How to write a winning application
Check out these quick tips for help in completing a great application!
Each year, the Awards program receives over 300 applications, and each year, the judges comment on the diversity and quality.
To help you write the best application possible, we’ve put together this tip sheet.
- Tell the story. The Executive Summary is an opportunity to describe your business to the judges: what you produce or provide, what makes you stand out from your competitors, as well as some of your export success milestones. All the questions in the application are crafted to allow you to tell the whole story of your company, with the central theme being its export success.
- Pay attention to the word limit. It’s there for a reason, so don’t exceed it. Keep your answers concise – use bullet points if it helps.
- Don’t get too technical. A common error is to go into too much detail about a product or service, burying the application in jargon and acronyms. Keep it simple and clear. Use plain English, watch out for overuse of capitalisation, italics, bold text.
- Make sure your numbers add up. The financials are checked during the assessment process – so make sure you haven’t added any extra zeros, or mixed up financial year data.
- Proofread! Show the first draft of the application to staff members who work in different areas of the company – they’ll give you a different perspective of what’s the best content. And ask someone to check the final draft for spelling and grammar errors. It makes a difference and is a worthwhile investment of time.
- Pick strong photos. This is something that we see companies struggling with every year. There is a world of difference between images copied and pasted from your website and professionally shot photos. Try and use action shots – of your product, factory site or team. Action shots always work better than static ones. Think about how a photo can capture the essence of what you do. And make sure they are print quality, otherwise we can’t use them in our publicity and publishing materials.
- Start today! Give yourself enough time to write the entry – don’t leave it until the last minute! A rushed application won’t show off your company at its best.
- Avoid repetition. Check your application to make sure you’ve answered the questions without repeating the same material. And if you’ve entered the awards before, don’t copy last year’s application form. We read them all, and we remember! It’s important to clearly demonstrate the progress you’ve made, in export terms, over the past year.
- Think bigger. Get ready to promote your position in the Awards program. Winning at the state level automatically means you become a national finalist – which is a big deal, even if you don’t go on to win a national award. So, spend some time thinking about how you leverage your position as a national finalist: send out a press release, contact local media, let your customers know, and use it in your marketing material.
And remember: you don’t have to be the biggest or the most financially successful exporter to win. The judges are looking for smart strategies, strong company infrastructure and proven innovation.
Get started with your application today!
Good luck!