How to Write a Better Executive Summary
An Executive Summary should explain what you want the reader to conclude after reading your proposal. An Executive Summary is the most important part of your proposal, because it is where you explain why your proposal is the best alternative. The rest of the proposal just substantiates those reasons. Usually, an Executive Summary is not actually a summary at all. Executive Summary writing should focus on the conclusions you want the evaluator to reach and not on summarizing everything in your proposal. When you write an Executive Summary, the evaluator should know why to select you without having to read the rest of your proposal.
Questions to answer in your Executive Summary An Executive Summary is usually not an actual summary. When an Executive Summary is written for a proposal, or for any document that has a purpose, the Executive Summary must reflect that purpose. It must guide the reader to the conclucsion you want them to reach after reading the proposal. To write an Executive Summary, start with the conclusion you want the reader to reach and then ask yourself what questions the reader will have in order to reader those conclusions.
Here are a list of questions to get you started:
Why should the customer select you? How does your proposal align to the customer’s evaluation criteria? How will the customer benefit from what you proposal? What kind of return on investment can the customer anticipate? How will the project help the customer achieve their strategic goals? How do your plans align with theirs? How do the features of your proposal align with challenges the customer faces? How do project elements align with the customer’s priorities? How will your approach position them better for the future? What improvements will you make to the existing environment? How is your approach cheaper or more efficient? What discriminates you from your competition? Have you described all of your capabilities and how they may benefit the customer? How does your corporate culture and values map to the needs of the project? Are you reputable? What are your priorities? Can you provide any references or testimonials? Has your company won any awards that are relevant? Has your company had any articles published that are relevant? Is this project large enough to be considered important to your firm? Is this project so large that it will over extend your firm? What kind of return on investment do you project for the customer? How will your firm invest in the outcome?
Here are a list of questions to get you started:
Why should the customer select you? How does your proposal align to the customer’s evaluation criteria? How will the customer benefit from what you proposal? What kind of return on investment can the customer anticipate? How will the project help the customer achieve their strategic goals? How do your plans align with theirs? How do the features of your proposal align with challenges the customer faces? How do project elements align with the customer’s priorities? How will your approach position them better for the future? What improvements will you make to the existing environment? How is your approach cheaper or more efficient? What discriminates you from your competition? Have you described all of your capabilities and how they may benefit the customer? How does your corporate culture and values map to the needs of the project? Are you reputable? What are your priorities? Can you provide any references or testimonials? Has your company won any awards that are relevant? Has your company had any articles published that are relevant? Is this project large enough to be considered important to your firm? Is this project so large that it will over extend your firm? What kind of return on investment do you project for the customer? How will your firm invest in the outcome?
The Three Uses of Executive Summaries When a proposal effort is floundering and far behind schedule, what’s needed immediately is a rapid assessment of where the proposal effort IS, in relation to where it SHOULD be. In these circumstances, I ask: "Where is the Executive Summary“?
Why do I ask that? Because it gives an immediate insight into how thoughtfully the team has considered, and documented, the win themes and discriminators, and communicated those to the proposal team. Below, I show the eight important elements of the Executive Summary. But first, the three uses:
Communicate with the customer. Well, that’s fairly obvious and not exactly front page news. Of course, if we create an Executive Summary, we’re going to give it to the customer. Even when there’s a page limitation, unless specifically prohibited, there SHOULD be an Executive Summary included in the submitted proposal. Communicate with the proposal team. Now THERE’S a NEW use. We actually USE the Executive Summary as a mechanism to communicate with the proposal team. So, if we’re going to use it to communicate with the proposal team, we’d better write it FIRST, instead of LAST. This is entirely consistent with my contention that, when you begin to create a proposal, if the proposal team can’t write a clear and convincing Executive Summary, it probably can’t write a convincing, winning proposal. Stated positively, the ability to write a good Executive Summary is a very good start at writing a complete, winning proposal. Communicate with Top Management. Because my Executive Summaries have a Commitment Letter, signed by a member of Top Management, this means that Top Management can be constructively engaged in the proposal process. I’ve never seen a top manager refuse to review a letter the proposal team is expecting him/her to sign! Since the Number One Reason for Losing is the lack of Top Management commitment in the proposal process, this is an excellent way of ensuring involvement: Draft the Executive Summary, including the Commitment Letter, and present it for review and approval. Here are the eight important elements in Executive Summaries:
A cover, showing (best solution) OUR people doing the CUSTOMER’S work. (This really means using photos of our people on current projects doing similar work.) The inside front cover shows the 4-6 discriminating themes, and that answer the customer’s implicit question, "Why Us“? The Commitment Letter, signed by a representative of our company, to the counterpart in the customer organization. A Schedule for Delivery of Products, which answer the customer’s implicit question, "When do I get my stuff“? A visual showing some type of work, or process flow, demonstrating that we, as the offeror, really know how to accomplish this work. Logos - ours and the customer’s. Photographs of our people who have name and face recognition with the customer, because this increases the believability and desirability of our proposal. If possible, and if relevant, a photo or schematic of the place where we’re going to do this work.
