Lucinda White runs bespoke award writing consultancy Pure Awards Creative in Chesterfield. She works closely with business owners and marketing teams to prepare for local, regional and national awards, collating relevant information and storylines for the business to propose to the judging panel.
Lucinda has helped a number of businesses win awards – in 2017, she generated a 77% success rate in shortlists and wins for her clients.
Here are her top tips to give you the best shot at winning an award to help make your business more profitable.
There are many benefits of entering awards but most businesses don’t take them seriously enough.
I’m here to help. By following these simple tips, you’ll put yourself in with a much better chance of winning which can not only enhance your reputation on a local, regional and national level, as well as within your industry but can also motivate employees and improve productivity.
It also creates differentiation, improves reputation among your peers and the stats show that it will also give you a financial return.
It’s a no-brainer.
7 Top Tips
Tip 1 Choose the right category
Ensure the category you go for aligns with your achievements in the last 12-18 months. The category you’ll end up promoting as a key asset to your business marketing once you have been shortlisted or won will resonate with your prospective customer base. Consider creating an ‘award planner’ presenting all the relevant awards to enter in the next 12 months in one easy-read PDF.
Tip 2 Tell your success story
This will sway the judges in your direction. If you have a success story (or a few) which you are passionate about, then use this in your entry.
Tip 3 Avoid waffle and jargon
It is important to be clear about the messages you want to convey. Be insightful, impactful and draw out the emotion. Don’t rely on lazy, tired phrases.
Tip 4 Answer the question
Break the category criteria down and be sure that what you write is relevant and shows how you demonstrate each point.
Tip 5 Evidence everything
Have your facts and statistics ready to evidence every statement you make. Delve further into your impact and ask yourself, how does this compare to my competition? Does this say I am the best?
Tip 6 Make time
Don’t underestimate how long it takes to put together your entry, and write it well. Set aside approximately 12 hours, especially if you have never written one before.
Tip 7 Be the Editor in Chief
Check and re-check – spelling, grammar, punctuation, word count, proof reading, formatting.
Best advice
Prepare! Decide early in the year which awards you want to enter, review the criteria and how you can best demonstrate it with what you are doing now.
This way you’ll have enough time to implement a strategy to ensure you have the right results for the entry. Plus, taking action will also increase your overall business focus!
