How you win by being an awards finalist

It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part – that’s what we tell our children isn’t it? But that’s not really the case with awards.You don’t want to go to all that effort to put together an entry and get nowhere. That said, is winning an award really the only outcome with any benefits? We don’t think so.

Consider why you want to enter awards in the first place. You’re probably looking for recognition for the quality of your project, a boost for staff morale and perhaps something to show off to existing and potential customers.

Awards shortlists – the value

Here are just some of the wins you could get from being a finalist in your chosen awards:

• Win 1 – being a finalist in a set of quality awards is already an independent endorsement of your project or company. Most good-quality awards get hundreds of entries, so you’ve done well to get to the final shortlist. You should still be proud of this achievement
• Win 2 – you can take some of the team to the awards and make a fuss about the shortlisting within the organisation, meaning your staff can still get the morale boost, whether you win or not. Ultimately the impact of being a finalist is down to management within your organisation. If your achievement goes unnoticed then you won’t reap the rewards, but a smart management team will celebrate the news of being shortlisted, regardless of the final outcome
• Win 3 – most finalists get at least a badge to put on their website or a certificate from the awards organisers, so that’s still something to put on the wall or in the trophy cabinet. You can still consider it an independent endorsement of your work, and so will customers
• Win 4 – the networking opportunity provided by an awards ceremony shouldn’t be under-estimated. Being a finalist gets you a seat at the table, it’s up to you if you want to use the chance to spot potential new employees or customers, to get to know others within your industry and perhaps make some good contacts. Who doesn’t want to share good practise and learn from the achievements of others? The chance to do that doesn’t end when the lights come up and the DJ goes home if you’ve made the most of getting to know people while you’re there

So, is being a finalist good enough? That’s up to you to decide. Just don’t forget all of the benefits being a finalist can bring.

If you want a chat about how we can help, drop us a line at [email protected]