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Get your business ready · Guide 03 of 13

Present your company clearly

Turn capabilities and past work into useful evidence.

About 4 minutesAll routes · Follow each buyer’s instructionsLook up a term

What you’ll leave with

A focused capability statement and one credible project example.

The essentials

Tell the buyer what you can take off their plate.

A capability statement is a short introduction, usually one page—not a substitute for a requested proposal. Lead with specific work, delivery area and relevant proof. Keep the design simple enough to scan or print.

Make every strong claim earn its place.

Replace ‘best-in-class service’ with something a buyer can assess: the work completed, volume, constraints and result. Use numbers you can substantiate. If you cannot support a claim, narrow it or remove it.

Show experience honestly.

Label whether a project was your company’s work, a subcontract, or an individual team member’s prior experience. Commercial work can be relevant, but the solicitation determines what experience counts. Do not imply a former employer’s contract belongs to your new firm.

What to do next

  1. 1

    Write a plain-English opening.

    Say what you deliver, for whom and where. Then list three to five capabilities that matter to this buyer. Leave out services you would have to invent after award.

  2. 2

    Add two pieces of proof.

    For each, note scope, your role, dates, delivery constraints and a documented outcome. Get permission before publishing client names or references. Use a sanitized description if the information is not yours to share.

  3. 3

    Finish with practical details.

    Include a business contact, service area and applicable identifiers or verified certifications. Review it for accuracy, readability and relevance to this buyer—not just spelling.

Worked example · Fictional business

Show a buyer the work, not a string of adjectives

A fictional training firm opens its capability statement with: “We deliver innovative, customer-centric training solutions.” A buyer still cannot tell what the firm would do on Monday morning.

Say what the customer can buy.

The revised opening reads: “We design supervisor workshops and job aids, then deliver the sessions at the customer’s locations.” It names a service instead of asking the buyer to interpret “solutions.”

Give one example with a clear role.

The firm describes six sessions it delivered at three locations for a regional employer, the workshop materials it produced, and how it revised them after pilot feedback. Those fictional details show the type of evidence to collect from your own records.

Connect the example to this buyer.

If the solicitation asks about multi-site delivery, the firm explains how it coordinated instructors and kept the materials consistent. If it asks for other evidence, the firm finds that evidence instead of assuming this example answers everything.

The practical move: Use a specific opening and a project you can substantiate. Label commercial work, subcontracts, and individual experience accurately; do not claim a former employer’s contract as your company’s own.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Listing every possible capability instead of making the relevant work easy to find.
  • Sharing protected client information or personal reference details in a public download.
  • Using a one-page introduction where the buyer asked for a structured response.

One useful next step

Draft one page, then ask someone outside your industry to explain what you sell after a quick read.

Get the capability statement

Official sources & further help

Reviewed September 9, 2026. Practical examples and worksheets are Bid Rigor’s own. Check current requirements with the buyer; agency-specific rules or deviations may apply.