How to write an executive summary for a proposal: the page that is read first

What is an executive summary in a proposal?

An executive summary, in Dutch a managementsamenvatting, is the short summary at the front of your proposal, written for whoever decides. It is not an introduction, but the answer to the decision maker’s question: why should I go ahead with this supplier?

An article by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), the professional body for bid and proposal writers, calls the executive summary the part that is scrutinised most closely: some people in the evaluation read only the summary and not the whole proposal. In APMP’s magazine, another author describes these readers as often non-technical, and reading in scanning mode.

Who reads the executive summary of your proposal?

In a private tender, a single person rarely decides. The director or budget holder signs, the users look at day-to-day practice, procurement at price and terms. Who they are and how you get to know them is covered in the decision making unit.

The executive summary is for whoever in that group reads least and decides most. Users and procurement then read the chapters that concern them. Write the summary so that someone outside your field understands it without the rest of the proposal.

Why the conclusion comes first

Journalists write in an inverted pyramid: the most important point first, the details after. Nielsen Norman Group, a user experience research firm, explains why this works. Some readers only have time for one paragraph or even one sentence, and still learn what the piece is about. An overview up front also gives readers a framework that makes the details easier to understand.

The Australian Government Style Manual adds that readers decide within seconds whether to keep reading, that attention drops as they read, and that some never reach the end. In the military, the same principle is called BLUF, bottom line up front: the purpose of the message and the action required come in the first lines.

Someone who reads only the first page should be able to decide.

How to write an executive summary: a structure in six parts

The APMP article names four elements: the client’s business objectives, an introduction to your solution, the price and the next steps. Add the reasons why you and the evidence, and you have a six-part structure that works for most proposals.

1. 1The question and what is at stakeWhat does the client want to achieve, what is not working now, and what is at stake if nothing changes? Use their words from the request and your conversations, not those of your own brochure.
2. 2Your solution in one sentenceWhat you propose, short enough for the reader to pass on. If you cannot say it in one sentence, the proposal is probably not sharp enough yet. The detail comes later in the proposal.
3. 3Three reasons why youNot ten, but the three reasons that matter most to this client, linked to their goals. A reason every competitor can also claim is not a reason. How to work out what really sets you apart is covered in differentiation in bids.
4. 4EvidenceOne or two concrete proofs: a result with a figure from your own work, a comparable contract, a referee the client may call. Without evidence, your three reasons remain claims.
5. 5The investmentThe total price, or the range if the client can choose, stating whether it includes or excludes VAT, and where the breakdown is. A decision maker who has to search for the price goes searching at your competitor.
6. 6The next stepWhat the client does now, and when. A concrete date for a walkthrough or a decision works better than a general invitation to get in touch.

How the summary fits with the rest of the proposal, from understanding the question to terms, is covered in how to write a business proposal.

Executive summary example: a short summary for a proposal

A fictional example. A cleaning company writes a proposal for a care organisation with four locations. The organisation, figures, amounts and dates are invented.

“From 1 April you want one cleaning contract for all four locations, with fewer complaints from residents and less coordination work for your facilities team. Today you work with three suppliers, three schedules and three contact persons.”

“We propose a permanent team at each location under one contract manager, with one schedule that we draw up with your team leaders in the first six weeks.”

“Why us: we have worked in care for years and know the hygiene requirements in residents’ rooms. Residents see the same faces every day, because teams do not rotate between locations. And each month you receive one report covering all four locations.”

“At a comparable care organisation with three locations, complaints fell by 40 percent in the first year. The facilities manager there is happy to talk to you.”

“The investment is € 412,000 per year excluding VAT for all four locations. The breakdown per location is in chapter 6.”

“We would like to walk you through the proposal on 12 March. If you agree before 20 March, we start on 1 April.”

What is not in it: the company’s history, a list of every service, “reliable” or “experienced” without proof. Every sentence is about the client or proves something for the client.

How long should an executive summary be?

Keep the executive summary of a private proposal to one page, and to two at most for a large proposal. There is no fixed standard: the two APMP articles above give no word or page count. The measure is what the decision maker needs to decide, and no more.

If the client sets a maximum number of pages or slides, that takes priority. APMP’s magazine notes that a layout with a separate column for visuals beside the text then fits less well. In that case, choose text and at most one visual that really explains something. How form and first impressions weigh in is covered in the design of your proposal.

When do you write the executive summary?

Write it twice: a first draft at the start, as a compass, and a final version at the end.

The APMP article advises starting early in the process, for example right after the kick-off meeting. Shipley Associates, a training firm for proposal teams, lists the idea that the proposal manager writes the executive summary when the proposal is almost finished as a myth, and its roadmap includes both drafting and finalising the summary. An early draft forces choices: what is the core message, which three reasons, which evidence. Whoever then writes a chapter knows where it needs to go.

At the end you rewrite it, because the proposal changes along the way: the price is final, the approach may have been adjusted. Check that every statement in the summary also appears in the proposal, with the same figures. Finally, have it read by someone who does not know the proposal, ideally with a director’s eye. APMP’s magazine recommends testing drafts with internal senior readers first.

Write the summary first to know what you want to say, and last to say what you have written.

Common mistakes in a proposal executive summary

Does an executive summary count in a European public tender?

No, unless the tender documents ask for one. In a European public tender, an evaluation committee scores your bid against the award criteria published in advance. The Court of Appeal in The Hague confirmed this, as the Dutch law firm VBK describes: an evaluation committee may only judge the award criteria announced beforehand, because of the principles of transparency and equal treatment. A summary the tender documents do not ask for earns no points, however good it is.

If the tender documents, usually set out in the aanbestedingsleidraad (the instructions to tenderers), do ask for a summary, read exactly what they say: does it count towards the score, is there a maximum, and what should it contain? Sometimes it is entirely open. In a published Dutch clarification note from a selection stage, a buyer answered that the content of the management summary was up to the candidate, with no specific requirements.

• Page limitA summary takes up spaceIf your method statement has a maximum number of pages, a summary inside it eats into the space for your answer. One published Dutch clarification note stated that if the limit was exceeded, only the first pages up to the maximum would be assessed.
• What countsIt differs per tenderOne Dutch municipality refused, in its clarification note, to exclude the cover page and table of contents from the page limit. Another buyer wrote that its maximum applied excluding cover page, table of contents and annexes. So check it.
• BetterA short core per criterionOpen each answer to an award criterion with two or three sentences that give the core. That works as a summary for the committee, and every sentence counts towards the criterion where it stands.

If you are unsure whether a summary counts towards the page limit, or whether the committee will read it, ask in the clarification round (in the Netherlands, the nota van inlichtingen). Where to find the formal requirements in the documents is covered in reading tender documents. How to write each criterion for points is covered in writing for points.