Writing an executive summary is one of the most important parts of any business plan, especially for ventures that aren’t technology or high-concept startups. Your executive summary is where you condense your business plan into a few sentences that speak to the reader and provide them with enough information so they can decide if your idea deserves their time, money, and support.
Many investors will only read through your executive summary before looking into the entire business plan before deciding whether or not to give you a second glance. Consequently, they scrutinize every word and sentence in your proposal to make sure it presents them with the best opportunity possible.
Therefore, that means you need to craft your executive summary with utmost care to ensure it showcases all of your ideas and doesn’t leave anything out. Here’s how you can write an eye-catching executive summary.
Why is a business plan executive summary so important?
Your executive summary is the first place where potential investors will get a glimpse of your business. It should, therefore, be both engaging and effective.
If they don’t like what they see, they’ll probably click away and never bother to read your entire business plan. Consequently, your executive summary should grab their attention, intrigue them, and leave them wanting to learn more.
Good writing will make an impact and help your investors understand why your company is a good fit for their investment dollars. However, it must also reflect the business plan blueprint format and structure outlined above. If not, it won’t be worth reading.
These tips will help you write an eye-catching business plan executive summary that will help you stand out from the crowd. Whether you’re writing for investors, or simply for your own organization, you’ll be able to help your readers become more informed in a short amount of time.
Step 1: Plan your writing before diving in
No matter how many business plan writing tips you read, the best way to learn how to write an effective executive summary is to practice. While it’s important to review your proposal before beginning your writing, you don’t want to fall into the trap of being too critical of your own work.
Instead, try to step back and view your proposal from an outsider’s perspective. This will help you identify any weaknesses or areas that need improvement without being too harsh on yourself. Once you’ve realized where you’re at, you can start working on fixing them.
It is important to take sometime to sketch for your self what points you would like to highlight and how you structure the executive summary. You can even think what message each paragraph should convey to the reader and why.
Many successful plan writers first finish the rest of the business plan and write the executive summary at the end of the process. This helps to compress the message in a one-pager or less and highlight the important points within the executive summary.
Step 2: Get to the point quickly
As mentioned above, the first thing most investors do when skimming your business plan is skim through the executive summary. If they don’t get the gist of what your company does within a few sentences, they may never pick it up.
And that would be a shame, considering all the time, effort, and money you’ve put into making your business plan. To avoid this, you need to make your executive summary as clear and concise as possible.
Because, again, readers have only so much time before they decide to click away. You don’t want to waste that time by rambling on about things that don’t interest the reader, so make sure your summary conveys the most valuable information.
Getting to the point quickly not only saves your readers’ precious time but it also helps you to structure your executive summary clearly as you need to provide evidence and arguments to defend the main points.
Step 3: Find a hook that keeps readers reading
There’s a saying in business writing advice that goes something like “the best way to hook your readers is to hook them from the get-go.”
Your executive summary should be no exception to this rule and should hook readers immediately to keep them reading. There are a few ways you can do this:
- Use numbers, stats, and research results that demonstrate the value of your idea and the potential impact it will have on the world.
- Make a comparison between your idea and those that have come before it, but done better.
- Reveal something unexpected, thrilling, or shocking that will make readers want to know more. For example, if you’re designing a new type of outdoor furniture, tell investors that the government recently banned all outdoor furniture because the majority of it was made of wood.
Step 4: Summarize your key ideas and brand message
Once you’ve whipped up a quick summary of your proposal, it’s time to move onto your key ideas. This section of your executive summary should highlight the most crucial aspects of your business and product.
You can use numbers, statistics, and research findings to help you do this if you like, but you don’t want to get bogged down in the details. Your key ideas and brand message, on the other hand, will tell readers why your idea is special and why they should support it.
You’re not trying to be original here – you know your business and product well enough to know what to highlight. So, organize your key ideas and brand message in a way that makes sense for your company and product.
This will let readers know what you’re trying to achieve without delving too deep into the specifics. As mentioned, try to highlight very briefly your unique selling point with 1-2 concise arguments and/or evidence here.
Step 5: Wrap up with a strong conclusion
Last but not least, you’ll want to end your executive summary with a strong conclusion. This is where you reiterate what you’ve outlined in your key ideas and brand message and how it ties into the rest of your business proposition.
For example, if your key ideas are about how your product is different from others and that it solves a particular problem, the conclusion should help you solidify these ideas by explaining how your product works.
Now that you know how to write an effective executive summary, it’s time to practice. There are countless online business plan competitions, including ones that are specifically designed for new entrepreneurs.
Look through the different proposals in these competitions to pick out your next great example to study.
Final words: What makes a good business plan executive summary?
When it comes to crafting an executive summary that will grab investors’ attention, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind. First off, you want to focus your efforts on the most important aspects of your business plan.
Investing in a company that has no idea what they do, or even where they’re going, is a waste of everyone’s time and money. So, make sure that you highlight the value of your product or service right from the start.
Another tip to help you craft an effective executive summary is to let readers know what you’re trying to achieve. Investors have a million different ideas about how they’d like to use their money, so you want to make it clear up front.
And, if you can, try to include a bit of humor to make your proposal more readable.