Why do I ask that? Because it gives an immediate insight into how thoughtfully the team has considered, and documented, the win themes and discriminators, and communicated those to the proposal team. Below, I show the eight important elements of the Executive Summary. But first, the three uses:
Communicate with the customer. Well, that’s fairly obvious and not exactly front page news. Of course, if we create an Executive Summary, we’re going to give it to the customer. Even when there’s a page limitation, unless specifically prohibited, there SHOULD be an Executive Summary included in the submitted proposal. Communicate with the proposal team. Now THERE’S a NEW use. We actually USE the Executive Summary as a mechanism to communicate with the proposal team. So, if we’re going to use it to communicate with the proposal team, we’d better write it FIRST, instead of LAST. This is entirely consistent with my contention that, when you begin to create a proposal, if the proposal team can’t write a clear and convincing Executive Summary, it probably can’t write a convincing, winning proposal. Stated positively, the ability to write a good Executive Summary is a very good start at writing a complete, winning proposal. Communicate with Top Management. Because my Executive Summaries have a Commitment Letter, signed by a member of Top Management, this means that Top Management can be constructively engaged in the proposal process. I’ve never seen a top manager refuse to review a letter the proposal team is expecting him/her to sign! Since the Number One Reason for Losing is the lack of Top Management commitment in the proposal process, this is an excellent way of ensuring involvement: Draft the Executive Summary, including the Commitment Letter, and present it for review and approval. Here are the eight important elements in Executive Summaries:
A cover, showing (best solution) OUR people doing the CUSTOMER’S work. (This really means using photos of our people on current projects doing similar work.) The inside front cover shows the 4-6 discriminating themes, and that answer the customer’s implicit question, "Why Us“? The Commitment Letter, signed by a representative of our company, to the counterpart in the customer organization. A Schedule for Delivery of Products, which answer the customer’s implicit question, "When do I get my stuff“? A visual showing some type of work, or process flow, demonstrating that we, as the offeror, really know how to accomplish this work. Logos - ours and the customer’s. Photographs of our people who have name and face recognition with the customer, because this increases the believability and desirability of our proposal. If possible, and if relevant, a photo or schematic of the place where we’re going to do this work.
How to Write a Better Proposal Introduction A lot of proposals have really bad introductions. It's not that hard to write a great proposal introduction. You just have to start off by saying something of value to the customer.
A blank page can be intimidating. Most people go through a "warm up" process while they try to figure out what to say in their introductions. They start off with something traditional that sounds uncontroversial. Here are some examples:
Our company is pleased to submit this proposal to… Founded in 1901, our company is an industry-leading firm that… Our company is located in Somewhere, USA and specializes in… Our company provides… It's easy to describe yourself, but it's the wrong way to introduce your proposal. Proposal writing is very much like having a dialogue with the reader. You are a salesperson and the reader is the customer. How would you like it if you visited a store, and after you told him what you are interested in, he started his response with one of the openers above? What if a competing salesperson approached you and instead started off by talking about how he could deliver something that fulfills your needs and has a number of other benefits? Who would get your attention?
Your introduction should be about the customer — not about you. The customer has two crucial questions:
How you are going to fulfill their needs? What benefits they will derive from doing business with you? So when you are faced with a blank page, you should start by telling them how you can fulfill their needs. Even better is to say what benefits you will deliver while fulfilling their needs. And even better still is to deliver benefits while fulfilling their needs in a way that discriminates you from the competition.
Here is the formula:
Tell them that you will fulfill their needs or deliver what they want. Tell then that you will do it in a way that will provide benefits that are important to them. Introduce yourself by showing that you have the right qualifications to fulfill their needs. Then, explain why you are better positioned than anyone else to deliver the benefits you described. How you continue from this point depends on what is most important to the customer. You can discuss:
Fulfilling individual requirements Features of your solution Anticipated results Implementation process Project schedule For every item you discuss, be sure to describe:
How it relates to their needs How it will benefit the customer How capable or qualified you are in that area How it relates to their evaluation criteria The answers to any questions the customer might have If you have a written RFP, be sure to follow any instructions regarding the outline for the proposal, and to tailor your proposal to any evaluation criteria presented in the RFP.
Once your dialogue has the reader's attention, then you get a chance to tell your story. The story is what makes them want to select you. The formula above will work only if your story is compelling. If there is a formal evaluation process, then you must score well to win. It is much easier to do that when the customer wants you. That is why it is important to tell a story that makes the customer want you.
It is not sufficient to merely fulfill their requirements or respond with what they asked for. In a competitive environment with a written RFP, you should assume that everyone will do that. It is not even sufficient to merely describe the benefits that you will bring to the customer. The benefits must add up to something that matters to the client. How you articulate this is your story. The question is: Can you articulate it?
So going back to the blank page in front of you... Instead of writing until you stumble across your story, take a few moments to articulate the main points to yourself. Then follow the formula above, making sure the elements add up to your story. While most of your competitors will deliver a traditional descriptive proposal that puts the reader to sleep, yours will engage them in a dialog about the thing that matters most to them — themselves.
A blank page can be intimidating. Most people go through a "warm up" process while they try to figure out what to say in their introductions. They start off with something traditional that sounds uncontroversial. Here are some examples:
Our company is pleased to submit this proposal to… Founded in 1901, our company is an industry-leading firm that… Our company is located in Somewhere, USA and specializes in… Our company provides… It's easy to describe yourself, but it's the wrong way to introduce your proposal. Proposal writing is very much like having a dialogue with the reader. You are a salesperson and the reader is the customer. How would you like it if you visited a store, and after you told him what you are interested in, he started his response with one of the openers above? What if a competing salesperson approached you and instead started off by talking about how he could deliver something that fulfills your needs and has a number of other benefits? Who would get your attention?
Your introduction should be about the customer — not about you. The customer has two crucial questions:
How you are going to fulfill their needs? What benefits they will derive from doing business with you? So when you are faced with a blank page, you should start by telling them how you can fulfill their needs. Even better is to say what benefits you will deliver while fulfilling their needs. And even better still is to deliver benefits while fulfilling their needs in a way that discriminates you from the competition.
