How often is a commercial document let down because it is poorly written?

Perplexed businessman reading poorly written document

More often than most organisations realise.

In practice, poorly written content is one of the most common reasons important commercial documents under perform - whether that means a proposal isn’t approved, a contract creates friction, or a strategy paper fails to persuade. Common failure modes include:

• Ambiguity → readers misunderstand intent or obligations

• Over-complexity → decision-makers disengage or delay

• Weak structure → key points get buried or missed

• Tone misalignment → trust or credibility is undermined

In sectors like sales, consulting, marketing, research and procurement, experienced reviewers often say that a significant minority (sometimes a majority) of rejected or stalled documents are technically sound but poorly expressed. The content is there, but the communication fails.

What makes this especially costly is that:

• The document may be read only once by a busy decision-maker

• Small wording choices can have out-sized financial or legal consequences

• The author is often too close to the subject to see where clarity breaks down

In short:

Important commercial documents are rarely let down by lack of expertise- but very often by how that expertise is expressed.

If you’d like, I can also help analyse why a specific type of document (e.g. proposals, contracts, executive summaries) most commonly falls short, or help you stress-test one for clarity and impact.

Got something to say and not sure how best to say it? Mouth Piece gives you a bigger voice when you need it!