In it to win it: Preparing your franchise to go for gold

At HomeXperts we’ve been recognised in various local and national business awards and winning has been an integral part of our strategy.

Entering business awards isn’t for the fainthearted and shouldn’t be a last-minute decision made a day before entries close. With proper planning and taking the time to complete your entry to the best of your ability, your chances to succeed will increase significantly.

There are numerous types of awards your franchise could enter. Firstly, look at your area – the business community, such as the local Chamber of Commerce, often run business of the year awards and winning a local award is great for team morale. Other types of awards are industry-specific and the benefits of your company winning awards and recognition within your sector are huge. When choosing which award to enter, think about your company and what its strengths are, then search for ceremonies accordingly.

For me, one of the most important aspects of winning awards is staff recognition and motivation. There’s nothing better than the team you work with getting tangible, third-party recognition for hard work. Some awards could be for individual team members and when you have someone working with you who really is exceptional, recognising their efforts by entering them into an award is a huge boost for their confidence.

Furthermore, it’s great to be able to advertise as an award-winning franchise when recruiting new staff. The third-party endorsement does so much more than you or your team telling candidates the company is amazing, particularly if your awards are for best place to work or best team.

In many sectors you’ll be operating in a crowded marketplace but being an award winner can give you an edge on competitors, especially if you know they entered the same award category as you but your franchise won.

Awards also create great PR opportunities. If you’re shortlisted you’ll have numerous PR opportunities, so you can send out a press release before the event. Get your social media working for you too -“if you win, the PR machine can go into overdrive.

These are just some of the many reasons why it’s worth working hard for great award entries. Some of my proudest business moments have been winning awards and seeing the opportunities that being an award winner creates for the company.”