A proposal used to take me a full evening. Now it takes ten minutes — and the proposal looks better than what most shops send out.
The process is simple. After a walk-through, I dictate a voice memo with the scope, conditions, and anything weird I noticed. That memo goes into Otter, then into Claude with a structured prompt. Claude turns it into a proposal draft with sections for scope, exclusions, schedule, and price. I review, edit anything I disagree with, and send.
The whole thing comes out looking like a 50-person shop put it together. The client opens it and immediately treats me differently.
Here's the prompt I use:
Prompt
You are a senior estimator at a commercial GC. Take the following site walk notes and produce a polished commercial proposal in this exact structure: 1. Project Summary (2-3 sentences) 2. Scope of Work (bulleted, grouped by trade) 3. Exclusions 4. Schedule (in weeks from notice to proceed) 5. Investment (one number, no breakdown) 6. Terms (30% deposit, progress billing, net 15) Tone: direct, professional, no fluff. Write in clear declarative sentences. Notes: [paste voice memo transcript here]
AI doesn't replace field knowledge. It just stops paperwork from owning your evening.
