“And the Supreme Franchise of the Year Award goes to…”

I dare not breathe. Why is there always that interminable pause before the winner’s name is announced? My client has already won all three awards that I entered them for – Field Manager of the Year, Franchisee of the Year and Franchise of the Year in their industry category. But will they walk out with the biggie…?

“Signature Homes!”

I can’t begin to describe the elation I feel every time I help a client to win a franchise or business award. It’s as exciting for me as it is for the client.

Businesses enter awards competitions for different reasons – recognition, credibility, ego, media exposure – but to me the most important reasons are the ability to benchmark yourself against the best and use what you learn to continuously improve your business. I take my hat off to those who keep entering awards despite failing to win but keep getting better every year until hopefully… finally…

One of the keys to writing better awards entries, I’ve found, is to understand the criteria for the awards and what the judges are looking for. Of course, the criteria depend on what the award is for – leadership, customer service delivery, marketing, innovation, the list goes on. But I have found that the most common awards frameworks or models in the general business excellence category are the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model and the Baldrige Excellence Framework. 

The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model

The Baldrige Excellence Framework