Channel Awards - The next stage

Those who have made it through to the next stage have plenty to cheer about, writes Sara Yirrell

CRN was pleased to reveal the shortlist for the 2013 Channel Awards at the end of last month.

We thought it would be good for all those nominated to see their names in print once more as the judging process gears up for round two before the glittering awards ceremony on 14 November at its usual home of Battersea Events Arena.

The first judging day was filled with many heated discussions over the entries, all of which had been carefully read and scored by our panel of experts beforehand.

It is no easy feat, with each entry being at least 1,000 words long.

In the words of one judge, Channel Awards entries are “definitely going in the right direction”.

To see the shortlist, click here.

As you read this, the next judging panel will be hard at work reading all the shortlisted entries and preparing to meet up in London on 8 October to decide the winners and potential runners up.

Unfortunately when a shortlist comes out there are firms that have not made the final line-up and the inevitable disappointment comes spilling out.

A lot of firms ask for individual feedback, which is an impossible task given the amount of entries we receive.

What we can reveal is those firms that did make the shortlist fulfilled a lot or all of the criteria outlined on the Channel Awards website.

Those firms had clearly read the ‘Top Tips for entering’ the Channel Awards and included as many relevant facts and supporting figures as they could.

Evidence of growth was clear and well supported, plus many had included customer testimonials to back up their claims.

Also entries that get to the point were well received by the judges – particularly in the vendor category the temptation is there to go into detail about products and technology – but the CRN Awards are not about technology. They are about how vendors are working with their partners and seeing positive results.

Similarly – some resellers thought it was more important to talk about the solutions they offered and write down a full company pitch – rather than actually demonstrate how they are growing and helping their customers, and most importantly adding value.

The same with distributors – those that included facts and hard figures to show growth and investment in their customers – did the best.

For those new to the awards and who have made the next stage of judging – it would pay to explain how the next stage works.

CRN has another set of judges, this time made up of representatives from vendors, distributors, resellers and independent consultants – to read through the shortlisted entries. Just to stress again – no reseller reads a reseller entry, neither will a distributor read a distributor entry nor a vendor read a vendor entry.

The entries are scored by the stage two judges and then all the judges’ scores are taken into account on the second judging day.

Those firms that have made the ‘big three’ awards – Vendor/Reseller/Distributor of the Year – will be invited to come into the offices on the day to present their case to the judges face to face, and also face the judging panels’ questions.

The experience is a lot more nerve-wracking that people think and for those that are facing the judging squad – I would advise to really emphasise the value they bring to their customers and include hard facts in their presentation.

It is also not a crime to have fun with the presentation, the judges will have had a long day and would welcome some light relief.

So congratulations to all the companies shortlisted and best of luck to you all in the next stage of the competition.