I have just finished several proposals in a row it has been a very busy time. In all of this hard work through the holidays and beyond, I realized that more than two months have elapsed since I blogged, and I never let you know about my new Executive Summary Secrets self-study course. I apologize for this oversight.
I put together this course because the executive summary is the TOP proposal persuasion tool that goes a long way to make your proposal truly SELL and get you to a win. Yet, many people struggle with executive summaries or do all the wrong things that have disastrous repercussions for their proposals. It took almost two years to get this course put together, and test and tweak the approach but now it is there for you to make your proposals shine.
Here is what the course covers:
1) Three dangerous misconceptions about executive summaries that may be hurting your win rates. After going through this course, you will never have to fall into the traps most companies get caught in with executive summaries.
2) Five questions and answers that hold the key to preparing persuasive executive summaries that sell. You will find out:
WHY have an executive summary in the first place. The answers will bring clarity once and for all and will help you make the decision each time on whether you should write one, or forego it for a specific proposal.
WHO should write an executive summary. If you are an employee of a larger company (or work for a small business that teams with larger companies on proposals), this section will be very useful to you. It also provides the top three techniques seasoned proposal managers use to navigate through the corporate sticky wickets to make sure your executive summary gets done on time (and well).
WHEN should the executive summary be written. (Hint it is not as simple as first or last.)
WHAT are the characteristics of a compelling executive summary. Here you will get answers to the questions as to exactly how long it should be for any length proposal and what a winning executive summary is supposed to look like.
And finally HOW how to go about writing it so that you don’t have to agonize ever again and battle with writer’s block. This part segues into the exact step-by-step instructions for creating your own highly persuasive executive summary.
3) My Proven 6-Part Formula takes the agony out of writing the executive summary and makes the process simple and straightforward.
Eight techniques (four basic and four advanced) for starting your executive summary so that you will NEVER have to resort to what we are pleased to submit… This is something that piques the evaluator’s interest and gets them excited about reading your document.
This will prevent evaluators’ temptation to node off at the first sentence, or worse have a poor executive summary cast negative perception on your proposal which may cost you millions of dollars.
Detailed instructions for writing a compelling value proposition or your main proposal win theme so that your proposal truly sells. This is my sure-fire technique for writing mean lean win themes that are UNIQUE to you (and are not the generic we are the best value, lowest risk provider” any of your competitors could use in their proposal just as easily).
This part also includes guidelines for focus boxes that summarize your win themes with pointers on designing them for high impact.
A great bonus from this course is that you can take these techniques and apply them to your entire proposal and not just the executive summary.
Most effective ways to introduce you and your team to convince the evaluators you are the best possible offer for the job. This section includes the exact techniques that work for presenting your team, and that equips you with the data call text you can send to your teammates to get the right information in a consistent format. It also addresses difficult situations such as page-limited short-turnaround proposals with dozens of companies on the team.
Four ways to write the body (the main text) of your executive summary with considerations of how to choose what works best for the specific proposal no matter if it is a five-pager or a multiple-volume response.
Creative ways to develop a roadmap to your proposal and how to decide when you don’t need to include a roadmap.
Techniques to develop a high-impact ending for your executive summary to make it even more persuasive, borrowed from the discipline of direct response marketing as applicable and appropriate in Government proposals.
4) Executive Summary outline you can use over and over again so that you never have to start with a blank page and wonder what to write.
5) Detailed guidelines for conceptualizing executive summary graphics. You will get answers as to:
How to conceptualize effective executive summary graphics with ideas you can use on your next proposal
Executive Summary graphics do’s and don’ts
Where to place graphics in the executive summary for the greatest impact
6) Techniques for editing your executive summary (and even for automating most of the editing), so that your executive summary is polished to create a favorable, highly professional impression. This is especially useful to small businesses where you have a one-person business development department and you don’t have the luxury of a professional editing team.
Since it is not only a book but also a workbook, you get an entire framework of questions and thought processes to plan and develop YOUR executive summary. You can literally use this workbook to create your own executive summary as you learn the concepts. I offer all kinds of tips and tricks for you along the way that come from more than a decade of hard-earned lessons learned all in one place so that you don’t have to make those mistakes yourself.
You also get an audio CD where I go through the entire system for you:
It is just another way for you to learn. Knowing how busy you are (since you are involved in writing proposals), a CD is a convenient way for you to listen in your car on the way to work, or while you work out.
Contact us to learn more.
