Find what you need...   Download e-petition press release template   --- Mentoring and Coaching--- Find a business mentor or coach How a business mentor can help you and your business Business success through coaching and mentoring Ask a mentor or coach a question Arrange a free initial discussion Register free as a business coach or mentor   --- Being an Entrepreneur--- Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial Profiling Start up business and entrepreneurs Established business and entrepreneurs Growing a business Entrepreneurial team online assessment How much entrepreneurial energy do you have? Evaluate the impact of your enterprise activity   --- Starting a Business--- What to think about before you start - free guide Start-Up or Early Stage entrepreneurial profiling Becoming an employer - free fact sheet Business Coaching & Mentoring   --- Raising Capital--- A guide to equity finance options Seed Funding Business Angels Venture Capitalists Crowd Funding Interactive guide - Is your business investment ready? Interactive guide – what equity investment is right for you? Links to equity funding and support Free guide to Angel Investment The team behind the business   --- Non Executive Directors--- The role of Non-Execs in Small Business Benefits of Non-Execs The value of Investing Non-Execs Start-up business case studies Non-Execs for AIM companies Find a Non-Exec for your business Find an Investing Non-Exec   --- Pitching your business--- Benefits of entering business competitions Top tips for entering competitions UK business competitions Developing a successful business pitch Developing your elevator pitch What not to say when you're pitching Watch the Pitch Doctor in action Pitch for Management, not money   --- Improving Business performance--- Measure and improve performance Business metrics Tools to improve business performance Ways to increase profits and growth Using the power of text messaging  

Home         Coaching & Mentoring            Entrepreneurs            Free guides           Resources           Blog           Events           FAQ          

Top tips for making the right impression with your business competition application

So, you’ve decided to enter one or more business competitions. What happens next? Take a look at our top tips for making the right impression with your application. They won’t guarantee you’ll win but they will help towards ensuring your entry is professional, focused, and delivered on time.

1. Always check the deadline for entry
   Yes, I know this seems obvious but give yourself enough time to work through the application properly. A rush to meet the deadline may result in a poorly written application with errors and essential information missing. It takes time to complete an application properly, you may have to undertake additional research, find documents to back up your claims, complete financials and so on.
2. Check you meet the criteria
    Some competitions are ‘open house’ whereas others have strict criteria as to who can enter. Criteria might include how long you’ve been trading, level of turnover, start-ups or growth companies only, or geographical restrictions.
   If there are a range of categories for entry, think carefully about what would best suite your business, how you want to present yourself and the kind of profile you want.  You can sometimes enter multiple categories, but again check the criteria for each category carefully and remember that multiple categories will require more time to complete.
3. Check out previous winners
   If the competition has been running for some time it’s always worth taking a look at the ‘previous winners’ page to give you an insight into why the judges chose them, their USP, and how they have benefited from the publicity. Some competitions such as The Pitch have videos of successful applicants which are well worth watching.
4. Print out and follow any guidelines available from the promoter 
   Guidelines for completing an application are normally published on the website and are generally fairly straightforward. It’s often best to print the guidelines off so you can make notes or put ticks against each section as you are working on your application.  When you think you’ve finished the application run back through the guidelines again to check for any gaps.
5. Check there is no conflict of interest or you are not excluded from entering
   Always check the small print as to who is excluded from entering the competition. Ocassionally there are exclusions such as anyone associated with a particular sponsor organisation. Also check who is actually sponsoring the event.  If your business is in direct competition with the organisers or sponsors, you may want to think about whether it is appropriate or not to enter.
6. Keep focused on the questions you are being asked
   It’s easy to get carried away on these applications, talking about your business, achievements, and plans for the future and why not? After all, it’s your business and you want to tell the organisers and selectors just how great you are.  The trouble is, if you don’t focus on answering the actual questions being asked, you’re in danger of going off on a tangent making it difficult for those selecting to find the information they need.
7. Make sure you can back up what you are saying
   It’s fine to make great claims about how well your business is doing, but remember that at some stage (if not at initial application) you will have to back this up with tangible evidence – financials, marketing materials, client testimonials and so on.  Don’t make wild claims about how your business is expanding into foreign countries if in reality you happen to have shipped out a couple of small orders to Spain!
8. Check, check, oh yes, and check again
   I can’t emphasise enough (you noticed!) how important it is check your application thoroughly for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, punctuation, and of course that you have actually answered the questions asked.  Ask a colleague/business partner/friend you trust who can read through your application and give you an honest appraisal as well as spotting any typos.
9. Hit that deadline
   I know we’ve already mentioned deadlines at the start, but it’s worth a reminder. Make sure you’ve left enough time for your application to reach the company organising the competition, especially if it has to be posted. If it is being emailed then always ask for a read receipt or if that doesn’t come through ring them up and check it has been received.
10. And finally, don’t forget to shout about it!
    With all that effort gone into the application, don’t forget to tell people that you have entered the competition! Use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to tell friends, family, clients and anyone-else connected to tell them what you’ve done and you’ll receive no end of support.

Now all you have to do is brush up on your presentation skills.
Depending on the competition you may find yourself ‘pitching’ your business to a panel of judges in full public view or to just a small select panel behind closed doors. Either way, being able to present your business in the best possible way requires excellent communication skills and the ability to

If the art of presentation skills and pitching your business is one you are not so comfortable with you may want to consider drafting in some professional help. There are some wonderful coaches and mentors on our site who can work with you on this to build confidence and hone those very necessary presentation skills.

If you have any more tips for entering business competitions, please add them through the comments section below.

blog comments powered by Disqus

2011 Copyright Speed Mentor Central Limited All rights reserved                             Privacy Policy         Terms of Use         Contact us         About us