Getting the Plan on Paper
You will now be able to use all the work you have done up to this point to do your first draft of your plan. You will need to take all the notes you’ve made in each section, and put them into sentences in an order that will make sense to your reader.
For the first draft, don’t worry about grammar or the language used. Don’t feel that you have to use all the information you put down in your notes. Use just the material that makes your case compelling. Just get all the relevant data down in sentence form in proper order. Using a computer will make this process much easier since you will be able to make changes without starting over each time.
Once you have done that, you are ready for a second draft. In this draft, look for what is missing in your argument - what may not logically follow or won’t give the whole picture to your reader.
Third draft - this time try to take out extraneous words and add language that brings life to your plan.
For your final draft, incorporate comments from others, number the pages, and add a table of contents and cover page. Pull together all the information for your appendices. You are now ready for the final step: The Executive Summary.
Use high impact words like:
Capitalize
Flourish
Expertise
Specializes
Experts
Full-service
Assembled
High-visibility
Real-time
Secured
Commitments
Nationally-recognized
Strong
Growth
Reputation
Development
Trends
Quality
Perform
Impact
Significant
Analysis
Potential
Strategy
Full-scale
Projects
TIP: Don’t forget to use the name of your company often, and perhaps in distinctive typestyle like in these examples. Add graphic interest to show your personality without distracting from your message. Otherwise, use only one or two typefaces (like Times or Helvetica which are among the most easily readable). You also don’t need special paper (use white only, except for the cover) or a special binding (a spiral or comb binding available at any copy store is best).