It is time to start shouting about your sales and marketing success stories as the entry process for the SMAs is officially opened
It may be dank, cold and miserable outside at the moment, but here at CRN we are thinking ahead to the summer when the channel comes together to celebrate sales and marketing greatness.
The Sales and Marketing Awards or SMAs as we call them, launching today, really do celebrate the success of individuals and teams within the realm of sales or marketing, or both.
This year they are taking place on 5 July at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, and the deadline for entries is Friday 23 March at 5pm. We have launched earlier this year to give you the maximum time to get those entries in.
The categories are constantly being tweaked to reflect the changing nature of the industry, and this year there are quite a few new categories which will hopefully give even more firms a chance to shout their success from the rooftops.
In the reseller space we have split the Best Company to Work for category into two - one for firms with sub £50m turnover, and the other for firms with £51m-plus turnover - we are always conscious that the smaller players deserve their chance to shine among their peers too.
We have also added a Best Company to Work For category in both vendor and distributor categories, because so many firms in those sectors do a wonderful job of keeping their staff happy, challenged and fulfilled, and as a result have some very happy teams that deserve recognition.
There is also more of an emphasis on social media as a marketing tool for resellers, distributors and vendors - these days a lot of battles for hearts and minds are done via Twitter, so we wanted those pioneers of social media to be given a chance to share their successes.
For distributors, we are encouraging you to talk about your innovation, hence the best marketing campaign and best partner training initiative categories - so many distributors do such great things that they need to be able to highlight their achievements.
Also included in the general category is one aimed at channel PR firms. Quite often these companies don't get the credit they deserve for helping to raise a vendor profile, or get their client in the news, so this is a chance for them to shout about their work.
The awards are free to enter as always, but please do read the criteria thorough before entering - each one has been designed to help you create an entry that appeals to the judges, but please bear in mind the 1,000-word count, and if you are submitting a video - we ask that you keep it to THREE MINUTES.
A level playing field is very important to the judges, and we want to judge each entry on merit, rather than deducting points for entries that fail to follow the basic rules.
We have created a special hub for the awards again this year, which will be regularly updated with helpful articles to guide you over entry writing and there is also a dedicated website with all the information you need about the event itself.
Best of luck and we look forward to receiving your entries! To enter, click here.
