If your company is planning to do business with a government agency or a large corporation, a capability statement is absolutely crucial to the success of your bid. Capability statements are intended to showcase your company’s abilities and what it is that sets you apart from your competition. However, your capability statement needs to actually be read for this to happen. Far too often, poorly written and formatted statements get overlooked. Before your company can stand apart from the rest, your capability statement must do the same. Here are 4 key areas to consider before you get started.

Stick to the Basics

The key to a successful capability statement lies in your ability to determine what’s important enough to include and what’re better off ignoring. You want to include just enough information to prove why your company is the best choice for the job. The person who will be tasked with reviewing your capability statement will likely have more than a few of these on his or her plate. Present them with a novel, and you’ll likely lose both their attention and their business. It’s a good rule to keep your statement to a single page. Any more than this, and you run the risk of being overlooked.

Ensure it is relevant to the customer

Examples of relevant information you may want to include are:

• Brief company statement
• Core competencies
• Previous experience
• Reasons your company is different
• Company credentials
• Affiliations
• Point of contact

When including this information, it’s absolutely essential that not only it be brief, but relevant to the contract you are pursuing. Your company statement should describe only pertinent details, past experience should only be with similar tasks, and only relevant credentials should be listed. The goal of a capability statement is provide a snapshot of your business. If they’re interested, they’ll likely visit your website for more detailed information or contact you from the information provided on your statement.

Keep It Simple And Clean

Determining what information to keep and what to throw out is only half the battle. The information must be presented in a logical and simple manner. Hand over an eyesore, and it will likely find the trash can. A good capability statement is best divided into sections that group relevant information together. For instance, your company statement and core competencies should be placed together, followed by your list of previous work, and finally, what sets your company apart from the competition. Avoid large graphics, since they’re distracting and take up much needed space. Graphics for affiliations are fine as long as they are kept small and orderly

What Makes You Different Compared to the Rest

Capability statements are all about standing apart from the crowd. Before your business can do this, your capability statement needs to command attention. It needs to be short – no more than one page in length – and properly showcase your company’s abilities. You want to draw interest without putting the reviewer to sleep. Keep your information relevant to the work you are bidding on, and format it to look clean, professional, and organized. If they want more information, they’ll know where to find you.