Here is the formula:
Tell them that you will fulfill their needs or deliver what they want. Tell then that you will do it in a way that will provide benefits that are important to them. Introduce yourself by showing that you have the right qualifications to fulfill their needs. Then, explain why you are better positioned than anyone else to deliver the benefits you described. How you continue from this point depends on what is most important to the customer. You can discuss:
Fulfilling individual requirements Features of your solution Anticipated results Implementation process Project schedule For every item you discuss, be sure to describe:
How it relates to their needs How it will benefit the customer How capable or qualified you are in that area How it relates to their evaluation criteria The answers to any questions the customer might have If you have a written RFP, be sure to follow any instructions regarding the outline for the proposal, and to tailor your proposal to any evaluation criteria presented in the RFP.
Once your dialogue has the reader's attention, then you get a chance to tell your story. The story is what makes them want to select you. The formula above will work only if your story is compelling. If there is a formal evaluation process, then you must score well to win. It is much easier to do that when the customer wants you. That is why it is important to tell a story that makes the customer want you.
It is not sufficient to merely fulfill their requirements or respond with what they asked for. In a competitive environment with a written RFP, you should assume that everyone will do that. It is not even sufficient to merely describe the benefits that you will bring to the customer. The benefits must add up to something that matters to the client. How you articulate this is your story. The question is: Can you articulate it?
So going back to the blank page in front of you... Instead of writing until you stumble across your story, take a few moments to articulate the main points to yourself. Then follow the formula above, making sure the elements add up to your story. While most of your competitors will deliver a traditional descriptive proposal that puts the reader to sleep, yours will engage them in a dialog about the thing that matters most to them — themselves.
Why Should the Customer Select You? What is wrong with the following list of reasons why the customer should select you in a proposal?
OurCompany is ISO 9001:2000 certified OurCompany was founded in 19XX OurCompany offers extensive experience Our project manager has XX years of experience OurCompany has a staff of 10 gazillion employees OurCompany has grown more than 100% every year since it was founded OurCompany is a small business OurCompany is a large business OurCompany has an excellent past performance record OurCompany is committed to serving you OurCompany understands your needs and environment OurCompany offers the best value Answer: They are all qualifications. To be a reason why the customer should select you, they need to include a benefit. Furthermore, they are all about you. Shouldn't the reasons why a customer should select you be all about them? Try the following list, which tracks bullet-for-bullet with the list above, instead:
Because OurCompany is ISO 9001:2000 certified, you can expect us to be able to consistently and reliably deliver what we promise Because OurCompany was founded in 19XX, our procedures and infrastructures are mature and will be able to quickly accommodate your needs Because we have significant relevant experience, our staffing resources include relevant professionals and our management is already familiar with the issues that we will face. We will know what risks we need to mitigate the day we show up and instead of struggling to come up to speed we will be able to focus our attention on delivering added-value. OurCompany's PM will draw on over XX years of experience to be able to quickly make the right trade-offs decisions to ensure a successful project With over 10 gazillion employees, OurCompany has ample human resources to quickly staff the project with qualified personnel Our ability to produce high levels of customer satisfaction has directly led to increased demand for OutCompany and a rate of growth that exceeds 100% annually. Your project will represent a larger share of our business than it will for a larger company and we will respond with commitment and gratitude. You will have our attention and focus, and OurCompany will not be distracted by mergers and acquisitions or stock performance. OurCompany will be able to start your project immediately and continue to operate without having to simultaneously grow our corporate infrastructure. Our ability to server you will not be wholly dependent on the efforts of a couple of key people who must also serve all of the companies other clients. Because of our size and excellent financial condition, OurCompany has the infrastructure to take care of your needs without having to keep one eye on our cash-flow position. Our excellent performance record lends credibility to our ability to deliver as promised. We encourage you to call our customer references and ask them. Our commitment to our customers has been demonstrated repeatedly on our previous projects. We encourage you to call our references. OurCompany will leverage our experience with your environment to fulfill your needs. OurCompany's approach represents the best value to you because we will support your goals and mission as well as the needs of this project. Which is more convincing? Put yourself in your customer's shoes. If you walk into a car dealer and they say --- trust us --- we sell more cars than anybody else! Is that enough? If they tell you they are a small business does that convince you to do business with them or scare you away? What about if they tell you they are the largest dealer? If a sales person introduces himself and says he is committed to you, does that make you ready to select him to do business with?
Your reasons why the customer should select you must pass the "So What?" test. Read each bullet in the first list and ask yourself "So What?" There might be a reason why they matter, but if you haven't stated that reason --- you haven't given the customer the reason why they should select you. You must show the reader how what you are claiming is going to benefit them. If you don't take the time to show them why your qualifications matter and how they will benefit them, why should they do business with you?
OurCompany is ISO 9001:2000 certified OurCompany was founded in 19XX OurCompany offers extensive experience Our project manager has XX years of experience OurCompany has a staff of 10 gazillion employees OurCompany has grown more than 100% every year since it was founded OurCompany is a small business OurCompany is a large business OurCompany has an excellent past performance record OurCompany is committed to serving you OurCompany understands your needs and environment OurCompany offers the best value Answer: They are all qualifications. To be a reason why the customer should select you, they need to include a benefit. Furthermore, they are all about you. Shouldn't the reasons why a customer should select you be all about them? Try the following list, which tracks bullet-for-bullet with the list above, instead:
Because OurCompany is ISO 9001:2000 certified, you can expect us to be able to consistently and reliably deliver what we promise Because OurCompany was founded in 19XX, our procedures and infrastructures are mature and will be able to quickly accommodate your needs Because we have significant relevant experience, our staffing resources include relevant professionals and our management is already familiar with the issues that we will face. We will know what risks we need to mitigate the day we show up and instead of struggling to come up to speed we will be able to focus our attention on delivering added-value. OurCompany's PM will draw on over XX years of experience to be able to quickly make the right trade-offs decisions to ensure a successful project With over 10 gazillion employees, OurCompany has ample human resources to quickly staff the project with qualified personnel Our ability to produce high levels of customer satisfaction has directly led to increased demand for OutCompany and a rate of growth that exceeds 100% annually. Your project will represent a larger share of our business than it will for a larger company and we will respond with commitment and gratitude. You will have our attention and focus, and OurCompany will not be distracted by mergers and acquisitions or stock performance. OurCompany will be able to start your project immediately and continue to operate without having to simultaneously grow our corporate infrastructure. Our ability to server you will not be wholly dependent on the efforts of a couple of key people who must also serve all of the companies other clients. Because of our size and excellent financial condition, OurCompany has the infrastructure to take care of your needs without having to keep one eye on our cash-flow position. Our excellent performance record lends credibility to our ability to deliver as promised. We encourage you to call our customer references and ask them. Our commitment to our customers has been demonstrated repeatedly on our previous projects. We encourage you to call our references. OurCompany will leverage our experience with your environment to fulfill your needs. OurCompany's approach represents the best value to you because we will support your goals and mission as well as the needs of this project. Which is more convincing? Put yourself in your customer's shoes. If you walk into a car dealer and they say --- trust us --- we sell more cars than anybody else! Is that enough? If they tell you they are a small business does that convince you to do business with them or scare you away? What about if they tell you they are the largest dealer? If a sales person introduces himself and says he is committed to you, does that make you ready to select him to do business with?
