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Tips to write a Capabilities Statement

Tips to write a Capabilities Statement from Guided Business Plan

Are you looking to expand your business?

Perhaps you’re looking to sell to Fortune 500 companies. If so, crafting a capabilities statement is key. But, it’s important to tailor your statement to the industry you’re targeting. Here are some tips on how to do just that.

Creating a Capabilities Statement is an opportunity to show off who you are and what sets your company apart. It can also be the first impression of how knowledgeable, trustworthy or professional one might appear in their field–so it’s important that they’re clear about key points!

The key to getting your Capabilities Statement read, and not just filed away with other documents is by making it easy for the person who will be reading them. Use simple language so that anyone can understand what you’re saying.

Simplify your headline but be as specific as possible since you are tailoring this version for a target audience.

Before + After Example

This is what a web design company had for their headline when they wanted to work with gas utilities. It was too broad and seemed like they were trying to attract small businesses.

Generic Version

From complex website development to execution of multichannel digital marketing campaigns, we can implement the right e-Business strategy to help businesses grow online.

Tailored Version for a Specific Industry

Gas utilities hire us to improve their external communication with their customers (community updates, emergency notifications) and expand their online presence (web design, social followers) which results in a significant decrease in IT expenditures.

Write a headline.

Think of a headline that your reader would post to find someone for the “job”. Revise it so the heading becomes your Value Proposition Statement.

A value proposition statement for a marketing agency could read:

“Your ideas plus our creativity equals branded marketing content that attracts clients.”

For a marketing project, the line above carries more weight than simply saying “We are a unique full-service agency” or “We are a privately held women-owned company.”

Design with Intention.

The Capabilities Statement can be two pages but the most important content should be on the first page. Keep your reader’s printer (and yours) in mind and avoid large blocks of color. The font size should be readable without a magnifying glass – at least 11 pts is recommended. Using your own high-quality images instead of stock photography makes it more relatable.

Spend time on the design. It should reflect your brand.

Summary of tips:

  • Tailor your headline to your audience
  • Choose differentiators that are really different – having excellent customer service is not a differentiator where being available 24 hours and responding within 10 minutes is.
  • Include your years in business or year founded…it gives context
  • Include client names and client logos (ask for written permission to use them)
  • Use the formatting and layout to capture attention of a prospect

There are more tips that come up during conversations.

Join us for our weekly Capabilities Statement Feedback sessions – Thursdays from 12:30 – 1 pm PST. Learn more here.

Don’t have one? Access our on-demand tutorial to create one today!

GuidedPlans.com

We love talking about simplifying growth strategies! Guided Business Plan is an entrepreneur education firm based in Los Angeles. We wrote the GUIDED Business Plan™ national training platform that could take an unemployed person from start-up to scale to becoming a government/corporate supplier.

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Melanie Rae

Melanie Rae

At Guided Business Plan, we're passionate about empowering small businesses to reach their success destinations. That's why we offer a variety of resources, including our GUIDED Business Plan™ books, training, mentoring, business academies and GUIDED Plan with Peers™ to create a easy, simple and guided path that just about anyone can follow.

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