Five ways to… improve your chances of winning industry awards in 2011
01 Pick the right awards
Be smart about which awards you enter. There are dozens to choose from so be sure to pick the awards that you have the best chance of winning based on your strengths. Choosing the right awards will increase your chances of winning by about 20% before you even put pen to paper.
02 You’ve got to be in it to win it
Don’t agonise over which awards to enter. You have to be in it to win it so enter all relevant awards. Remember that you only need to prove to the judges that you are the best organisation that entered that particular award or category in order to win. That does not mean that you have to be the best in the UK or the market you serve. So be confident and take action by submitting an entry — you stand a better chance than you think.
03 Back up your claims
The judges will want to see proof of any claims you make about being the best so be sure to provide that evidence. Sales and profit increases speak for themselves and are not subjective.
The world is full of great ideas that sound good but don’t work or make any money in reality. You must demonstrate that your innovation, product or service had a market, met a need or created good prospects for future success.
04 Present your entry in plain terms
Write in plain English and keep it simple. The judges may not be experts in your particular niche or understand technical specifications or performance data. They will probably have lots of entries to judge so don’t risk alienating them from the beginning by assuming they know every detail about your sector or product.
If there’s no one in the company with a flair for writing, then find a professional with knowledge of your sector who can help.
05 Choose your writer carefully
Avoid letting technical staff or engineers write your entry — the important points need to be put across concisely, while engineers are often trained to lead up to a conclusion. Managing directors often make poor entry writers too as they don’t have the time to do the job well. Entries are usually best written by the in-house PR or marketing department, or an external consultant.
Mark Llewellyn-Slade is managing director of Awards Intelligence, a consultancy that provides information and advice to companies entering corporate awards.
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