Becoming multi-award winning has opened a multitude of doors for our business and brought us new suppliers and customers.

New customers, knowing we have been recognised with an award, feel confident that our business is both reputable and capable of delivering a high standard of service excellence.

I hope this article about our awards journey is useful for those wanting to become award winning.

Winning an award typically involves a combination of preparation, excellence in your business and strategic effort to showcase yourself to reach the finals. Here is our step by step guide and tips..

Equisign award winning business
  • 1
    Identify Relevant Awards: There are many awards available ranging from industry specific to geographical. Identify the awards that align with your work, achievements, or customer base. If you are a member of trade association or body that run awards these are a good starting point.
  • 2
    Understand the Awards Criteria: Familiarise yourself with the requirements for each award or category. Know what the judges are looking for and how they evaluate submissions. Collect evidence of your achievements, including projects, publications and testimonials. Your portfolio should clearly demonstrate why you deserve the award. It can also be useful to know a little about the judges, their achievements and values so you can align anything about your business that they will appreciate from a personal perspective.
  • 3
    Excel in Your Field: Focus on achieving excellence daily in your work. Make sure you and your staff keep up with relevant training and ensure your business can demonstrate compliance with legislation, qualifications and insurance. Have policies and procedures in place to protect your staff and customers. Consider where you keep up with market trends and where you can demonstrate sustainability or innovation. Know your own USP and what sets you apart from the competition.
  • 4
    Network: Engage with your professional community. Attend conferences, join relevant organisations, trade associations and network with peers. Being recognised or working in collaboration with others in your field can strengthen your nomination.
  • 5
    Seek Nominations: Some awards require a nomination from others. Reach out to customers and peers who can nominate you. Gathering reviews and recommendations where you can and publicising these on social media and your website will make easy work for judges to see your application is authentic and evidenced.
  • 6
    Prepare a Strong Application: If the award requires an application, ensure it is thorough whilst remaining logical and concise. Highlight your achievements, explain their impact, and align your application with the award criteria. Be aware that applications can be limited to a number of words. Start off with bullet points and expand on those keeping to any word limits. Many awards require a personal statement, write a persuasive and passionate statement that clearly communicates your qualifications, achievements, and why you deserve the award. Include examples of how your work has impacted on your customers, saved or earned revenue or been innovative or creative.
  • 7
    Follow Instructions: Carefully follow all submission guidelines, paying attention to deadlines or any other specific instructions provided by the awarding body.
  • 8
    Practice Interview Skills: Some awards involve an interview process. Practice speaking about your work confidently and articulately. Try to pre-empt any questions about your business achievements or values, goals and be honest about any improvements you can make in the future showing you have a plan to continuously improve what you and your business have to offer.
  • 9
    Prepare a short acceptance speech and practice this before the event. Winning an award is an emotional experience so having a good idea of what you want to say if you win can be helpful. Keep this short and to the point remembering to thank those who have helped you along the way. Also thank the judges and the organisation for recognising your achievements. Acknowledging your fellow award category finalists can be done at this point.
  • 10
    Award publicity: Make sure you prepare a press release in advance of the awards so you can hit the ground running to publicise your achievement. If you use any photographs from the awards remember to credit the photographer. Know in advance where you can send this so you don’t waste anytime in getting the news out there. Update your social media, stationery i.e. business cards, letter heads and electronic signatures on emails. Add the award winners logo to uniforms and signage for your business. Tell your suppliers and associates as they are often more than happy to share your win which gives you some additional publicity and a wider audience reach. Use your new award winning status wisely and try to remain humble in your new found status.
  • 11
    Say thank you: Lots of awards and ceremonies are sponsored. Take time to write to sponsors of the awards to thank them for their support and tell them what winning means to you and your business. Include them or tag them in any social media posts. This can also include the venue of the ceremony. Remember to celebrate your achievement with family and friends and work colleagues.
  • 12
    Stay Persistent: Winning an award can be competitive and may take multiple attempts. Learn from any feedback you receive and continue to improve and apply for future opportunities. Don’t dwell on any awards that you don’t win and if you reach a final remember you have done so well to be a finalist.