RFI RESPONSE TEMPLATE Energy Solutions for Low- and Moderate-Income Customers [Insert Name of Project or Proposal] SUBMISSION DATE. Executive Summary. Proposals received under this RFP that fail to address each of the requested items in this. Attachment V, Proposal Template in sufficient and complete detail to. Responses of “To be provided upon request” or “To be determined” or the like,.

The old adage, you only get one chance to make a first impression carries a lot of meaning when it comes to the executive summaries you include in your company’s proposals. The Value of Brand in Your Proposal The executive summary is your first, best chance to sell yourself—it had better be compelling, and it had better track with your brand messaging. That said, your company’s brand is definitely an important factor in making a first impression. Use branding to distinguish your company from the competition. Your brand needs to be infused into the content and format throughout any proposal document, beginning with the executive summary. Branding helps communicate company values and qualities in a proposal just as it does in any other marketing document, and a recent survey conducted by the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) shows us that branding and quality play a very significant role in a company’s perception and perceived value of their proposals. The executive summary of your company’s proposal will be the most read and widely distributed section of your RFP submission.

It is the single component of your submission that serves to convince decision-makers to learn more about your company and the solution being offered. What is its purpose?

If you answered, to summarize the proposal, think again: 'What you're really trying to do is lay out the business case.' – Tom Sant, founder of the Cincinnati-based Sant Corporation and author of Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win Customers, Clients, and Contracts Keys to Creating a Compelling Executive Summary Putting together a compelling executive summary is of great importance to the success and growth of your company.

A compelling executive summary should: • Focus on the client. The client should be the centerpiece of your proposal. Here you have an opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of the client's concerns, needs, and priorities; what solution is best for the client's situation and why; how you're going to deliver that solution in a timely, economical, and responsive manner; and what the desired outcomes will be. • Highlight all the basic objectives of your company’s proposal. Describe how you're going to help the client is the most important part of your proposal. • Detail the capabilities of your company.

Include the past and present accomplishments of your company. Briefly describe the key executive management team. A paragraph that highlights the individual team members’ accomplishments in your market. • Recommend the solution and explain its value. Here you're not focusing on what it is, but on what its return or benefits will be.

Expound on why your company is best suited for entering into a business partnership. • Outline the strategies.

Summarize the reasons why a decision-maker should buy or implement the solution you are advocating. • Provide substantiation.

Give the key reasons why your company is the right company to deliver the solution. Here's where you can differentiate yourself—highlight a unique methodology, for instance, or provide a quick case study of your past work. • Present bottom-line benefits.

Describe some form of a monetary, time, or resource gain that can be spelled out in greater detail later in the white paper. This doesn’t mean giving away all your solution advantages up front, however, it does mean providing enough information that will entice evaluators to read the rest of the proposal and find out what those benefits are. • State your competitive advantage. Assuming you have a clear competitive advantage, take the description a step further and communicate how your business plans to sustain that advantage. Crestron software downloads. Crafting Your Executive Summary Many proposal teams believe this section of the proposal to be the most difficult to create. You must boil down a relatively lengthy document that carefully contains a thorough description of your business to a few pages.

• Create a Central Theme. The best proposals have a story to tell, a central narrative that weaves all proposal elements into a cohesive message. The basic storyline usually involves linking the client's concerns, needs, and aspirations with what your company has to offer.

Most proposals are a paint-by-numbers response to the RFP—and little else. They are often prepared by multiple writers who have made too little effort to define a common thread among their individual contributions. The results come off as piecemeal and unfocused. • Write with an Eye to the Audience.