Have you picked your SMA categories yet?

With just nine weeks to go until the deadline, now is the ideal time to start planning how to craft a winning entry

It has been one month since we launched the 2021 Sales and Marketing Awards, and now is the time companies tend to decide once and for all which categories they are entering, and start working on putting together their submissions.

With 23 categories to choose from, there is certainly no shortage of options, but now is a good time to remind our readers not to overstretch themselves and pick categories that are really relevant. There is no point entering every category and putting a weak entry in each, it is much better to have a strong entry in one or two categories.

This year we have tweaked our ‘Best Customer/partner event' categories to allow for all the sudden online and virtual events that launched as a result of the pandemic. There is no doubt the industry, normally so sociable and hands-on, was knocked for six when events could no longer be held, and it had to scramble fast to ensure some sort of social event could still go ahead. As a result, a host of innovative virtual and online events sprang up, and these deserve to be considered for an award.

We have also raised our hats to all the amazing work done by individuals and teams during the pandemic with our new ‘Over and Above' Award, which aims to recognise those people that went beyond the call of duty to either keep a business going, service customers, or help their local community in the name of their company.

But it does not stop there - with 17 other categories to choose from, there really is something for everyone. Please do have a look at the list of categories and don't forget to check out our Vendor, Reseller, Distributor and General criteria for handy guidance on how to write/compose your entry.

There will also be a number of helpful articles appearing on the dedicated editorial hub over the coming weeks to share what the judges are looking for and to encourage as many people to enter as possible. And also information on how the awards will work this year as things become clearer with regards to the pandemic.

Please don't leave entering until the last minute because there will be no deadline extensions this year - it is unfair on those that do hit the deadline, and also it gives the judges the maximum amount of time to read through the entries and pick the right ones for the shortlist.

To enter the awards, click here. The very best of luck! Remember, the deadline is Friday 9 April.