The deadline for advisers to enter the Corporate Adviser Awards 2024 is just over two weeks away, on March 8.
These awards are a chance for advisers working across the sector, from those advising the largest corporate to the SME market, to highlight the quality of the work they do throughout the year, demonstrating the support provided for clients and their employees, in what have proved to be a challenging couple of years.
To help you complete the best entry possible Corporate Adviser has collated tips from judges, on what they are looking for, and what helps make a winning entry.
This advice should enable your firm to tell its story, evidence its key strengths and highlight the areas at which you excel.
Read the criteria carefully
Judges will be marking entries based on the criteria set out for each category.
Read the criteria carefully for each award category you are entering and make sure you address every relevant point.
Use bullet points or numbers to show where you are addressing each point in your entry.
Word counts can be tight so make sure you dedicate enough space to each element.
Use data and evidence
Using data is a fantastic way to build a case for your excellence and judges like to see it as evidence of the quality of your advice.
You may wish to include public ratings and review scores, or internal metrics such as retention or conversion rates.
But do not limit it to just these – any data or evidence which can detail the quality of your work will also support your entry.
Any data points submitted in entries remain confidential among the judges and are never shared.
A good quality case study
Many awards categories request as part of the entry a case study of how you have worked with a client to really meet their needs.
This is your chance to tell the story of your best work throughout the year – put in as much detail as possible. Use this to highlight how you went above and beyond the business-as-usual process for them.
Show what you achieved for them and how you ensured their satisfaction – include as much data and evidence as possible here.
A client testimony can also be a good way of showing your impact on them.
Finally… get the basics right
Judges review many entries so making your entry as clear and easy to understand as possible helps to get your work across.
Before submitting, do simple things such as double and triple checking spelling, grammar and punctuation – a comma or full stop accidentally in the wrong place can lose the meaning of a key part of your entry.
Having colleagues read entries also ensures the correct points are included and well written.
Make sure the entry is clearly presented with clear points and paragraphs and do not exceed the word count.
Once you’ve done all that it’s ready to be submitted.
How to enter
The awards website includes the full list of categories and the criteria which advisers should address in their entries. The closing date for entries is 8 May and these can be submitted through the awards website or by following this link.
Winners will be announced in a glittering gala ceremony at the London Hilton Bankside hotel on Park Lane on 27 June.
