8 Common Questions About Writing An Executive Summary

An executive summary provides a brief overview of a document or proposal. A well-written executive summary can attract the reader’s attention and make them more likely to review the rest of the proposal. Knowing what to include and how to format an executive summary can help you craft an engaging pitch that prospects want to read. In this article, we discuss what goes into an executive summary, provide a template for creating your own, and answer some of the most common questions about executive summaries.

What is the format for an executive summary?

Your summary’s format will depend on the purpose of your document or proposal. However, most summaries follow this basic format:

• Introduction: Your introduction gets the reader’s attention so they want to read the rest of the summary. It’s usually a straightforward statement that describes the purpose of the summary and proposal.

• Need: An important part of any sales pitch is identifying a need or a problem, and your summary is probably no different. To hold the reader’s attention, explain the need for your proposal. For example, if your proposal is to gain investors for a dog-washing business, explain the need for this business in your summary.

• Solution: With the need identified, next explain how you can provide a solution. This establishes your credibility and provides a reason for the reader to want to see a more in-depth look at what you are offering.

• Proposal: The main body of the executive summary takes your proposed solution to a need or problem and explains how you can implement that solution.

• Conclusion: To leave a strong impression that encourages the recipient to keep reading, include a short conclusion. One paragraph is often enough.

If your document has several detailed sections, you can use a bullet list to clearly summarize each part. A bullet list can make it easy for the reader to quickly scan the main points of each section.

Executive summary template

Here’s the basic template for an executive summary:

[Company name]
[Address]
[Phone number]
[Email]

Introduction

[Offer a short description of the purpose of the summary.]
[Add your company’s mission and vision.]
[Describe your company’s structure, including the number of employees and locations.]
[Give a brief history of your business.]

Problem/Opportunity

[Describe the problem you want to address or the opportunity you want to offer.]

Solution

[Give a direct but detailed overview of the solution you plan to provide or how you want to take advantage of the opportunity.]

Proposal

[Explain your proposal, including the financials, resources, and timeline.]

Conclusion

[Use a short paragraph to conclude your summary and encourage readers to review the proposal.]

Frequently asked questions about executive summaries

If you still have questions about how to write your executive summary, review these FAQs:

Why is an executive summary important?

Full proposals can be several pages long, and many investors or executives may not have time to review every proposal that they receive. An executive summary can give them the brief overview that they need to decide whether they want to read the entire proposal. Because the executive summary may be the only thing that the executive reads before making an initial decision, yours must be well-crafted.

What are the benefits of including an executive summary?

One of the biggest benefits of an executive summary is that it offers investors a basic overview of your proposal so they can decide whether they want to read the entire document. Some investors may overlook a proposal if it doesn’t have an executive summary since the document itself can be long and contain a lot of technical information. A summary is a good introduction to the content.

What is the goal of an executive summary?

The goal when creating an executive summary is to write a document that is appealing to the readers to get them to review the full proposal. Since the goal is to encourage executives or investors to read the document, you don’t necessarily need to summarize every piece of information. Instead, give a general overview following a basic outline or template.

How long should an executive summary be?

Because the goal of the executive summary is to get the reader interested, keep it as short as possible without leaving out any information needed to accomplish the task. Although there are no set rules on how long the summary can be, a common standard is to have a summary that is no more than 10% of the total document length.

How should I format my executive summary?

A good guideline when formatting your executive summary is to keep it professional. Use a readable font, like 12-point Times New Roman. Avoid using overly stylized elements, such as creative fonts or bright colors, which can distract from your message. To make your summary more readable, try separating your content into different headings, and use bullet lists to make it easier to scan the facts and details.

How do you make an executive summary effective?

When writing your executive summary, you can try these tips to make it more effective:

• Catch the reader’s attention with the purpose of early

• Proofread multiple times to ensure there are no errors

• Use a formal format to show your professionalism

• Propose a problem and explain how your company can solve it

• Only include information that also appears in the larger document

• Only make claims that you can back up with evidence in the full document

• Write in an accessible voice, avoiding any industry jargon that the reader may not know.

Who is the audience for an executive summary?

As the name executive summary implies, the target audience for an executive summary is executives, investors, and other high-ranking professionals. The executive summary acknowledges that many senior professionals have busy schedules and may not be able to read the entire proposal immediately. The executive summary provides a surface-level look at your project or proposal to help them determine if it is something they would be interested in pursuing.

When should I write my executive summary?

Though your executive summary is the first page of your proposal, it’s usually the last part that you want to write. When you finish your entire proposal first, you’ll know exactly how to summarize the main points and details for your executive summary. You can create an outline for your summary when you first start writing your proposal, but you may find it easier to complete the summary after you’re done with your main document.

I hope you find this article helpful as well as interesting.