W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES Presented By B EVERLEY S INCLAIR

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 2 Sinclair & Associates © Purpose  To define and describe what an Executive Summary is  To present the key elements that will result in an impressive, powerful and strategic Executive Summary

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 3 Sinclair & Associates © How important is the Executive Summary?  The Executive Summary can be the most important document in the proposal

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 4 Sinclair & Associates © Why Do We Write Proposals?  To inform  To persuade  To establish reputation and credibility  TO WIN BUSINESS!

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 5 Sinclair & Associates © Why Are Executive Summaries So Important? 90%  Surveys indicate that the Executive Summary of a proposal can do 90% of the selling.

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 6 Sinclair & Associates © Writing a proposal is like applying for a job.

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 7 Sinclair & Associates © Who Reads Executive Summaries?

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 8 Sinclair & Associates © “I don’t know you. I don’t know your company. I don’t know what you do. I don’t know your product. Now, what is it you’d like to tell me?” The Evaluator

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 9 Sinclair & Associates © To Produce a Strategic Executive Summary, You Need To First Identify and Analyze your Customer...  Create an audience/topic matrix based on who the clients are and what their information requirements are: WHO NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT?

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 10 Sinclair & Associates © The Subjective Edge  Most meaningful evaluation standards are qualitative rather than quantitative  Make it work for you, not against you.

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 11 Sinclair & Associates © Tell your customers you can help them and Tell the customers how you can help them and Prove to the customers that you can help them and YOU WILL HAVE THEIR ATTENTION YOU WILL HAVE THEIR INTEREST YOU WILL HAVE THEIR SIGNATURE

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 12 Sinclair & Associates © What Does It Take to Write a Winning Proposal?  Thorough understanding of the customer’s requirements  100% compliance  Value added  Demonstration of what separates you from the competition

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 13 Sinclair & Associates © Approaches to Writing Executive Summaries Summary or Strategic?

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 14 Sinclair & Associates © A Winning Strategy  Identifies issues  Identifies discriminators  Determines your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses  Devises a strategy to emphasize your strengths, mitigate your weaknesses, and counter your competitors’ strengths  Identifies the benefits of your features that match the client’s needs and requirements

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 15 Sinclair & Associates © Reviewing the Draft  For every fact and feature in your proposal, ask yourself the question SO WHAT??

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 16 Sinclair & Associates © Theme Statements  Theme statements are sentences or paragraphs that summarize your key features and benefits.  Theme statements reflect your strategy. They convey the features and benefits that you expect will most impress the evaluators. (cont’d)

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 17 Sinclair & Associates © Theme Statement Strategies  Answer the questions:  “Why are we going to win?” and “How are we going to win?”  What separates you from the competition?  What are your strengths and how can you emphasize them?

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 18 Sinclair & Associates © Theme Statement Strategies (cont’d)  What are your weaknesses and how can you minimize them?  How can you neutralize your competitors’ strengths?  How can you highlight your competitors’ weaknesses?

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 19 Sinclair & Associates © Recipe For a Theme Statement: Recipe for a theme statement: Claim/Feature + Benefit + Proof

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 20 Sinclair & Associates © Designing Your Proposal  Appearance is often as important as content because a well-designed and easy-to- read proposal makes the reader’s job easier.

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 21 Sinclair & Associates © An Impressive Executive Summary...  Summarizes the critical problem(s)/challenge(s) to be solved and your team’s management and technical solution  Demonstrates 100% compliance with all the requirements (cont’d)

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 22 Sinclair & Associates © An Impressive Executive Summary...  Demonstrates complete understanding of customer, the customer’s environment, the constraints under which he/she must operate, and the end user(s)  Demonstrates an awareness of the customer’s key areas of concern  Summarizes all areas of the proposal: management, technical and supporting disciplines (cont’d)

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 23 Sinclair & Associates © An Impressive Executive Summary...  Describes the end product and key deliverables and milestones  Introduces the team  Demonstrates commitment  Proves that you have the right organization and personnel  Presents a realistic schedule and project/program plan (cont’d)

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 24 Sinclair & Associates © An Impressive Executive Summary...  Identifies the key areas of risk and demonstrates how they will be minimized, eliminated and/or managed  Describes corporate experience and capability  Presents the company’s track record (cont’d)

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 25 Sinclair & Associates © An Impressive Executive Summary...  Reflects the evaluation criteria  Is clear, concise, attractive and interesting to look at and read  Incorporates many informative graphics (cont’d)

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 26 Sinclair & Associates © Combined With Theme Statements...  Executive Summaries answer that all- important question: WHY CHOOSE US?  If you can’t convey in writing why your company or team should be selected, you are asking the evaluators to figure it out for themselves. AND WHY SHOULD THEY? (cont’d)

execsumm.ppt W RITING P OWERFUL E XECUTIVE S UMMARIES 27 Sinclair & Associates © “Go on. Make my day. Impress me”.