Your reasons why the customer should select you must pass the "So What?" test. Read each bullet in the first list and ask yourself "So What?" There might be a reason why they matter, but if you haven't stated that reason --- you haven't given the customer the reason why they should select you. You must show the reader how what you are claiming is going to benefit them. If you don't take the time to show them why your qualifications matter and how they will benefit them, why should they do business with you?
Who Are You And Why Should I Care? I recently dialed a wrong telephone number and heard the following recorded message:
"Hi. You've reached Mike and Kathy. Who are you and why do we care?"
It was immediately followed by the "beep" signaling my opportunity to leave a message. I obviously dialed the wrong number so I hung up. But then I started thinking about that abrupt message. That's exactly what every potential customer thinks when he or she is exposed to any advertising message... "Who is this and why do I care?"
Do You Know The Answer?
How would you answer a prospective customer who asked, "Who are you and why should I care?" If you were the prospect, would that answer increase or decrease the desire to do business with you?
Prospects may not ask you this question -- at least not in words that blunt. But they are asking it, silently and unconsciously, every time they see your ad, visit your website or listen to your sales presentation. You can increase the effectiveness of all your advertising by automatically answering it for them. It's actually a 2 part question so we'll look at each part separately.
Part 1: "Who Are You...?"
People only buy products and services from companies and individuals they trust. Part of that trust is the assurance that you're capable of delivering the benefit each customer expects in return for the money he or she pays you.
The unspoken answer to "Who are you...?" may be as simple as including a statement like, "authorized distributor for ???" (the name of a well-known company) in your ads or promotional material. New distributors for network marketing companies often use the well-known corporate name of their company to establish credibility for their business opportunity offer. Opportunity seekers tend to overlook the credentials of a novice distributor when the opportunity is supported by the resources of a well-known large company.
TIP: Instead of listing professional credentials or personal achievements, convert them into benefits for your customers. For example, prospects and customers don't care that you were a top producer in your organization last quarter. They do care that you helped so many new distributors just like them get off to a fast start last quarter that their production made you a top producer in your organization.
Part 2: "...And Why Do I Care?"
People buy things because they expect to gain something more valuable (to them) than the money they spend to get it. What they expect to gain is a BIG BENEFIT. That's why they care -- IF they are the right prospects for your product or service.
You control whether or not they're the right prospects. How? By targeting your advertising to reach prospects most likely to have a strong need or desire for the benefits provided by your product or service. It's easy to capture the attention and interest of prospective customers when they already need or want the benefits you provide.
TIP: Be sure to promote the biggest single benefit you offer to prospects in your targeted market. If you target several different markets, determine the most important benefit for each and promote it in that market. The big benefit may be different for each market.
You may never be asked, "Who are you and why do I care?" But prospects and customers silently and unconsciously ask it every time they see your ad, visit your website or listen to your sales presentation. You'll see a dramatic increase in the results of any ad or promotion when you automatically give them the answer.
"Hi. You've reached Mike and Kathy. Who are you and why do we care?"
It was immediately followed by the "beep" signaling my opportunity to leave a message. I obviously dialed the wrong number so I hung up. But then I started thinking about that abrupt message. That's exactly what every potential customer thinks when he or she is exposed to any advertising message... "Who is this and why do I care?"
Do You Know The Answer?
How would you answer a prospective customer who asked, "Who are you and why should I care?" If you were the prospect, would that answer increase or decrease the desire to do business with you?
Prospects may not ask you this question -- at least not in words that blunt. But they are asking it, silently and unconsciously, every time they see your ad, visit your website or listen to your sales presentation. You can increase the effectiveness of all your advertising by automatically answering it for them. It's actually a 2 part question so we'll look at each part separately.
Part 1: "Who Are You...?"
People only buy products and services from companies and individuals they trust. Part of that trust is the assurance that you're capable of delivering the benefit each customer expects in return for the money he or she pays you.
The unspoken answer to "Who are you...?" may be as simple as including a statement like, "authorized distributor for ???" (the name of a well-known company) in your ads or promotional material. New distributors for network marketing companies often use the well-known corporate name of their company to establish credibility for their business opportunity offer. Opportunity seekers tend to overlook the credentials of a novice distributor when the opportunity is supported by the resources of a well-known large company.
TIP: Instead of listing professional credentials or personal achievements, convert them into benefits for your customers. For example, prospects and customers don't care that you were a top producer in your organization last quarter. They do care that you helped so many new distributors just like them get off to a fast start last quarter that their production made you a top producer in your organization.
