The deadline for advisers to enter the UK Health & Protection Awards 2022 is just over a week away on May 6.
The awards website www.healthandprotectionawards.com includes all the categories and criteria which advisers should address in their entries, and these can be submitted through the site or by following this link.
Here Sharon Mason, marketing and PR consultant at SMUK Marketing and PR, explains some of the key things advisers need to know and include when submitting their entries.
Now is the chance to shine
It’s not just Hollywood that has an awards season. That time is upon us in the health and protection industry too. The anticipation of glory, which can go alongside the fear of writing award entries.
Great work is something that clients have come to expect, it makes our industry proud, and now is the chance to shine.
And if we keep a few things in mind, writing engaging entries for industry awards will be easier.
Prepare
Every day in our industry, people go above and beyond in looking after their clients. Because that approach is the norm for many, it’s easy to forget what great work is being done. It’s important to make a note of it all. If you can do this from the moment you start working with a new client, so much the better. When you come to compile the entry, look back at reports and notes, and pull out the key points that set you apart.
Evidence
To demonstrate just how good your work is, it must be backed up with results. A picture may paint a thousand words, but numbers, data and analytics show the unequivocal proof of what you’ve achieved. Utilise everything you can get your hands on to show the difference that you’ve made.
Clarity
Judges have a lot of entries to read. It’s important to make it easy for them, and to get your points over clearly. Brevity is your friend, and it saves time too. Every industry has jargon, but remember not to infiltrate the entry with jargon from your own company that might not mean anything to anyone else.
Enter
Apart from the lucky few Lifetime Achievers, people don’t walk up to us and hand us an award. It’s really important to enter, and as many categories as you can. This is a competition. Sometimes your best work will be up against something even more outstanding. Sometimes it won’t be. So it’s really important to enter, and every year. Which leads me on to a very important point.
Promote
Being nominated for an award is a huge achievement. Of course we all want to win, but being a finalist is very marketable. Not every company gets to this stage, and it’s something to be proud of. Hollywood doesn’t just promote the Academy wins but the nominations too. That’s something we can all learn from.
Not everyone has achieved a nomination and it will set you apart, it’s a clear demonstration to clients that your work is up there with the best. It’s not just the wins that can go onto email footers and websites, into tender documents and pitches. You can work that finalist logo too.
So it’s important to make the time, maybe even enjoy the process, and dust down that evening wear.
How to enter
In all advisers can submit entries in 14 categories, recognising their achievements across the whole of the health and protection insurance sector.
The awards website www.healthandprotectionawards.com includes the full list of categories and the criteria which advisers should address in their entries.
The closing date for entries is 6 May and these can be submitted through the awards website or by following this link.
Winners will be announced in a glittering gala ceremony at the London Hilton Park Lane on 12 October.
Click here to see highlights from last year’s Awards ceremony.