I’ve just finished judging 35 award submissions for The Negotiator Awards.
One of the big Awards for UK Estate & Letting Agents + their suppliers
Each submission was 5 questions with a maximum of 500 words per question.
2,500 words plus attachments per submission.
(And you were allowed attachments on top of that to help your submission)
That’s somewhere between 80,000 and 90,000 words on the questions themselves ... a full novel’s worth.
A lot of hard work went into vast majority of these submissions - it was an honour to judge them
Feedback time
This is my third year of judging .. and I keep seeing the same mistakes repeated again and again.
If you’re writing an awards submission ...here’s where you can step up and increase your chances of winning:
1️⃣ Get to the bl**dy point. Too many buried the meaty stuff. Tell me the result upfront.
2️⃣ Evidence, not adjectives. “We are amazing” is not proof. Stats, cold hard data, growth rates, case studies are proof. PropTech & Suppliers peeps - Innovation is nothing if it doesn’t save agents time, make them money, or win them instructions. Agents - show me proof. Data, not just anecdotes
3️⃣ Think about the reader (the judge). I don’t need your company history since 1820 unless it relates to the entry. Show the results you get for agents or vendors (I judged agents and suppliers).
4️⃣ Less fluff, more clarity. Some read like marketing brochures, others like university essays. Neither works.
5️⃣ Dont rely on the attachments to make your point. The answers are read, yet the attachments can often get skimmed
6️⃣ Use testimonials wisely. 3 short, sharp client quotes (with numbers) beat a page of waffle.
7️⃣ Structure totallly matters. A messy submission makes me think your business is messy.
The best ones? They were concise, clear & utterly focused on how they made agents’ or vendors' lives easier.
Its all about clarity, evidence & results.
One of the big Awards for UK Estate & Letting Agents + their suppliers
Each submission was 5 questions with a maximum of 500 words per question.
2,500 words plus attachments per submission.
(And you were allowed attachments on top of that to help your submission)
That’s somewhere between 80,000 and 90,000 words on the questions themselves ... a full novel’s worth.
A lot of hard work went into vast majority of these submissions - it was an honour to judge them
Feedback time
This is my third year of judging .. and I keep seeing the same mistakes repeated again and again.
If you’re writing an awards submission ...here’s where you can step up and increase your chances of winning:
1️⃣ Get to the bl**dy point. Too many buried the meaty stuff. Tell me the result upfront.
2️⃣ Evidence, not adjectives. “We are amazing” is not proof. Stats, cold hard data, growth rates, case studies are proof. PropTech & Suppliers peeps - Innovation is nothing if it doesn’t save agents time, make them money, or win them instructions. Agents - show me proof. Data, not just anecdotes
3️⃣ Think about the reader (the judge). I don’t need your company history since 1820 unless it relates to the entry. Show the results you get for agents or vendors (I judged agents and suppliers).
4️⃣ Less fluff, more clarity. Some read like marketing brochures, others like university essays. Neither works.
5️⃣ Dont rely on the attachments to make your point. The answers are read, yet the attachments can often get skimmed
6️⃣ Use testimonials wisely. 3 short, sharp client quotes (with numbers) beat a page of waffle.
7️⃣ Structure totallly matters. A messy submission makes me think your business is messy.
The best ones? They were concise, clear & utterly focused on how they made agents’ or vendors' lives easier.
Its all about clarity, evidence & results.