CAPABILITY STATEMENT - WHY YOU NEED ONE FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Capability statements, or "Glossies" as they are sometimes called, are a powerful sales tool and are the new standard document for businesses marketing to the public, other big businesses or government agencies.

Today there are still many companies that have either failed to have a capability statement or don’t keep their capability statement up-to-date and ultimately costing their business of potential revenue.

Your capability statement should form part of your business development process.

Your capability statement should first and foremost be beautifully presented, why because people are visual beings. It is scientifically proven that images are processed and retained for longer periods than big chunks of text. Brand consistency, images, and clear headlines make all the difference. From there the content of what to go into your capability statement should be strategically planned out from the layout, images, and copy to include. The copy must be customer focussed from start to finish.

So what can or should you put into your capability statement:

• Clear, compelling and customer focussed copy

• A short and sharp snapshot of the history and the who, what and why of your business

• Your service offering

• Key differentiators

• Mission and vision statement

• Relevant past experience

• Key personnel

• Accreditations, qualifications, and memberships

• Testimonials and awards

• Clear headings, tag lines and key messages

• Contact details including social media [no fax numbers please]

What not to put into your capability statement:

• Do not cite every single team member or project ever completed - currency and keeping it simple is key!

• Should not read as generalist copy or a policy.

What to do with your capability statement:

• Do update, revise, refresh, revitalise, review regularly and no less than once a year.

• Do tailor a capability statement or have more than one for different industry sectors or as a client or project specific.

• Do hand out hardcopies at trade shows and networking events.

• Take to each and every meeting as an opportunity to close your meeting with something to ponder on.

• Do include in your tenders, bids and proposals but always feature last as this should deflect from the response schedule itself.

But remember, your capability statement does not:

• Does not replace the need for developing a trusted relationship and authentic rapport with your prospective clients.

• Does not guarantee winning work from prospective clients.

• Does not replace the need to responding to an RFQ, RFT or parts of a tender response schedule.

So you have sent out your capability statement, don’t passively wait for a response

It is imperative to follow up with your prospective clients. A capability statement is part of a business development process and should be leveraged to garner further interest by arranging a follow-up meeting, demonstration, tour, or even to provide a specific proposal.

Need a Capability Statement for your business with professional copywriting and graphic designed to suit your business then contact us.