Awards are becoming increasingly popular in Australia. Is your business ready to win a business award and be recognised among the best in your local region, industry or nationally?
If you’ve experienced significant growth and success over the past 1-2 years, and potentially overcome challenges to come out on top, this may be the time to enter a business award.
What can you do to prepare in advance?
- Review the questions from previous years – they make a great starting point for your submission, even if the questions themselves are different this year
- Make notes on the achievements, processes and strategies you’ve used to succeed over the past 1-2 years
- Keep a swipe file of graphs and images for supporting documents
- Collate reviews and testimonials as supporting documents
Do your research on awards programs
It’s important to find the most suitable award program for your business, taking care to choose the most suitable program. There are local business chambers running awards program, which are often a good place to start. Or you may prefer to enter an award based on your particular industry.
Think about the strategic goals of your business, i.e. do you want to attract more clients or is your goal to secure key team members with specific skills and talents? Your goals could influence which awards program you choose.
Choosing the right program may also be based on whether you have a chance of winning a business award. For example, unless you’re super confident about your achievements, don’t enter the Telstra Best of Business Awards as a new business or have never entered awards before. The Telstra program is the pinnacle of business awards in Australia, is highly competitive and something you may wish to consider when you’ve won a few smaller awards.
When the business awards program opens …
As soon as the awards program’s website has the current information available, jump online and check it out.
Carefully read through all the categories and select one or more where you can answer the questions with engaging answers while addressing the criteria. Again, consider your strategic goals. Would you prefer to be known for, say, Excellence in Customer Service or acknowledge a team member for their great efforts with a nomination for Employee of the Year?
Carefully check the fine print
Read the Rules of Entry/Terms and Conditions to confirm your business complies with them. Once you’ve confirmed your eligibility and decided on categories, be sure to download all relevant information from the awards program’s website, for example:
- Hints and tips for your entry
- Category information
- Questions
- The period of time the awards cover, i.e. is it calendar year or financial year?
- Are supporting documents allowed? If so, ensure you know the requirements for size and format. You may need to engage a graphic designer for the supporting documents.
- Check whether the program requires a video as part of your entry. If so, you’ll need to organise a videographer.
How do you win a business award? You’ve gotta be in it to win it!
The best way to win a business award is to start by entering. It’s important to take the time to write a strong entry that clearly articulates your achievements and brand story.
Start early! The best time to start is the moment entries open. Writing a strong submission takes time and requires input, potentially from your team, your business coach, your accountant, customers and any other stakeholders.
By ensuring your entry is robust, you’re more likely to be shortlisted as a finalist, which brings credibility. Of course, being a finalist means you have a chance of winning too.
How can we help?
For those who truly want to win a business award, the key element is putting together an outstanding submission. That’s where we can help. To date, we have a 96.25% success rate for our clients being shortlisted as finalists or winning the awards we collaborate on. We love highlighting our clients’ achievements and we’re very proud to help them succeed in the awards and in business.
If you’re considering entering a business awards program, now is the time to start planning. We have a list of awards programs to choose from. Reach out to us via our Contact Page and request the awards list. You must book early to collaborate on a submission with the best chance to win a business award!
Did you know? Our copywriting services can help you to engage and connect with your ideal clients. Our team writes capability statements, blog posts, website copy, business award submissions and more. If you’d like to know more, visit our Contact page, and let us know how we can help. In the meantime, we invite you to share the above article with anyone who might find them helpful – just use the sharing buttons below or connect with Lyndall on LinkedIn.
