Meeting the 2025 Channel Awards judges – Part One: Entry dreams and nightmares

With just two weeks to go until the 27 June entry deadline, CRN caught up with some of the judges to find out what will get their scores flowing and what to avoid

Being a Channel Awards judge is a huge ask every year – it is literally hours of reading slotted around the day job, and every judge is aware that they have a huge role to play in keeping the awards independent and respected.

Not only is the whole judging process a labour of love, but quite often the judges will come under attack from people who claim the awards are a fix and are just bought by the highest sponsor.

The truth is that every entry is scored purely on merit, and the judges spend many hours discussing every entry and making sure the winner is completely deserving of the accolade.

The judges do not care who sponsors the awards. They care about the quality of the entry and hearing about the great work companies are doing either for their channel partners, or for their customers.

CRN caught up with some of our valued judges to find out what they are hoping to see in the entries this year.

Sandrijn Stead, head of the vendor judging panel and judging veteran, said: “I like original, personal content with genuine validation from your channel. Detail is useful, but making your point quickly with data to back it up is really important to me. Don’t get sidetracked with something you think is cool, but isn’t directly applicable to the UK channel,” he said. “We look for quality not quantity in an entry. If you have three partners but are doing an incredible job supporting, managing them and helping them grow exponentially, this is more important than those doing the same old trope with 3,000 partners.”

Ian Turnbull, founder of Cyber Vantage, a who made his judging debut on the distribution panel last year, said entries need to be original and not be repetitive or generic.

“The basics matter,” he said. “Answer every question directly and avoid fluff. Don’t add numbers just to tick a box. Your submission should tell a story, backed with data and real impact.”

Importantly he said not to try and second guess what you think the judges want to hear.

“We are not looking for a gimmick or a flashy headline – keep it sharp, honest and grounded. Focus on the fundamentals, clear answers, strong evidence, supporting quotes and robust stats,” he added. “If there’s a second stage to judging, expect scrutiny; we’ll dig into the numbers and claims, so come prepared, know your subject inside out and have fun.

Matt Ruskin, Chief Commercial Officer at Rejoose, who is a seasoned judge on the distribution panel, said those who make the effort do stand out.

“The best entries clearly demonstrate that content was created specifically for the Channel Awards,” he said. “My top tip would be to avoid history lessons – it is the Channel Awards 2025 so writing “we started trading in 1995 and then…” is a waste of words!”

Craig Cheshire, cloud sales general manager at TD Synnex, has been a member of the vendor judging panel for the past four years and he really wants to see how vendors are working with their partners.

“How are these companies working with the channel to make an impact, or helping them to change an aspect of their business or unlock new opportunities? A good entry answers the questions, has proof points and brings alive the effort and enthusiasm the company brings to the channel,” he said.

But those that submit pitches may need stitches.

“Being part of the vendor judging panel, I would say the biggest no-no is pitching a new product in your entry. If you have introduced something new that has led to more opportunity for the channel, that’s how I want to hear about it, I don’t need the sales deck.”

Jon Atherton, group sales director at CI Distribution has been a vendor judge for over a decade, so he really has seen it all.

“All I ask is that there are no movie time videos – all the judges love the various styles being submitted, but please make sure they are punchy and to the point. Less than five minutes is ideal,” he said.

Simon Meredith, lead consultant at Channelstar Media and former CRN editor, has headed up the reseller judging panel for the past 17 years, and can spot genuine entries from a mile away.

“From partners we are looking for evidence of outstanding customer service and an innovative approach that delivers positive and tangible results,” he said. “If a business is passionate about its approach, people, culture and achievements, that should come across in the entry. We also want to know that your customers love you and really appreciate what you do for them.

“Every entry – no matter what the scale of the business in terms of turnover or headcount – will be considered equally,” he added. “It is what you do – for your customers – how you encourage, care for, develop and motivate your team, and how you make a difference – that matters.”

Finally, Carl West, founder of Open & Informed, has headed up the distribution panel for the last 17 years and knows when a company is hungry to win.

“You can tell very quickly if a company is phoning it in due to website copy and paste and lack of detail,” he said. “Presentation goes a long way as we must judge many entries and there does come a point where we can see lack of effort and we do switch off. Outcomes are the big point winners. Outcome matched with action gives us the ability to rate success – what you did, why you did it, and what was the outcome? The icing on the cake is named testimonials from partners and customers.”

A key tip is to make the entry about the people, he added.

“The biggest no-no from me is the entries that centre around one person and not the team. My other pet hate and something that turns me off is a word document with no imagery, because we want to see the business and people in the entry. I am always happy to see the awards a company has won from other organisations, but why did you win it, and is it relevant?”

Part two of our discussion with the judges will focus on why company size doesn’t matter, and why any company, no matter how big or small, stands an equal chance of winning an award.

To read all the criteria and categories for 2025, please click here. The deadline for entries is Friday 27 June. The very best of luck to you all!