Top tips for writing your IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Award nomination

Every year the judges of the  IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards tackle the challenging task of deciding on the shortlists and ultimate winners from an outstanding calibre of nominations. Nominees are up against tough competition and need to ensure they capture their business story and stand out from hundreds of other entrants.

Knowing all of this, writing an entry can be daunting but to make it more manageable and to make sure your nomination shines, I have compiled these tips from my experience and ideas from the judging panel. Let’s get started…

1 Dates and deadlines

Be aware of all your dates and deadlines. Put reminders in your calendar today. Ideally you will submit your nomination in the week before the deadline, allowing yourself the confidence to know you have done everything you can to share your story in the best way. The last thing you want is to be hit by a storm internet outage or an unexpected meeting that throws off your schedule. 

2 Terms and conditions

Look at the terms and conditions for each category to make sure you are eligible to enter. Do not assume anything! There is no point in spending the time completing a nomination in a certain category if you are ineligible. Providing figures from company accounts are required for some categories – make sure you have these figures because your nomination may be ineligible without them. For anyone considering multiple categories, take extra care in this step and review the nomination forms for all categories you are considering to see where you are the best fit. 

3 Gain permission

If you are nominating someone else, you need to confirm you have their permission to do so. Get it early so they can provide you with any additional information  – especially facts and figures – that you might not have access to.

4 Provide evidence for every claim

Impressive claims will make judges pause to dive into your business story in more depth, but you must have evidence to back up the claims. Every time you make a claim in your award nomination, you MUST back it up with evidence. Figures, statistics, screenshots, links – all of these can be provided in the entry itself or in the supporting document. Make this evidence accessible and abundant – you want to wow judges with bullet points of relevant evidence on your nomination. Don’t forget, attributed testimonials can be included to qualify a statement or achievement.

5 Review categories and forms

If it is not obvious what category you could be in, check the T&Cs and nomination forms for each to help you decide. Once decided, read the form again! Read all the questions a couple of times and make sure you understand them and what is being asked and what is the most relevant information to include. If in doubt, talk to someone who has trodden the path before you and get some advice, input and guidance.

6 Get started

Start by doing a brain dump and literally write down all your thoughts as they enter your mind. Don’t analyse your brain dump at this stage. Let your thoughts roam free and jot down all the achievements, successes and challenges you’ve had to date. Think about how you would like to position yourself and your company.  Remember, your audience (aka the judges) reading your application may know nothing about you or your business. What do you want to convey?  What do you want them to know about you?

7 Refine your thoughts

Your brain dump may be of incredible value to you and your business (so many previous winners tell me this), but it is far from a finished nomination! Now it’s time to filter and distil the information, which can be harder than it seems. Allow yourself sufficient time to do this. Highlight the key areas that are relevant to your chosen category, identify evidence to back up your claims, cross-check your facts and the story that adds colour to your nomination.

8 Be precise and concise

Now it’s time to get disciplined! It’s time to match your brain dump with the nomination form. Use the word limits as a blessing, not a curse. They force you to do one essential thing: cut the fat, then go back and cut it again. If you start by writing long, rambling paragraphs (e.g. listing all the relevant processes your business has implemented recently), turn it into a stack of bullet points. Have you used three words where you could use one? Use one! To put it bluntly, judges are interested in a concise presentation of information. Keep it snappy, and you’ll stay within the word limit pretty easily. Many people write their first draft in a word document or notes app to allow easy editing before uploading.

9 Bullet points 

If you missed it in the last point, use bullet points! Easy to read, bullet points allow judges to see a snapshot of your story and allow you to include more information than in paragraph-style. Ensure you include the relevant information in each point.

10 Answer everything

It always surprises me when nominees skip a section. Ensure you answer all questions and include all requested information. Your nomination may be ineligible without it.

11 Tell your story 

Review your nomination and ask yourself, does it tell my story? Read it back as if you were a customer.  Imagine yourself on the night of the awards and you are describing your business or your career journey to someone on your table. Have you captured what you might say? Are you happy with how you are conveying your brand and business? Have you shared your future vision? If you have faced challenges and pivoted your business, don’t be afraid to tell this story – it speaks to your resilience and grit as to how you overcame adversity to help your business grow and continue to thrive.

12 Words, words, words

Don’t forget – be mindful of the word count for each section. Do not go over it because it is there for a reason. Use it to challenge yourself to be savvy and work out how to incorporate all the key points that you’ve itemised and that you want to get across to the judges.  You can space them out through the document in a coherent fashion.

13 Step back

Finalise your nomination by stepping back. Write it all out on the nomination form or on a separate document and then step back. I usually advise printing it out to make proof reading easier (your eyes tend to see what they want to see on screen). Leave it overnight and read it again. This will help you find the grammatical and punctuation errors. You’ll find out if the content flows. You’ll notice if you’ve used the same adjective over and over. It will also trigger things you’ve forgotten to mention and you’ll need to edit your content again.

14 Just do it

I’ve come across many incredible businesswomen who didn’t want to enter due to perceived difficulties, a lack of confidence or other issues.  Do not let anything stop you. If you need support to complete your nomination, find someone to help. Don’t hide behind any excuse – help will ALWAYS be at hand and THIS is your chance to get the recognition YOU deserve.