Donna O'Toole’s Post

🏆 Getting a Business Award application to stand out starts with great preparation. Here’s 3 steps to follow next time you’re preparing to enter awards. 📥 Download the award information and questions from the awards website and make note of any deadlines and dates. 📝 Copy all of the award entry questions into a separate document where you will draft your application. (Don’t complete your application on the awards platform! If it times out, you could lose everything!) 📚 When you begin to draft, be as precise as possible. Concise and compelling is best. A great award submission will tell your story in a compelling way while addressing the specific criteria. This is your chance to get creative! Tell your story and use case studies or examples to show that you deserve this award win. Remember, most award categories will receive hundreds of entries. Making your award entry shine is essential in grabbing the judges’ attention. 🌟 Learn more: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g-NTDygi

At this time of year, we especially seem to see awards ceremonies being held left, right, and centre, both Regionally and Nationally. So, is it worth you entering a business award and why do you see so many firms doing so? Surely there's only so many you can win? It has been for us without doubt, whether as finalists or lucky enough to win. Click the link below to read our article on all things business awards🎗️ #businessawards #brandrecognition #businesssuccess #businessnetworking

STOP waiting for it… Perfection will never come. Or you’ll never feel like it’s perfect. If you’ve been procrastinating over an awards entry in the search of perfection you need me for this hour. 1 hour on YOUR business and YOUR award entry. We'll go through the questions and I'll give you guidance on: ⚡ how to answer each one ⚡ what evidence you NEED to source and how to include it, and ⚡ what will really blow the judges socks off. All you need to do is give me some brief info on your biz (6 short questions). And tell me the award and category you're planning on entering. Book your slot. I LOVE helping fabulous businesses get the recognition they deserve. https://lnkd.in/dJgpnY-7

This sort of bullsh*t irritates me and undermines the awards sector. Now, I don’t want to appear ungrateful, but how can we win an award a) for something we didn’t enter and b) for which we had to provide no evidence of impact? Do I want to pay to be featured in their magazine?!! You can probably guess… I get perhaps 1-2 ‘nominations’ a week for awards where I get to pay money (surprise surprise) to be featured. I get this is just one business model amongst many, but does anyone take these sort of awards seriously? The awards I enter have been/will be those with rigorous judging (what’s the point of you don’t learn) and where I don’t pay to enter because the goal is to genuinely showcase best practice - not receipts. Does anyone take these things seriously and if you’re constantly on the receiving end, what do you do?

Most weeks I try to take time to reflect- what’s going well, what’s not, and what to work on. A few weeks ago, I wrote in my Reflection Journal the word "Congratulations", and listed the highlights for the year, and here's the thing...   In just listing highlights off the top of my head, winning the Supreme Award for the David Business Awards came in at No. 11 (out of 12). I wasn't ranking the highlights in order of importance- just listing them as they came to mind (and I am certainly incredibly grateful (and to be honest, still shocked) at having won that accolade).   My point is this- in your position, in your business, in your life, there will have been highlights that are worth noting and reflecting on (and even celebrating). Awards aren’t a “thing” in and of themselves- they are recognition of a whole bunch of good “things”. No doubt many of the other David Awards Applicants have many, many aspects to their businesses that are worth recognizing and celebrating, whether they won an award or not.   It's great to stop and consider what’s gone well this year. It’s worth sharing that with family, co-workers, your team. The chapter of 2024 is about to open with a wave of new challenges (both seen and unforeseen), and once it does, the opportunity to stop and reflect on the “wins” of this year will be gone.   I encourage you to do this, especially if it’s been a tough year. Like you I’ve had challenges, and this exercise is not, in any way, a strategy to avoid tackling the tough issues, but it is a great platform from which to tackle them.   Well done on doing your best again this year.

Most weeks I try to take time to reflect- what’s going well, what’s not, and what to work on. A few weeks ago, I wrote in my Reflection Journal the word "Congratulations", and listed the highlights for the year, and here's the thing... In just listing highlights off the top of my head, winning the Supreme Award for the David Business Awards came in at No. 11 (out of 12). I wasn't ranking the highlights in order of importance- just listing them as they came to mind (and I am certainly incredibly grateful (and to be honest, still shocked) at having won that accolade). My point is this- in your position, in your business, in your life, there will have been highlights that are worth noting and reflecting on (and even celebrating). Awards aren’t a “thing” in and of themselves- they are recognition of a whole bunch of good “things”. No doubt many of the other David Awards Applicants have many, many aspects to their businesses that are worth recognizing and celebrating, whether they won an award or not. It's great to stop and consider what’s gone well this year. It’s worth sharing that with family, co-workers, your team. The chapter of 2024 is about to open with a wave of new challenges (both seen and unforeseen), and once it does, the opportunity to stop and reflect on the “wins” of this year will be gone. I encourage you to do this, especially if it’s been a tough year. Like you I’ve had challenges, and this exercise is not, in any way, a strategy to avoid tackling the tough issues, but it is a great platform from which to tackle them. Well done on doing your best again this year.

Are There Too Many Awards Nights? I'm all for being rewarded for good work, but I'm starting to wonder if there are too many awards nights out there. It seems like every organisation has their own award ceremony, and it's starting to feel like overkill. I understand the need for industry body awards. These awards help to recognise and celebrate excellence in a particular field. However, I'm not sure what the purpose is of all the other awards nights. Are they just a way for companies to make money? I'm not saying that all awards nights are bad. There are some that are well-respected and that genuinely celebrate the achievements of individuals and teams. However, I think we need to be careful about the proliferation of awards nights. At some point, they start to lose their meaning. #awardsnight #awards #overkill #industrybodyawards #purpose #money I'm curious to hear what other people think about this issue. Do you think there are too many awards nights? Let me know in the comments below.

The presenter took to the stage at the rather plush awards dinner. “I’m sorry but this speech won’t be very good” he said. Turned out he was right! He elaborated on why the speech was not going to be good. “I haven’t actually prepared a speech.” While this was an awards dinner, he was not getting an award. He was handing over an award. So his being on stage was not a surprise, to him or the audience. His company had paid a tidy sum to the sponsor the award and had selected him as the person to represent the company. The company invested money with the end result of looking a bit shambolic. There are two lessons I invite you to draw from this. 🔶 Firstly, be prepared for any presentation you know you need to give. If there are hundreds of people listening, it is a real opportunity for you and your organisation. 🔶 Secondly, if you have not prepared, do NOT tell the audience this. Admitting this will not impress them – they will simply think you are a fool. Please prepare. But if you have not prepared, then ‘wing it’ and you might just get away with it once or twice.

"Navigating Awards and Credibility in Business “ Hi fellow business owners! I kindly need your honest opinions on something. I've recently received messages from over 10 organizations informing me that I've been nominated for their awards schemes. While it's flattering to be recognized, I'm skeptical about the credibility of these awards. - Have you received similar nominations? - Are these awards genuinely prestigious or just a revenue stream for the organizers? - Would accepting such an award positively impact my business, or is it just a vanity metric? How do you evaluate the credibility of awards and nominations? Do you think they truly recognize excellence or are they just a marketing ploy? Would appreciate your thoughts! #awards #credibility #businessowners #events

Check out this question! What would you do if someone gave you three weeks' notice, but you only require 2 weeks under the award? Psst - General advice only. Everyone's story is different, so make sure you reach out to an expert if you need tailored advice.