An expertly written capability statement is one powerful tool that you need to secure new clients or an ongoing business. It is an effective tool to sell your competence, experience, and services.
While many people in business do well with the tool, they are usually overwhelmed or don’t simply know where to start when marketing their services. Unfortunately, most trade’s don’t sell themselves enough. So they panic when the job they are doing ends, and they are in urgent need of another job.
To win more business, you must have a well-written capability statement and be prepared to send it to your prospective client. That is the best key.
What is a Capability Statement?
It is a document outlining your qualifications, expertise, achievements, skills, track record, and the services you render. To put it differently, it is a business document containing your capabilities.
Your capability statement introduces you and your business to potential clients such as Tier 3, 2, 1 builder, prospective partners, or joint venture partners. This document is made to highlight the reasons your skill and business are suitable for them.
Open opportunity doors with your Capability Statement
Government agencies, large organisations, and Tier 3, 2, 1 builders like Watpac, LendLease, and Hutchinsons usually request your capability statement before they consider you for any job. You can use an expertly written capability statement as part of your tender submission.
You can also use a capability statement as part of your orientation exercise for new team members. It gives them insight and an overview of the offerings of your business.
How long should a Capability Statement be?
The determinant for the length of your capability statement is the industry requirement and the scope of the information you want to convey. While some tradies prefer that their document be short and simple, others prefer a full illustration of what they offer.Â
For instance, in Australia, many merchants prefer their capability statement to have multiple pages – usually from two to twelve pages. However, they include a page summary that contains RFPs or tender documents. They also use the single-page summary as an introduction to the capability statement.
Tips to Writing a Winning Capability Statement
Searching for a standard capability statement is a futile exercise. This is because every capability statement is individual. If you need a capability statement urgently, it might be tempting to dub a competitor’s statement or change its contents to suit your operations. But this is a wrong choice, because:
- It is a breach of the Copyright Laws of Australia to copy another trasies’ document
- Should the prospective client or partner discover that you copied your statement, or if the original company is also bidding for the same job, it would be embarrassing for you.
So your statement should be unique, specific to your business alone, and not a second-hand version of another person’s capability statement.
Points to Include in your Capability Statement
What are the salient points that need to be included in your capability statement? Your content may vary, so to come up with the best document for your business, you should consider the following questions:
- Who is the person that will read my document?
- Which type of job do I want to secure?
- What are the specifics that my prospective partners must know before they can decide on my document?
- What are the main factors in my potential client’s buying decision?
- What’s my selling point?
- What differentiates and sets my company apart from other competitors?
Topics to Choose From
The next thing to do is think about how to complete the following important elements:
- Business logo and name
- Educational/trade qualifications
- Your unique selling points or differentiators
- Track record of your performance
- List of your competencies
- Business overview
- License number
- ACN and ABN
- Business email address
- Primary contact number
- Business address
