An executive summary plays a vital role in a business plan. It is an outline that highlighting the features and main objectives of the business plan or business proposal. However, getting an executive summary is very crucial. It should be interesting, understandable, and concise. A well-written summary will allow the readers to grasp the key points of the business plan. As a presenter, how would you create and write a summary of your business plan? Download our executive summary templates now, and learn more about this topic below.
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What Is an Executive Summary?
An executive summary is a brief and precise review of your business plan. It must describe your business, the target market, the problem that it solves, and the financial highlights. For some investors, it is the only part of the plan that they will read. It’s because sometimes they don’t have enough time to read the whole paper. That is why it is crucial to make sure it should catch their attention and let them understand the entire business proposal. The summary should be concise and not more than two pages.
What to Avoid?
An executive summary should catch the interest and attention of the readers, especially the potential investors. It should not be a form of a list of elements or a table of contents. It should be simple but interesting. It should avoid restating the parts of the business plan or proposal. Also, it should avoid sensationalism and hype. Doing these can lower the credibility of your business proposal.
How to Write an Effective Executive Summary?
Before writing an executive summary, you have to understand everything first. Writing an executive summary is not an easy task, so you need to take your time analyzing and interpreting your business plan. If you are having a hard time writing, some pointers can help you. Here are the following:
- Tell Your Story
First, you need to know your target audience. Once you know your audience, you need to plan how to get the audience’s interest. To catch your audience’s attention, you need to make sure to tell your story. Tell a story about your company, what your company does, why your company does it, and how does it start. Telling stories like these can catch the attention of the readers and the audience. This strategy can excite the audience and make them want to read the rest of your business plan.
- Do Research
Just like any other article, writing an executive summary also needs plenty of research. Doing research can gradually help you illustrate your executive summary well. You can discover many ideas and concepts on how to write a summary by doing research. Also, through research, you can include some points that can make your summary strong. In this way, your audience or readers will want to read your whole business plan even more.
- Use Positive Language
When writing business plans, it is best to avoid clichés. It is also applicable when writing an executive summary. Clichés can usually bring people in the wrong way. It can give people the wrong meaning and impression. That’s why it should be simple but make sure to use an optimistic and professional tone.
- Always Write It Last
To create a great executive summary, you need to make sure to write it last. Don’t write a summary without the business plan. The business plan is supposedly the basis of the summary, so if you will write it last, it is hard to write the summary. Writing the summary first can ruin the credibility of your paper.
FAQs
What should be the elements included in an executive summary?
There are so many elements that you must include in an executive summary. These elements are needed to make sure that the overview of your business plan is on point and effective for the readers. These are the elements needed: Summary Company description Marketing Analysis Organizational description Management team Product line Marketing strategy Funding request and use.
What is the purpose of an executive summary?
The sole purpose of an executive summary is to give an overview of the business plan. It explains the main features and key points of your business in a way that will catch the attention of the readers. Yet, it should also include enough details that investors can see the potential behind your business without having to read the entire paper.
How long is an executive summary?
How long should an executive summary be? A good executive summary should be as short as possible. It is usually 5-10% of the length of the actual business plan. Executive summaries should aim for at least one paper. But if it is necessary, it could be for at least two pages but should never exceed.
For most investors, an executive summary is the only part of the business plan they read. That is why you must have to make sure that it will turn out interesting and with high-quality to catch the attention of the investors. However, it needs time to create a good and creative summary. If you have a hard time writing an effective overview of your business plan, our executive summary templates are here for you. Download now!
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