Spoilt For Choice: How To Pick The Right Award To Enter

It's like award bingo at the moment.

Many awards that in the past, open later in the year, have moved up their timeline....So in the first three months this year, you've been spoilt for choice. There's almost double the awards open now than last year.

Overwhelm becomes an issue.

Choice - too many to choose from.

Too many entry fees to pay, and how many award events can one person attend?

Time - you could probably pump one entry out, but anymore, forget it!

Then there's the time to work out which one to enter. With so many general business awards open, how do you work out the ones that are the best or the right one?

And given how tough things are at the moment, maybe, you think you don't deserve to enter or win. Sales might be sliding backwards or haven't created the next big tech innovation. Remember, awards are not about what you are doing now. They're about what you have done.

Procrastination reigns.

The deadline looms...then passes...and you're watching the winners, kicking yourself because you didn't put your hat into the ring.

While I never want to be the person who says "I told you so', I start banging on in October about the importance of planning for the next year. If you do this, you already know what you are doing in the flurry of getting back to work and into the swing of things. Instead, many are still deciding what they are doing this year to build their profile. It's April.

Winging can only get you so far. If your goal is to be visible, build your profile and give yourself a pat on the back, do the planning stuff.

So, how do you work out which award to enter, out of ALL the ones open?

1. What do you want to celebrate or acknowledge about your growth and business story?

2. Who is your audience - what award will they relate to or be impressed by?

3. Do you have the marketing budget for entry fees and attending the gala event?

4. Do you have a plan for how you will leverage the award for maximum exposure?

5. What have you achieved? Before you say nothing, go back through your calendar or diary, contact clients/customers to ask them how you helped them, look at your numbers (even a little growth is growth).

6. Do you have time to write an entry or budget to pay someone to help you?

Then you can start whittling down the list.