At The Awards People we are not totally immune to the romantic images which bombard us at this time of year. In fact we are great believers in the power of passion and desire. Steady on, we hear you say but of course, in our case we are speaking about the passion which our clients have for their business and the desire they have to succeed amongst their peers!

All joking aside, the insertion of a good measure of passion within an award entry really can be the difference between a win and a near miss. Whilst your achievements may compare favourably to those of others within the same category, it will undoubtably be the enthusiasm and commitment conveyed within your application which will make you stand out from other contenders.

In last week’s blog post we spoke about the fact that awards judges may have a dozen or so applications to compare at any one time. With the very best will in the world, those who have to whittle the initial mass down to a few finalists will experience at least a small degree of ‘application fatigue’. Even the most experienced judges (who have their own strategies for ensuring that they approach each and every entry with a fresh level of enthusiasm) will struggle to remember the finer details of the first ten or so applications when the content within them has failed to strike a chord.

You may be fortunate enough to be involved in a very niche industry and so your activities vary wildly from the norm but – and there really is no intention to offend with this comment – there is the risk that one conveyancer or accountant (or PR company for the sake of fairness) can, on paper, sound very much like another. When you compete in a crowded market you must look for the real differentiator or the true unique selling point and, more often than not, this will lie with the personality you bring to the products and services which you sell.

Through the years we have become dab hands at extracting these USP’s from our clients when we meet for an initial chat. What never fails to surprise us, however, is the fact that the majority of those we speak with do not recognise that their particular passion (and the resulting approach which they take to their craft or trade) is significantly different to what everyone else is doing. We have often lamented that what is standard practice for one may not be standard practice for others but time and time again, the humble nature of us humans leads to a vast underestimation of the magnitude of our greatness.

So, we at The Awards People say never forget the PASSION. Answer the questions within the awards application succinctly, get the facts of your achievements recorded accurately but by no means omit to illustrate your love of what you do, your personal commitment to doing it well and your devotion to your industry, your business and your employees. Share the love and feel the love – it is Valentines Day after all…