Key takeaways
- Enter, but check each scheme's history, coverage and terms before you commit.
- Judges have limited time: clear, concise answers with different examples beat long repeated ones.
- Always ask for feedback, and promote being a finalist while the window is open.
By Sue Davies
It's awards entry season, and many salons, techs and therapists will be looking at the ever growing number of award schemes available to us.
How do you work out which to enter, and which categories? Over the years I've learnt that every entry is worthwhile, whether it is local or national, as a salon or an individual, for skill or for business acumen. The most important thing is to ENTER!
Why? Because every time you reflect on where you are, you have an opportunity to grow and develop. So many of us get wrapped up in looking after our clients and keeping the bills paid that we forget to recognise our own achievements, whether in business or in skill development. Stand up and be recognised!
Why awards are worth the effort
The process of preparing an entry makes you look hard at how your business really works, and that has value in itself. Research on business quality awards backs this up. A study published in Management Science compared award winning companies with similar businesses that hadn't won, and found the winners' operating income grew 107% more on average, with sales growth 64% higher. Those were larger companies, but the lesson travels: the scrutiny that goes into a strong entry tends to go hand in hand with a stronger business.
My advice: enter them all, but choose wisely
Don't expect to get the same back from every award provider, though. Some awards have much more to offer than others, so be realistic about what you will gain. Check how much coverage the organiser gives finalists and winners.
At their core, award schemes are a marketing opportunity for the organisers and for everyone who enters, so use the benefits you receive wisely.
I have even seen a new scheme publicly say it was removing finalists who hadn't bought a ticket for the awards night. Practices like that are why it is worth checking an award scheme's history, reviews and terms and conditions before you enter. If you can't make the night, it may not be worth entering that one.
A good, reputable scheme will ask questions that make you think about how you work, how you look after your clients and where your customer service really stands, so be prepared to scrutinise yourself and your business.
How to stand out from hundreds of entries
Scratch Stars, for example, attracts hundreds of entries, so you need to stand out. Where are your strengths, and where can you improve? Think it through and look at previous winners. What did they do? What is their website like? Do they have great social media?
If you want to compete with the top salons or techs nationally, you may need to review your business first. Professional Beauty, for example, is always strong on the business side and asks every entrant tough questions about how they operate and run their business.
Helen Ward shares her own experience of entering year after year in why I keep entering Scratch Stars, and takes an honest look at whether beauty awards are worth it.
Winning starts with entering
I'm regularly asked how to get to the finals, and my first answer is always: ENTER! Then:
- Check the dates. Are you available for everything that is required?
- Read the entry form fully, decide on your categories and read every question.
- Be honest and thorough, and play to your strengths.
- Ask yourself the big questions. What have you done that you are proud of? What have you overcome? Have you improved yourself, your team or your business?
Entering creates a real buzz with clients, so get them involved. Ask them for testimonials, whether the entry requires them or not. It reminds them why they chose your salon and that they made the best choice, and it gives you a fresh perspective on your business to use in your entry.
Build your portfolio before you need it
If you're entering practical skill categories, get ahead of the game. You know the awards are coming and you know they'll ask for images, so start building a portfolio of nail images now. There is nothing worse than not being able to enter because you didn't have the right client in that week.
If you have a client with nail model hands, start early with a few designs and practise your polish, framing and photo angles. Practise, practise, practise, and take pictures of every set of nails you do!
Being a finalist is a massive achievement
Being a finalist is a chance to promote your success to clients, the local press and social media. That marketing window is only open briefly and, for me, it is one of the biggest promotional opportunities you will ever get. You may have been shortlisted to three or five finalists from tens or even hundreds of regional or national entrants. That's big news!
Make the most of it by adding it to your website, your social media and your directory profile, so new clients can see it too.
What I've learnt as a judge
Having been on both sides of the awards, I've learnt a few important things. Probably the most important is to keep your answers to the point (those who know me know I find this bit tough!).
From the other side, as a judge with limited time to read every finalist's entry, what you need is a clear, concise entry. The judges are the ones who make or break your dream. So what would you want to read: 400 words repeated across every question in slightly different ways, or 100 words per answer giving different examples, results and successes?
Always ask for feedback
Whether you win or not, if you can get feedback on your entry, take it. It shows you where you can update, improve or rethink. When I entered Scratch Stars as a salon, I was the only one to ask for my feedback, and that critique is vital to improving what you deliver over the next year.
The wait, and the moment
Entering is only the beginning. Then the wait begins. On the day the finalists are announced, there is a lot of email refreshing and checking that phones aren't on silent among all the entrants. That wait is nothing compared with the wait for the awards night, and then finally the two minutes while your category is announced, which are THE longest ever. Hold your breath!
We can't all take home the award, so get your Oscars smile ready and take being one of the top five in the country as the win it is.
But if, when that long awaited moment comes, it's your name that is announced, your whole world will stop for just a moment as you realise you have done it. YOU HAVE WON!
