Don't Do These Things When Entering Business Awards

I just finished judging two categories in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business (obviously not categories we have entered clients into).

What struck me is how little effort some people put into their submissions. I saw it judging another local business awards - entries that looked like someone did it in the bath the night before in a rush.

• Not using the word count - if you are given 300 words for a question, try to write to 300 words. One or two sentences doesn't give a judge enough info to go on.
• Spelling mistakes - not just one typo overlooked, but whole entries peppered with errors that could have been picked up by spellcheck.
• Not enough quantitative or qualitative information to back up claims. Things like 'I have made a big impact in my industry by being a thought leader.' What does that mean, how was it done, who have you helped, how many people have you helped, what were the outcomes? You have to back up your claims. Something like this... 'In 2023, our business grew by 65%, increasing our turnover from $00000 to $00000. We did this by investing in working with a marketing company, creating a series of ads showcasing our unique approach (explain the approach). This growth saw us add 27 new clients to our roster with an 80% client retention rate, due to the work we did streamlining our systems and processes by automating our CRM and project management tool.' You can then direct the judges to your support document, where you visually show/explain what you have achieved.
• Supporting information that adds no value, like a website link and no graphs on financial growth, no pictures of the person speaking, no images of media wins, no case studies to showcase impact and significance.
• Not answering the questions and waffling about something unrelated or not in line with the question being asked. Ah, it is right there, written in black and white.
• Cutting and pasting from the website.
• Boring, stock standard responses that use a lot of words, but say nothing and provide no proof of why or how. Things like:

- highly skilled and results-oriented professional, deeply passionate about her work

- contributions to the organisation have been truly unique and significant

- power of communication to motivate and inspire others.

- enabled her to excel in cultivating relationships, driving sales, and achieving extraordinary outcomes

- sets the clear vision and strategy for the organisation

- experienced, results-oriented, courageous leader who values ...

Now is a good time to prepare for awards in 2024. Preparing a little every month can save you a stack of time and set you up to submit a rip snorter submission that wows the judges.

Set up a folder on your computer or the Cloud to save anything you can use in an entry, so it is all at your fingertips when you need it (also good if you are seeking grants).

Some of the things to consider:

- keep a spreadsheet of your media wins - links, screenshots, images, podcasts, speaking gigs.

- financial and growth info - graphs, data to showcase business growth. It is a business awards after all and being in business means making money. Also include client/customer growth, sales figures.

- review other awards and the questions; there are some stock standard questions that you can start working on now and update when the award opens.

- reviews and testimonials - start gathering feedback from customers/clients to showcase the effectiveness and results from the work you do.

- engagement - go into your socials and keep screenshots of your engagement and impact. Keep screenshots of posts that have had a lot of engagement.

- case studies of successful jobs, projects or campaigns run.

- every month, keep a record of what you have achieved - new clients, new products, new projects.

- save all previous entries, so you can reuse and rewrite the content. Many awards have similar questions, so you do not have to start from scratch.

- work on your point of difference; what is unique about what you do. So many awards I see people touting they have excellent customer service or are innovative, but back it up with no insights, data or explain sufficiently what is different about them.

- also work on articulating the problem you solve and for who, so you can show the impact of your work/product/service.

- create an awards calendar so you know when the award opens and closes, so you have enough time to put in the effort and not leave it til the last minute (it shows when people do this, unless you are me, and that is when you do your best work).

The best award entries are filled with EVIDENCE. Strong storytelling is vital, but not everything. You have to prove you have the results.