The Awards theme this year is Synergise, and we selected this theme for some very good reasons. If you look up ‘synergy’ in the dictionary, you’ll see that it means “the interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.”
And while our intent behind choosing this theme was less about how you write your entry, and more about encouraging businesses in the Shoalhaven to consider the greater impact we can have when we work together, the theme still has a strong relevance to the entry process.
Involve your team
The people in your business know a lot about it. If you think about the library of facts, stories, achievements, successes, numbers, anecdotes, even failures and lessons learnt, you could probably write a pretty comprehensive handbook about your business (but you already have one of those, of course). Leverage this and use your team’s collective expertise to help you put together your entry. It will also be that much rewarding for your team when you win, too!
Look at other Awards programs
If you look at the winners from some of the nation’s biggest and most well known business Awards programs, such as the Telstra Business Awards, you’ll see that quite commonly, they refer to the necessity to surround yourself with support to grow and succeed. This quote from a 2015 winner “We credit our success to mentors. Our strategy has always been to surround ourselves with experts to help us grow and hit our targets” really sums up the value of leveraging the expert knowledge you have around you. And while they were talking generally about their business success, I can guarantee you they applied this thinking to their Award winning entry.
Use your networks
When thinking about which Award(s) you are going to enter, what you are going to say about your business, and what examples you will use to support your answers, talk to people in and around your business. Draw on the collective pool of knowledge that your employees, customers, suppliers, business networks and social networks have around your business.
Do you know a past entrant, or even a past winner, who would be willing to give you feedback on their experience? Useful information doesn’t have to come from a winner. There are businesses out there who enter the Awards year after year, businesses that have a wealth of knowledge about the whole entry process. They can share insights with you that may completely change how you approach your entry.
Winners can talk to you about why they won, what made them stand out from the crowd, which is really important if you want to do the same.
If you have a mentor, this is a good time to lean on them. If you’ve been thinking about starting a relationship with a mentor, now is the perfect time to start.
Your mentor will look critically at your entry and give you valuable insights from a knowledgeable outsider’s perspective. Give them plenty of time to review your application so you have the opportunity to act on any feedback they have before you submit your entry.
Look around you
What are the businesses that you admire, or that are performing well in your industry, doing well? What are they doing that sets them apart from their competition? Why are they different? Perhaps you are doing something just like them and didn’t even realise it. Imagine you’re on the outside of your business, looking in. What would other businesses say about you? What would they see that that’s noteworthy?
Sometimes you have to mentally step outside your business to see what other people see.
Reviewing your entry
This same point (stepping outside your business) is also pertinent when it comes to reviewing what you’ve written. Get people outside your business to review your entry. No one else knows your business like you do, which is why you need someone who doesn’t know it to give you feedback.
You need to ensure your intimate knowledge of your business does not prevent you writing in a way that someone unfamiliar with your business can understand.
Remember, the judges will not know your business, and they will only understand it like you, if you tell your story well.
But before you give it to someone else to read, go away from your completed entry for 24 hours or so. Come back, read it again, and see if it still looks as good as it did 24 hours ago. Time and fresh eyes can change perception. Make any final tweaks before showing it to other people.
Consider seeking the support of a UOW student
If you don’t have someone in or outside your business who can review your entry, we have a small number of students who have put their hand up to help. If you would like assistance with reviewing your entry, or someone to give you feedback on structure, language and grammar, the students who have nominated themselves can help with this.
Contact awards@shoalhavenbusiness.com.au if you would like assistance from a UOW student.
Finally, make sure you are using all the resources we are providing to you. Take note of what’s on our website, our e-newsletters, our Facebook page and these tips. We truly want to see outstanding entries, so we are giving you as many resources as we can.
To enter the Awards, go to http://awards.nswbc.com.au/login/shoalhaven. The Awards close at 5.00pm on Thursday 30th June.