Business Proposal: In Your Business Proposal, Do You Include a Page of Highlights? If Not, Should You Consider It?

Sometimes it can be a useful strategy to employ the use of highlights in support of an executive summary. It can be used in any business proposal but is probably most valuable when the proposal has to be seen by a large group of people. What this does is provide the client's team with key points that quickly grab their attention.Highlights give a sense of immediacy. They are very easy to grasp and most often used in reports, notably an organization's annual report. In a business proposal, a highlights page communicates not only an understanding of the client's situation, but a possible future solution.The highlights need to be focused on a particular theme, directly related to the proposal being submitted. They need to lead the reader to the right conclusion - that the course of action suggested in the business proposal is the one to be followed. In sync with that is the conclusion that your organization, having created these highlights, is the one that should receive the client's business.As the title suggests, highlights need to be bold. They are not hype however. That is not their point. Their purpose is to focus the client's attention on what needs to be seen, understood, and appreciated about this business proposal, the issues and the resolution.As mentioned at the beginning, highlights are also extremely useful when a proposal or report has to be seen by a large number of people and a decision made quickly. Without getting into a mass of detail about a proposal, highlights deliver pertinent points. Management can look over these points, determine whether the supplier has fully understood the situation and what needs to be done, and decide if this supplier should be awarded the contract.These same highlights may be useful for the client to communicate information to all stakeholders, especially their own employees. I've been involved in corporate reorganizations where highlights developed in our proposal were used to effectively deliver difficult and unpleasant information.How do you know what to highlight? You go through your business proposal or report and select those elements that you believe are key for the client to know. It'll be pretty obvious what they are. One thing you may need to be cautious about, unless already cleared by the client, is sensitive information. With threats of layoffs and plant closures, corporate reorganizations are always touchy areas.How do highlights work with the executive summary? The executive summary goes into more detail and depth than a page of highlights. In fact, the executive summary expands on the highlights, explaining their importance. For some team members, the highlights may be enough for them to consider the decision they would recommend. For others, the highlights are a good starting point from which to examine the executive summary and other areas of the business proposal that concern them. The question for you to ask is this; would highlights be a valuable addition to your next business proposal? [EXTRACT] Sometimes it can be a useful strategy to employ the use of the points raised in support of an executive summary. It can be used in any business proposition, but is probably most valuable when the proposal has to be seen by a large group of people. What it does is provide the client machine with the key points quickly take their attention.Highlights give a sense of immediacy. They are very easy to understand and use more often in the reports, in particular the organization's annual report. In a business proposal, one page highlights communicates not only understanding the client's situation, but it highlights a possible future solution.The need to focus on a particular topic directly related to the proposal. They need to lead the reader to the right conclusion - that the course of action suggested in the business proposal is to follow. In line with this is the conclusion that his organization, having created these notes, is that the client should receive business.As the title suggests, shows that to be bold. They are not exaggerations though. That's not the point. Its purpose is to focus on what the client has to be seen, understood and appreciated in this business proposal, the problems and resolution.As mentioned earlier, highlights are also very useful when a proposal or report must be seen by a large number of people and a decision quickly. Without going into a mass of details about a proposal, highlighting the relevant delivery points. Management can look over these points, determine whether the provider has understood the situation and what to do, and decide if this vendor is awarded the contract highlights. These same may be helpful for the client to communicate information to all stakeholders, especially their own employees. I have been involved in the reorganization of stresses developed in societies where our proposal is effectively used to meet difficult and unpleasant information.How you know what to highlight? You go through your business proposal or a report and select those elements that we believe are key to the client knows. It will be pretty obvious what they are. One of the things you may need to be cautious, unless already cleared by the client, is confidential information. With threats of layoffs and plant closings, corporate reorganizations are always highlights the delicate areas.How work with the executive summary? The Executive Summary goes into more detail and depth of a prominent page. In fact, expands executive summary highlights, explaining its importance. For some team members, the points may be enough for them to consider that the decision would recommend. For others, the highlights are a good starting point to examine the executive summary and other areas of the business proposal that concern them. The question you do is: highlights a valuable addition to your business proposal?