You’ve decided to enter The British Wills & Probate Awards, now what?

Read our essential guide to putting together a winning submission.

Carefully consider the category
Choose the category which best represents your firm’s values, experience and expertise. This will ensure you stand the best chance of winning. Also, be sure to read the rules of entry carefully. For the British Wills and Probate Awards you can enter up to three categories at a cost of £145 plus VAT, which is less than the cost of writing a will for most of us, and of course, the more categories you enter, the more chance you have of winning!

Present the facts
Treat the submission like answering an exam question. Read the question carefully. You’ll be given criteria which clearly sets out what the judges are looking for. Make sure you provide factual evidence that supports your assertions in addressing each criterion. The judges will not be impressed by vague statements, ‘marketing speak’ or unsubstantiated statements.

You might do this though presenting facts and figures (financial data, staff turnover, market share etc), or by using customer reviews and testimonials. The more objective and unbiased information you can provide the better.

Stick to the knitting
Tempting as it might be to include the new company brochure you’re super proud of – it might be worth resisting. Judges will typically be in-demand busy industry heavy-hitters who are giving up their time to participate in the judging process. Concise submissions are a godsend. Wading through extraneous material is a pain for them and could in fact actively damage your chances.

Give yourself enough time
Don’t underestimate the time it will take to produce a good quality submission. Leaving the task to the last minute will inevitably mean that you’re not able to include all of the compelling evidence-based information that should be included.

Allowing plenty of time to consider what information will be needed; and to gather it all together will greatly improve your chances of success. You may for example have to enrol others in providing some of the detail that you need or you may need to refer to reports, board minutes or other sources to strengthen your organisation. Asking for an extension at the last minute is probably unlikely to win you any favours with the organisers who will be on a strict timetable for the process.

Consider who writes the submission
The writer needs to have the skills to pull together a compelling document. Delegating the task may not be wise; you might even consider using some external resource who specialise in writing award submissions to provide support. This may be in writing the submission itself or it could be to review your final draft and to provide constructive suggestions for strengthening the piece.

Don’t forget to celebrate!
Whether you are a winner or a runner up, don’t forget to celebrate. The euphoria of winning an award could do wonders for morale in the organisation. As well as the undoubted benefits of the external publicity, don’t forget to recognise and celebrate those within your business who made the win possible. It’s a great chance to stop and celebrate success generating a feel-good factor and goodwill that’s hard to replicate on a day-to-day basis.

Call 01829 307 505 to talk to Josh Hall about how the awards work and how to go about entering, or email [email protected]

Click here to download The British Wills & Probate Awards Flyer.

The closing date is 14th June. Don’t leave it until the last minute – give yourself a week and reflect on your entry before submitting.

Good luck!

Karen Babington

Karen Babington

Managing Director

Karen has over 20 years’ experience in the legal, property and mortgage market and co-owns leading trade publication Today’s Wills & Probate. You can sign-up to the FREE Weekly newsletter here.

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