You MUST change how you structure your Executive Summary

Should you be in any respect interested in executive summary writing, you’ve probably already read several articles, internet pages – even books – about writing the ideal business proposal executive summary. Many of them offer an abundance of well-intended suggestions about all the stuff you have to include. They give a helpful listing of the top 100 critical items you should cover, then tell you to be concise. However, most guides to writing an executive summary miss this individual fundamental point:

The purpose of the executive summary is to sell, not to describe.

Let’s think just a little about who uses an Executive Summary, and why. Then it becomes self evident why they have to sell:

-  The main Customer (Normally a project or programme manager). Typically, they may read the executive summary first, ahead of the remainder of the documentation (barring the document which contains the purchase price – if they’re permitted to see that). This satisfies their need to understand your offer quickly.

-  The Customer’s proposal assessment team. Assessors often read an executive summary to orientate themselves along with your other proposal documents. It could be confusing – especially on larger proposals – to delve straight to the detail of your proposal. An executive summary allows these to know what the general picture is and ways in which the element they may be assessing matches.

-  Senior managers along with other stakeholders inside the customer community not active in the actual business proposal assessment. Most organisations have an hierarchical chain of management who are required to sanction or endorse the supreme decision of who to award an agreement to. They should also understand the bigger picture – particularly what your solution does to address their hot buttons.

-  The person or people who are writing the business case – or even the case for investment for your offering. Business cases, by nature, need not describe the detailed offering because they are primarily concerned with financial aspects. But business cases do have to summarise the chosen offer and describe how it meets their primary needs.  A well constructed executive summary that has been properly thought through will be able to drop right in to their business case unchanged (There’s a challenge for you!).

-  Finally, the executive summary is ideal material to brief people that you deploy to market, position and influence on behalf of your proposal efforts.  Capturing the win themes and customer benefits in a very succinct way ensures those who find themselves influencing on your behalf have the right message to pass onto those whose opinion you wish to influence.

Begin to think about the executive summary in respect of selling how your offering benefits the customer and it’ll dramatically change the way you structure an executive summary.

The executive summary really does have to sell and not describe.

Are you fed up with losing your proposals? Do you need to write proposals for your company? Have you received a request for proposal and want to know what to do next? Do you want to write good unsolicited proposals?

Find out how you can learn exactly what is involved in proposal writing, including what to put in the proposal and how to structure it  by going to our website to learn more about how to write a business proposal at www.learnhowtowriteabusinessproposal.com.

Also, read more thought stimulating posts about executive summary writing here.

Related posts:

1. How To Successfully Purchase An Office Furniture Executive Chair Very Precisely And Simply No one wishes to try to function in an workplace...
2. Make Money Writing Online There are many ways you can make money writing. You...
3. Wedding Day Car Rental Firm Backdown A Bit Too Late Emma Ashworth and James Lavelle have rejected the opportunity to...
4. Get Paid to Write – Paid to Write Online Writing articles, website content and blog entries for the Internet...
5. How to write your own will? Did you know that you can write your own will...