Unfortunately not everyone can make the shortlist, but the below should give some handy tips for next year
That feeling of crushing disappointment when reading a shortlist and realising you didn't make it is all too familiar with many of us.
But while some people just shrug their shoulders and carry on, others are left wondering why they failed to make the final cut.
With the Channel Awards it really is all about quality of entry. Nothing else. Despite CRN releasing detailed criteria for every single category, the amount of entries that clearly haven't read them is still staggering.
Three key things need to be included in all entries: stats and figures, an explanation of why you qualify for this particular award and why you think should win, plus a testimonial or two. Entries that failed to include a customer/partner testimonial are almost always disqualified by the judges.
It is also preferable to have named testimonials, attributed to an individual from a customer/partner - it shows that you have understood how important it is to get this extra validation.
To give yourself extra brownie points, personalise your entry, get your teams involved, introduce your teams to the judges, use some humour - don't use corporate speak or cut and paste from corporate websites. Really demonstrate that you want to win this award and why you qualify.
Also, don't enter loads of categories with the same entry and video - it will be noticed very quickly. Just pick one or two categories and really go for them - you stand a much better chance. It should always be quality over quantity.
And finally, think of the ones who are reading the entries. While not everybody can submit videos or fancy PDF documents - at least ensure your entry is pasted as a word doc with proper spacing, punctuation and paragraphing. It amazes the judges that some companies paste a huge block of text onto the page and don't even space it out. While this may contain all the elements needed, if the judges are faced with a block of continuous words, it is not appealing, and is pretty much impossible to read and digest. This could be the small difference between making the shortlist or not.
With the above key points covered - you at least stand a better chance of making it through to the next round. We understand that time is short and awards entries are not always a priority, but with just a few simple tweaks, even the most basic of entries can be made more appealing and relevant to the judges.
If you are still thinking - ‘we did all that' - have another look at your entry with fresh eyes. Did it really give a proper flavour of your company, was it personal or did it read like a corporate brochure, did your stats actually tell the judges anything extra, did you really explain why you deserve to win that particular award? Could you have done better, included more relevant information, stronger testimonials?
The key thing is not to give up, and come back more determined next year. It is always a clean slate every year.
What happens next for those shortlisted?
For those of you who did make the 2022 shortlist - congratulations again - the competition was extremely tough this year.
Your entries will now be scrutinised by another set of judges, this time who will decide the winners. Some of the shortlisters - those from Vendor of the Year, Reseller of the year (sub £100m), Reseller of the Year (£101m+), Distributor of the Year (sub £250m) and Distributor of the Year (£251m+) will be asked to attend the judging day on Thursday 6 October in central London, for an extra presentation and Q&A session with the judges. More details on that to be released soon.
The winners will then be revealed on the night of the awards - Thursday 10 November - at the Battersea Evolution.
To book a table or find out more, please click here.
