How to Catch Proposal Mistakes Before It’s Too Late

I get it. You’ve been staring at that RFP for hours. You’ve formatted, re-formatted, chased down resumes, copy-pasted project blurbs, and now your brain feels like drywall dust. You’re this close to hitting “submit.”

Don’t.

Here’s the thing: proposals aren’t just about getting it done on time, they’re about getting it done right. And when you’ve been looking at the same document for hours (or days), your eyes start skipping over the little mistakes. The very mistakes that evaluators will notice.

So before you send that proposal out the door, here’s the system I use (and recommend to every construction team I work with) to give your bid a real chance.

Step 1: Take a Break That Actually Resets Your Brain

If you can, set it aside overnight and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning. If you don’t have that kind of time (and let’s be real, sometimes you don’t), take a real break away from your desk, away from screens.

Go outside. Pull some weeds. Chop vegetables for dinner. Do something that uses a completely different type of attention. It resets your brain so when you come back, you’re seeing the document not the version you think is there.

Step 2: Get a Second Set of Eyes (If You Can)

If you’ve got an assistant or a teammate you trust, this is their time to shine. Be clear that you want an honest review not just a “yep, looks good” nod.

They don’t have to be a proposal expert. In fact, it’s better if they’re not. If they can follow your proposal and stay engaged, chances are the evaluator can too.

And if no one on your team is available (or willing... let’s face it, not everyone enjoys scrolling through proposals), go back to Step 1 and give yourself that space before you review again.

Step 3: Do a High-Level Visual Pass First

Before you dive into reading, just look at the document.

• Does it flow logically from start to finish and is it following the exact evaluation criteria in the RFP?

• Are there enough photos, infographics, or visual breaks? If it’s feeling heavy or text-dense, swap out bullet points for a clean infographic, or add professional project photos with the project name and location under them. That not only breaks up the wall of text it also builds credibility while they read.

• Do the section headings and layout feel balanced?

This pass is about catching formatting issues, awkward page breaks, or that one random heading that’s still in Times New Roman from two versions ago.

Step 4: Read Like an Outsider

Now, actually read it. Ask yourself:

• Would someone outside your industry understand this?

• Have you fallen into using too much jargon?

  
  

We do want to look like professionals in our field but remember, evaluators aren’t always construction experts. They need to understand your value without having to decode it.

Step 5: The Table of Contents Trap

This is one of the most common and most embarrassing mistakes.

The table of contents often gets left behind in edits. Always refresh or update it as a last check before submission. While you’re there, also double-check:

• The proposal due date (addendums have a way of shifting these slightly).

• Names on the cover page.

• Footer info — section breaks can mess with this without you noticing.

Step 6: The “Final” Check That’s Actually Final

You’ve saved it, packaged it, and you’re ready to submit.

Do one last review in PDF format, the same way the evaluator will see it. You’d be surprised how many little things pop out once the layout shifts from Word or InDesign into a fixed PDF.

I know it feels crazy after all the hours you’ve already put in. But trust me, this final pass is where you catch the stuff that could hurt your score.

Bottom line: Fresh eyes, whether they’re yours or someone else’s , are the cheapest and fastest way to make your proposal stronger. Even if you can’t overhaul the whole thing, these checks will help you avoid the easy mistakes that can cost you the win.

And if you’re tired of doing all this yourself? Well… that’s exactly what I’m here for.