Part 2: "...And Why Do I Care?"
People buy things because they expect to gain something more valuable (to them) than the money they spend to get it. What they expect to gain is a BIG BENEFIT. That's why they care -- IF they are the right prospects for your product or service.
You control whether or not they're the right prospects. How? By targeting your advertising to reach prospects most likely to have a strong need or desire for the benefits provided by your product or service. It's easy to capture the attention and interest of prospective customers when they already need or want the benefits you provide.
TIP: Be sure to promote the biggest single benefit you offer to prospects in your targeted market. If you target several different markets, determine the most important benefit for each and promote it in that market. The big benefit may be different for each market.
You may never be asked, "Who are you and why do I care?" But prospects and customers silently and unconsciously ask it every time they see your ad, visit your website or listen to your sales presentation. You'll see a dramatic increase in the results of any ad or promotion when you automatically give them the answer.
101 Win Themes for All Occasions Each theme below is followed by an example. However, details and substantiation are what separate an empty claim from a persuasive statement. Use the words below for inspiration, but make sure you include the specifics of their environment and your solution and how it will benefit your customer so that your themes will really stand out.
What customers want
Small, nimble. Because we are small, we are more nimble and better able to adapt to your changing environment. Innovative. Our approach ensures the constant consideration of innovative solutions. Not distracted by mergers and acquisitions Because we are privately owned, we are not distracted by the mergers and acquisitions that limit our competitors' responsiveness. Efficiency. Our approach reduces lifecycle costs because it is more efficient. Responsive. Our issue tracking system will enable us to respond quickly to your requests and ensure that none of them "fall through the cracks." Lower cost. By taking advantage of technology, we can meet the production schedule using less staff and lower the total project cost. Reliability. Our proven reliability means that you can count on us to deliver continuity of operations no matter what the circumstances. Seamless. Our solution will integrate into your technical environment seamlessly. Exceeds the requirement. We exceed the minimum requirements of the RFP in several significant ways. Best value. Our solution balances up-front investment against long-term operating costs to achieve the best overall value. Sustainability. By minimizing maintenance and resource requirements, our solution will be sustainable in the field. Scalability. The scalability inherent in our approach will enable us to respond to peaks and valleys in the workload. Meet or exceed performance standards/SLA. Our approach meets or exceeds all required performance standards. Positive return on investment. By approaching project costs as investments, we not only deliver the best return on investment, but we can quantify that return for our customers. Quick return on investment. Our approach emphasizes a rapid return on investment to minimize the financial risk to the customer. Builds a foundation for the future. Our platform not only meets the current requirements, but it puts in place a foundation that you will be able to capitalize on in the future. Trust
Award winning. The industry awards we have received recognize the quality of our offering. Financially sound. We are financially sound and our access to ample credit ensures our ability to support this project with any resources required. Can offer financing. Our financial strength enables us to offer attractive credit terms to our customers. Audited. Our financial strength is demonstrated by a series of external audits without qualification going back many years. Licensed/Bonded. Because we are fully licensed and bonded, you can trust us to perform. Licensing terms. Our licensing terms offer several advantages to you over those of our competition. Faster
Performance. Our approach improves performance by increasing the speed of the process. Implementation. Our approach will produce benefits for you faster by completing the implementation sooner. Transition. Because our resources are immediately available, we can accomplish the transition faster. Transition Themes
Retain institutional knowledge. We will maintain critical institutional knowledge by retaining the incumbent staffing. No disruption. Because our staff is already trained and in-place, we can complete the project start-up without any disruption to our client. Ready on Day 1. We will be ready on Day 1 of the contract to provide service and meet all performance standards. Positioning
Best combination. We offer the best combination of experience and innovation. Mission support. Our experience enables us to focus on helping you achieve your mission and not just on meeting contractual requirements. Most realistic. Our staffing, schedules, estimates, and pricing all reflect a realistic approach that you can count on. Organization
Clear lines of communication. Our emphasis on clear lines of communication ensures responsiveness. Well defined roles and responsibilities. Our management approach reflects well defined roles and responsibilities which delivers maximum efficiency while ensuring that all critical functions are fully covered. Flattened organization. By keeping our organization flat, we keep decision making as close as possible to the project. Direct access to executives. Our executives are always available via telephone or in-person to address project needs. Rapid problem escalation. Our management approach formally addresses problem escalation to ensure that issues are promptly and thoroughly resolved. Risk
Mitigated. Our approach mitigates project risks. Identified. Our approach formally identifies and tracks project risks to ensure that trade-offs and decisions are made in an informed manner. Shared. Our approach shares risk so that all parties have an incentive to participate in mitigating the risks. Anticipated. Our experience enables us to anticipate risks and prevent negative outcomes. Demonstrated/proven
Capability. Our capability to deliver the services you need is proven through past performance. History of. We bring a proven history of delivering on time and within budget. Track record. We bring a proven track record that demonstrates our quality. Experience
This customer. Our experience in your environment will enable us to provide better service. Location. Our experience with this location will enable us to recruit and deploy resources far more efficiently. Technology. Our experience with this delicate technology will enable us to avoid the potential problems. Our business/teaming partners. Our prior relationship with our business partners ensures that we can work together to meet your needs. Management. Because our management is experienced, they will understand your needs and be able to anticipate problems. Alignment with their:
Plans. Our approach to this project is in alignment with your plans for the future. Mission. Our approach is in alignment with your mission. Goals. Our schedule aligns with your goals for this project. Staffing
Already named/hired. All of the staff we propose to use are already hired and are named in our proposal. In place/ready to start. All of the staff we propose are in place and ready to start immediately. Qualified/trained/certified. Our staff are fully qualified, trained, and certified. Incentivized staff. Our staff are incentivized to meet project goals. Client review. We review all major staffing decisions with you. Security
