existing ladder. If a crane or lift is
55required, add USD 1,800.
56```
58In the customer-visible text, with the consequence named. That converts a dispute into a pre-agreed change order.
60---

Good

This price assumes roof access by the existing ladder. If a crane or lift is
required, add USD 1,800.

In the customer-visible text, with the consequence named. That converts a dispute into a pre-agreed change order.

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62## Gotcha: an invented rate
64**Why it matters:** Labor rate is the owner's core economics. A plausible-looking number they don't catch either loses them the job or loses them money on it.

Gotcha: an invented rate

Why it matters: Labor rate is the owner's core economics. A plausible-looking number they don't catch either loses them the job or loses them money on it.

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66### Bad
68```
69Line 4 — Controls integration: USD 4,200
70```
72Derived from nothing.

Bad

Line 4 — Controls integration: USD 4,200

Derived from nothing.

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74### Good
76```
77Line 4 — Controls integration: $______
79No comparable in your history, nothing in the rate card. Everything else is
80priced. Give me a number and it's ready.
81```
83A blank is honest and takes the owner five seconds. A fabricated number takes ten minutes to notice and might not get noticed.
85---

Good

Line 4 — Controls integration: $______

No comparable in your history, nothing in the rate card. Everything else is
priced. Give me a number and it's ready.

A blank is honest and takes the owner five seconds. A fabricated number takes ten minutes to notice and might not get noticed.

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87## Gotcha: redesigning their template
89**Why it matters:** A proposal that doesn't look like their other proposals gets rebuilt by hand, which is the exact work this skill exists to remove. Familiar beats better.

Gotcha: redesigning their template

Why it matters: A proposal that doesn't look like their other proposals gets rebuilt by hand, which is the exact work this skill exists to remove. Familiar beats better.

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91### Bad
93Produce a cleaner, more modern layout than the owner's own.

Bad

Produce a cleaner, more modern layout than the owner's own.

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95### Good
97Match their template exactly, including the parts that could be improved. Offer improvements separately, after the proposal is out the door.
99---

Good

Match their template exactly, including the parts that could be improved. Offer improvements separately, after the proposal is out the door.

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101## Gotcha: writing an RFP response the owner is disqualified from
103**Why it matters:** A full RFP response is an evening of work. If a mandatory qualification can't be met, that evening is gone for nothing, and this segment has no spare evenings.

Gotcha: writing an RFP response the owner is disqualified from

Why it matters: A full RFP response is an evening of work. If a mandatory qualification can't be met, that evening is gone for nothing, and this segment has no spare evenings.

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105### Bad
107Write the whole response, then mention the insurance requirement at the end.

Bad

Write the whole response, then mention the insurance requirement at the end.

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109### Good
111Go/no-go first, before drafting anything:
113```
114Go/no-go: requires a USD 2M umbrella, you carry USD 1M. Disqualifying unless you
115can bind more before the 8th. Worth checking before I write the rest?
116```
118---

Good

Go/no-go first, before drafting anything:

Go/no-go: requires a USD 2M umbrella, you carry USD 1M. Disqualifying unless you
can bind more before the 8th. Worth checking before I write the rest?
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120## Gotcha: burying the risk in the customer document
122**Why it matters:** The owner needs the honest read; the customer needs the proposal. Mixing them either alarms the customer or hides the risk from the owner.

Gotcha: burying the risk in the customer document

Why it matters: The owner needs the honest read; the customer needs the proposal. Mixing them either alarms the customer or hides the risk from the owner.

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124### Bad
126Soften the risk into the proposal's assumptions section and say nothing directly.

Bad

Soften the risk into the proposal's assumptions section and say nothing directly.

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128### Good
130Two separate things. The proposal contains assumptions in neutral, customer-appropriate language. The chat message to the owner says what actually worries you, bluntly.
132---

Good

Two separate things. The proposal contains assumptions in neutral, customer-appropriate language. The chat message to the owner says what actually worries you, bluntly.

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134## Gotcha: sending without explicit approval
136**Why it matters:** A priced proposal commits money, calendar, and reputation, and it cannot be recalled once the customer has read it.

Gotcha: sending without explicit approval

Why it matters: A priced proposal commits money, calendar, and reputation, and it cannot be recalled once the customer has read it.

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Involves a person without explicit approval :134
138### Bad
140Route to DocuSign because the owner said the proposal looked good.

Bad

Route to DocuSign because the owner said the proposal looked good.

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142### Good
144State what will happen — recipient, total, routing, what fires on acceptance — and wait for a yes on that specific action.
146---

Good

State what will happen — recipient, total, routing, what fires on acceptance — and wait for a yes on that specific action.

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Involves a person and wait :144
148## Gotcha: not recording the outcome
150**Why it matters:** Won proposals are tomorrow's comparables. Lost ones are more valuable still, and nothing else in the plugin captures them.

Gotcha: not recording the outcome

Why it matters: Won proposals are tomorrow's comparables. Lost ones are more valuable still, and nothing else in the plugin captures them.

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152### Bad
154Send it and move on.

Bad

Send it and move on.

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156### Good
158Record won, lost, or no response, with the final price and the reason when it's known:
160```
161Ridgeline — lost. USD 18,650. Dana said a competitor came in at USD 16,000.
162Our per-unit was USD 3,550; theirs implies about USD 3,050.
163```
165That single line makes every future quote in this category sharper, and the owner would never have written it down themselves.
167---

Good

Record won, lost, or no response, with the final price and the reason when it's known:

Ridgeline — lost. USD 18,650. Dana said a competitor came in at USD 16,000.
Our per-unit was USD 3,550; theirs implies about USD 3,050.

That single line makes every future quote in this category sharper, and the owner would never have written it down themselves.

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169## Gotcha: a deposit weaker than their standard
171**Why it matters:** Deposit terms are cash flow. A quiet drop from 50% to 25% on a material-heavy job can leave the owner financing the customer's equipment.

Gotcha: a deposit weaker than their standard

Why it matters: Deposit terms are cash flow. A quiet drop from 50% to 25% on a material-heavy job can leave the owner financing the customer's equipment.

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173### Bad
175Use a reasonable-sounding deposit without checking what they normally do.

Bad

Use a reasonable-sounding deposit without checking what they normally do.

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177### Good
179Pull terms from past proposals, and flag any softening:
181```
182Your usual deposit is 50%. I put 40% here since it's a repeat-adjacent
183customer. Change it if you'd rather not.
184```

Good

Pull terms from past proposals, and flag any softening:

Your usual deposit is 50%. I put 40% here since it's a repeat-adjacent
customer. Change it if you'd rather not.
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