Capability Statements-What they are and why you need one – 004

Join Nancy and she discusses what a capability statement is, why you need one and how to create one.

Episode 4 Show Notes

Capability Statements, What they are and why you need one?

Please see below for everything you wanted to know about capability statements.

 

Proper preparation is vital to succeed in government contracting.  Have you considered the following?

Length.

 

Content.

 

Capability Statement Headings

To assist you in designing your capability statement I have included vital headings for you:

Design

  I have found that there are not any hard and fast rules when designing your capability statement.  It needs to look pleasing to the eye with plenty of white space.  I cannot stress enough the importance of white space on the document.  No one is going to read a Capability Statement that is full of text.  Feel free to let your creative juices run wild here.

This brings up one last thought.  You want to use quality, coated, thick paper when printing your Capability Statement.  Paper of this type will enhance the images and layout of the design.

Branding.

Your Capability Statement should match your brand. Remember your branding is essential to your business.  It needs to be reflected in your logo, company website, letterhead and marketing materials.    The most important thing to remember about your brand is to be consistent.  Using color on your Capability Statement helps add visual appearance to your document.  It is best to use the same colors as your logos, letterheads and company website.

Business cards.

Business cards can be used as a mini capability statement. You should have business cards specific to the federal marketplace. Be sure to include your DUNS number, Cage Code, and NAICS codes as a minimum.  Sometimes your capability statement will be misplaced, but generally, contracting officers will hang on to business cards.  I have had more than one contracting officer tell me that they lost a business’s capability statement, but they remembered the company’s name and searched for their business card.

Capability Statement Benefits.

Capability Statements can be used for more than marketing to new federal agencies.  Below are some examples:

Conclusion.

On average, you have 5 seconds to capture the government official attention, or your Capability Statement it is going to the bottom of the stack!  Your Capability Statement needs to tell a story without using lots of words.  It needs to be clean and polished, and it needs to represent what your business does with pictures, bullet points, and differentiators. Therefore, a Capability Statement is one of the most important marketing tools that a company can have. By following the steps above you can create a powerful Capability Statement that will open doors for your business.