Physical security. We will provide the critical physical security you need for your staff and facility to remain safe. Information assurance. Our approach addresses information assurance and the security of your IT infrastructure. Fault-tolerant. Because our proposed system is fault-tolerant, it will remain operational even if a part fails. Continuity of operations. Our approach will deliver continuity of operations, even if a disaster should occur. Safety. By focusing on safety, our approach avoids unexpected delays, and costs. Quality
Independence. Our quality manager operates independently, and does not report to the project manager. ISO/CMM. Because our management and quality processes are ISO certified, they can be relied upon. Assessment/Surveillance. Our approach to overseeing quality includes tracking performance metrics and sampling. Testing and validation. Our emphasis on testing and validation ensures you of a reliable system. Audit trails. Our approach provides a clear audit trail to help clarify the circumstances should a problem occur. Feedback. Our approach seeks out and incorporates your feedback to ensure you have a voice in how the project unfolds. Lessons learned. By documenting and incorporating lessons learned, we ensure that valuable experience is retained. Continuous improvement. Our approach includes specific action items designed to achieve continuous improvement. Metrics and measurements. By capturing metrics and measurements data, we create a repository of performance data with multiple benefits for our customer. Change management. Our process for change management is careful and controlled to ensure that new versions do not introduce new problems. Partnership
The customer will be included and involved. We form a partnership with our customers that ensures their participation and keeps them in the loop with regards to project events. We will shift the burden from the customer to us. Our approach enables you to shift effort to us so that you can focus on other goals. Methodologies
Formal. Because we follow formal methodologies, our performance is more reliable. Documented. We will not waste your time inventing new procedures because ours already exist and are fully documented. Repeatable. Because our procedures are documented and repeatable, they are followed consistently. Certified. Because our methodologies are certified, they are more reliable. Platforms
Off-the-shelf. Our approach lowers cost by using off-the-shelf components. Proprietary. Our in-house proprietary software provides advanced decision support. Open. Our use of open solutions is more reliable and cost-effective than approaches that depend on proprietary platforms. Standards-based/compliant Our approach is fully compliant with applicable standards. Training
Already trained. Because our staff are already trained, they will face no learning curve, and will be able to get to work immediately. On-going. Our approach to training is on-going and not just occasionally offered. Technology refresh. Our approach to training ensures that our staffing remain current with changes in technology. Client staff. Client staff will be invited to participate in our training sessions. Support
Ongoing. Our support will be on-going, available for the life of the project. Quick. Our approach to support emphasizes quick response. Thorough. Our support managers will ensure that all issues are thoroughly resolved. Capacity. Our approach to providing support ensures that we have the capacity to respond to all requests. Self-service. We will make our support resources available to those who want to help themselves without going through the help desk. On-site/off-site. Our approach addresses the need for support to be provided onsite. Issue tracking. We fully track all requests for support in order to measure responsiveness and ensure thorough resolution. Abundance of
Resources. We have an abundance of resources available to support this project. Experience. Our abundance of experience in this area ensures our ability to deliver managers and staff who understand your needs. Staff. The size of our staffing pool ensures that we can quickly fill any open positions on this project. Skills/knowledge/ability. Our experience gives us an abundance of relevant skills and knowledge for this project. Plans
Detailed/Comprehensive. Our detailed and comprehensive plans ensure our readiness. Flexible. Our plans are flexible and able to adapt. All contingencies addressed. By explicitly addressing potential contingencies, we ensure our ability to respond quickly. Environmental issues
Reduced waste. Our approach reduces the amount of waste and improves efficiency. Use of recycled materials. Our approach is more environmentally friendly because we make heavy use of recycled materials.
What customers want
Small, nimble. Because we are small, we are more nimble and better able to adapt to your changing environment. Innovative. Our approach ensures the constant consideration of innovative solutions. Not distracted by mergers and acquisitions Because we are privately owned, we are not distracted by the mergers and acquisitions that limit our competitors' responsiveness. Efficiency. Our approach reduces lifecycle costs because it is more efficient. Responsive. Our issue tracking system will enable us to respond quickly to your requests and ensure that none of them "fall through the cracks." Lower cost. By taking advantage of technology, we can meet the production schedule using less staff and lower the total project cost. Reliability. Our proven reliability means that you can count on us to deliver continuity of operations no matter what the circumstances. Seamless. Our solution will integrate into your technical environment seamlessly. Exceeds the requirement. We exceed the minimum requirements of the RFP in several significant ways. Best value. Our solution balances up-front investment against long-term operating costs to achieve the best overall value. Sustainability. By minimizing maintenance and resource requirements, our solution will be sustainable in the field. Scalability. The scalability inherent in our approach will enable us to respond to peaks and valleys in the workload. Meet or exceed performance standards/SLA. Our approach meets or exceeds all required performance standards. Positive return on investment. By approaching project costs as investments, we not only deliver the best return on investment, but we can quantify that return for our customers. Quick return on investment. Our approach emphasizes a rapid return on investment to minimize the financial risk to the customer. Builds a foundation for the future. Our platform not only meets the current requirements, but it puts in place a foundation that you will be able to capitalize on in the future. Trust
Award winning. The industry awards we have received recognize the quality of our offering. Financially sound. We are financially sound and our access to ample credit ensures our ability to support this project with any resources required. Can offer financing. Our financial strength enables us to offer attractive credit terms to our customers. Audited. Our financial strength is demonstrated by a series of external audits without qualification going back many years. Licensed/Bonded. Because we are fully licensed and bonded, you can trust us to perform. Licensing terms. Our licensing terms offer several advantages to you over those of our competition. Faster
Performance. Our approach improves performance by increasing the speed of the process. Implementation. Our approach will produce benefits for you faster by completing the implementation sooner. Transition. Because our resources are immediately available, we can accomplish the transition faster. Transition Themes
Retain institutional knowledge. We will maintain critical institutional knowledge by retaining the incumbent staffing. No disruption. Because our staff is already trained and in-place, we can complete the project start-up without any disruption to our client. Ready on Day 1. We will be ready on Day 1 of the contract to provide service and meet all performance standards. Positioning
Best combination. We offer the best combination of experience and innovation. Mission support. Our experience enables us to focus on helping you achieve your mission and not just on meeting contractual requirements. Most realistic. Our staffing, schedules, estimates, and pricing all reflect a realistic approach that you can count on. Organization
Clear lines of communication. Our emphasis on clear lines of communication ensures responsiveness. Well defined roles and responsibilities. Our management approach reflects well defined roles and responsibilities which delivers maximum efficiency while ensuring that all critical functions are fully covered. Flattened organization. By keeping our organization flat, we keep decision making as close as possible to the project. Direct access to executives. Our executives are always available via telephone or in-person to address project needs. Rapid problem escalation. Our management approach formally addresses problem escalation to ensure that issues are promptly and thoroughly resolved. Risk
Mitigated. Our approach mitigates project risks. Identified. Our approach formally identifies and tracks project risks to ensure that trade-offs and decisions are made in an informed manner. Shared. Our approach shares risk so that all parties have an incentive to participate in mitigating the risks. Anticipated. Our experience enables us to anticipate risks and prevent negative outcomes. Demonstrated/proven
Capability. Our capability to deliver the services you need is proven through past performance. History of. We bring a proven history of delivering on time and within budget. Track record. We bring a proven track record that demonstrates our quality. Experience
This customer. Our experience in your environment will enable us to provide better service. Location. Our experience with this location will enable us to recruit and deploy resources far more efficiently. Technology. Our experience with this delicate technology will enable us to avoid the potential problems. Our business/teaming partners. Our prior relationship with our business partners ensures that we can work together to meet your needs. Management. Because our management is experienced, they will understand your needs and be able to anticipate problems. Alignment with their:
Plans. Our approach to this project is in alignment with your plans for the future. Mission. Our approach is in alignment with your mission. Goals. Our schedule aligns with your goals for this project. Staffing
Already named/hired. All of the staff we propose to use are already hired and are named in our proposal. In place/ready to start. All of the staff we propose are in place and ready to start immediately. Qualified/trained/certified. Our staff are fully qualified, trained, and certified. Incentivized staff. Our staff are incentivized to meet project goals. Client review. We review all major staffing decisions with you. Security
Physical security. We will provide the critical physical security you need for your staff and facility to remain safe. Information assurance. Our approach addresses information assurance and the security of your IT infrastructure. Fault-tolerant. Because our proposed system is fault-tolerant, it will remain operational even if a part fails. Continuity of operations. Our approach will deliver continuity of operations, even if a disaster should occur. Safety. By focusing on safety, our approach avoids unexpected delays, and costs. Quality
Independence. Our quality manager operates independently, and does not report to the project manager. ISO/CMM. Because our management and quality processes are ISO certified, they can be relied upon. Assessment/Surveillance. Our approach to overseeing quality includes tracking performance metrics and sampling. Testing and validation. Our emphasis on testing and validation ensures you of a reliable system. Audit trails. Our approach provides a clear audit trail to help clarify the circumstances should a problem occur. Feedback. Our approach seeks out and incorporates your feedback to ensure you have a voice in how the project unfolds. Lessons learned. By documenting and incorporating lessons learned, we ensure that valuable experience is retained. Continuous improvement. Our approach includes specific action items designed to achieve continuous improvement. Metrics and measurements. By capturing metrics and measurements data, we create a repository of performance data with multiple benefits for our customer. Change management. Our process for change management is careful and controlled to ensure that new versions do not introduce new problems. Partnership
The customer will be included and involved. We form a partnership with our customers that ensures their participation and keeps them in the loop with regards to project events. We will shift the burden from the customer to us. Our approach enables you to shift effort to us so that you can focus on other goals. Methodologies
Formal. Because we follow formal methodologies, our performance is more reliable. Documented. We will not waste your time inventing new procedures because ours already exist and are fully documented. Repeatable. Because our procedures are documented and repeatable, they are followed consistently. Certified. Because our methodologies are certified, they are more reliable. Platforms
Off-the-shelf. Our approach lowers cost by using off-the-shelf components. Proprietary. Our in-house proprietary software provides advanced decision support. Open. Our use of open solutions is more reliable and cost-effective than approaches that depend on proprietary platforms. Standards-based/compliant Our approach is fully compliant with applicable standards. Training
Already trained. Because our staff are already trained, they will face no learning curve, and will be able to get to work immediately. On-going. Our approach to training is on-going and not just occasionally offered. Technology refresh. Our approach to training ensures that our staffing remain current with changes in technology. Client staff. Client staff will be invited to participate in our training sessions. Support
Ongoing. Our support will be on-going, available for the life of the project. Quick. Our approach to support emphasizes quick response. Thorough. Our support managers will ensure that all issues are thoroughly resolved. Capacity. Our approach to providing support ensures that we have the capacity to respond to all requests. Self-service. We will make our support resources available to those who want to help themselves without going through the help desk. On-site/off-site. Our approach addresses the need for support to be provided onsite. Issue tracking. We fully track all requests for support in order to measure responsiveness and ensure thorough resolution. Abundance of
Resources. We have an abundance of resources available to support this project. Experience. Our abundance of experience in this area ensures our ability to deliver managers and staff who understand your needs. Staff. The size of our staffing pool ensures that we can quickly fill any open positions on this project. Skills/knowledge/ability. Our experience gives us an abundance of relevant skills and knowledge for this project. Plans
Detailed/Comprehensive. Our detailed and comprehensive plans ensure our readiness. Flexible. Our plans are flexible and able to adapt. All contingencies addressed. By explicitly addressing potential contingencies, we ensure our ability to respond quickly. Environmental issues
Reduced waste. Our approach reduces the amount of waste and improves efficiency. Use of recycled materials. Our approach is more environmentally friendly because we make heavy use of recycled materials.
Should You Write the Executive Summary First or Last? Should you write the Executive Summary first and build your proposal to support it, or should you write it last, as a summary of all the material developed in writing the proposal? There are good reasons for taking either approach, but which is best for you will depend on your circumstances and goals.
Why You Should Write the Executive Summary First
Writing the Executive Summary first forces you to think through the most important aspects of your proposal. The purpose of a proposal is to persuade the reader to follow your recommendations. The Executive Summary succinctly presents your recommendations. The proposal must articulate and support the reasons that will persuade the reader. Writing the Executive Summary first forces you to articulate those reasons. If you just start writing the proposal and figure out why you are the customer's best alternative by writing about it, your proposal will miss many opportunities to be persuasive, and the reasons why the reader should follow your recommendations will never be fully integrated.
Writing the Executive Summary first forces you to articulate your reasons and develop the elements of persuasion. It then provides you with a foundation to build that rationale into the proposal, and enables you to achieve a fully integrated presentation.
Why You Should Write the Executive Summary Last
You learn a lot as you develop your proposal. On the last day of production, you know far more about what is required to win than you did on the first day. It is a tremendous challenge to gain this insight before it is too late. The Executive Summary that you can write on the last day will always be different from the Executive Summary you would write on the first day. If you build your proposal around what you know on the first day, you will be building your proposal around incomplete knowledge.
While you could argue that starting early and doing your intelligence gathering homework is the best way to respond, you will never have full knowledge at the beginning. This is true, if only because of the RFP. Going through the RFP, item by item, and developing your solution and your response teaches you things. The strategies that were developed before the RFP was released often need to be changed or even dropped based on what is in the final RFP. And even if you are really diligent about reading the full RFP as soon as it comes out, you won't have a full understanding of all the implications until you've fully developed your solution, written the response, and gone through all the related pricing trade-offs.
When you write the Executive Summary last, it will reflect a better understanding of the customer, the solution, and the competitive environment. As a result, it will be more persuasive.
How Do You Decide?
Like many things in life, the best approach for you will depend on your circumstances. If you are having trouble articulating why the customer should follow your recommendations, then doing the Executive Summary first may be an excellent way to start. You can always go back to it later and make changes. If, however, your rationale depends on what your recommendations are, and you won't know until they are developed and priced, you may wish to hold off. Only don't hold off too long or you will run out of time.
A hybrid approach is to create a draft Executive Summary, with a expectation that it will get thrown out or completely revised as you go through the process and learn more. What I like about this approach is that if you revise it as you go along, you have a baseline understanding of your rationale that you can share with people throughout the process to help foster a shared-understanding and illuminate any discrepancies. If you end up revising the Executive Summary on a daily basis, the effort is not wasted. Confirmation, validation, and revision of the reasons why your customer should follow your recommendations can only help you achieve a successful proposal.
Why You Should Write the Executive Summary First
Writing the Executive Summary first forces you to think through the most important aspects of your proposal. The purpose of a proposal is to persuade the reader to follow your recommendations. The Executive Summary succinctly presents your recommendations. The proposal must articulate and support the reasons that will persuade the reader. Writing the Executive Summary first forces you to articulate those reasons. If you just start writing the proposal and figure out why you are the customer's best alternative by writing about it, your proposal will miss many opportunities to be persuasive, and the reasons why the reader should follow your recommendations will never be fully integrated.
Writing the Executive Summary first forces you to articulate your reasons and develop the elements of persuasion. It then provides you with a foundation to build that rationale into the proposal, and enables you to achieve a fully integrated presentation.
Why You Should Write the Executive Summary Last
You learn a lot as you develop your proposal. On the last day of production, you know far more about what is required to win than you did on the first day. It is a tremendous challenge to gain this insight before it is too late. The Executive Summary that you can write on the last day will always be different from the Executive Summary you would write on the first day. If you build your proposal around what you know on the first day, you will be building your proposal around incomplete knowledge.
While you could argue that starting early and doing your intelligence gathering homework is the best way to respond, you will never have full knowledge at the beginning. This is true, if only because of the RFP. Going through the RFP, item by item, and developing your solution and your response teaches you things. The strategies that were developed before the RFP was released often need to be changed or even dropped based on what is in the final RFP. And even if you are really diligent about reading the full RFP as soon as it comes out, you won't have a full understanding of all the implications until you've fully developed your solution, written the response, and gone through all the related pricing trade-offs.
When you write the Executive Summary last, it will reflect a better understanding of the customer, the solution, and the competitive environment. As a result, it will be more persuasive.
How Do You Decide?
Like many things in life, the best approach for you will depend on your circumstances. If you are having trouble articulating why the customer should follow your recommendations, then doing the Executive Summary first may be an excellent way to start. You can always go back to it later and make changes. If, however, your rationale depends on what your recommendations are, and you won't know until they are developed and priced, you may wish to hold off. Only don't hold off too long or you will run out of time.
A hybrid approach is to create a draft Executive Summary, with a expectation that it will get thrown out or completely revised as you go through the process and learn more. What I like about this approach is that if you revise it as you go along, you have a baseline understanding of your rationale that you can share with people throughout the process to help foster a shared-understanding and illuminate any discrepancies. If you end up revising the Executive Summary on a daily basis, the effort is not wasted. Confirmation, validation, and revision of the reasons why your customer should follow your recommendations can only help you achieve a successful proposal.