by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Awards abound in the real estate and construction industries. So, what advice do the experts have?
• Don’t wait until late. Think about awards all year long and keep a file.
• Keep your entry simple.
• Be neat.
• Be thorough.
• Follow the entry guidelines.
• And, though it sounds odd to say it, enter. You can’t win unless you spend the time to get in the game.
With award season coming up, we asked judges and winners to help you bring home the silver, glass or whatever form an award should take.
Winning an award takes time, preparation and dedication according to those involved in the area’s major awards such as the Laurels, Auroras and the SPIRIT.
The rewards for winning an award?
It gives you increased public relations and marketing opportunities and can be the basis of an effective advertising campaign build on important third-party testimony about the quality of your award-winning product or service.
What is the best way to prepare throughout the year to submit an entry to win?
“I would suggest keeping an easily accessible folder to file all of your possible award entries in,” said Amber Williams of Ryland Homes and chair of the Laurel Awards Committee for the Sales and Marketing Council. “For example, a new model home, a top salesperson, a successful Realtor promotion or your favorite newspaper ad. File them as they occur throughout the year until it’s time to prepare your entries.”
Williams provided some tips for presentation of your entry.
“We provide specific guidelines for each award category,” said Williams. “Follow the guidelines and submit your entry before the deadline. Don’t wait until the last minute. Prepare your entries carefully and thoroughly with the attention they deserve.”
It is never too early to start preparing to enter.
“When you have a new model home opening, a top sales person, a successful Realtor promotion, or your favorite newspaper ad, set them aside in a folder along with any information background information that you will need for the entry,” said Williams. “That way, when it’s time to submit your entries, half the work is already done.”
Franchesca Swierz of Homes and Land Magazine won the Laurel for Associate Member of the Year last year: “I have only entered once, but my advice would be to enter. It is like they say: ‘You can’t win if you don’t enter.’”
Some awards from NEFBA and NEFAR are won by the person standing out among the rest, not from an entry.
“You need to be very active in the association for that year,” said Deborah Metzig of Bailey Publishing, a Laurel winner for Associate of the Year. “It help to chair a committee or be very active on one or more committees. It helps to attend meetings and socials, and work at doing something that makes a difference for the association such as bringing in several new members, offering ideas to grow the association or reaching out to help others in the community or the association.”
Metzig has another bit of advice: don’t be shy.
“One year, an SMC member called and asked me to nominate them,” she said. “They sent me information on their achievements and made it easy to nominate them. And the person won Marketing Director of the Year.”
Bailey Publishing has won Best Industry Publication five times for Realty/Builder Connection.
“We do everything possible to show off our strengths when we put together our nomination,” said Metzig, the advertising director for the publication. “Then, we have everyone involved critique the entry.”
Unfortunately, there won’t be an Excel Awards this year.
“The committee that oversees the awards felt that in the economy today many builders did not have the staff on hand to create winning entry packages,” said Lynne Edwards, the Florida Home Builders Association’s advertising and sponsorship director. “They felt that if the builder had to choose an awards program the local programs were available to them and with greater benefits for local marketing.
“We felt that the 25th anniversary of the Excel Awards demanded that either the program was fantastic with entries or fantastic as a celebration of past winner accomplishments so we opted to the past celebration.”
But, Edwards gave some good advice for those interested in entering future contests.
“The best way to prepare for any awards is to create and save materials throughout the year,” said Edwards. “If photos are to be taken of a project, have them done early and save a folder on line for each project you have. Label the images immediately once you have received them from a photographer. For brochures and marketing materials, create in-house portfolios for each project and keep the materials together. This saves valuable time at the end and when you are ready to enter a program you pull that folder and all materials are already in there.”
Presentation is the key.
“Keep it neat, clean and simple,” said Edwards. “Keep marketing statements to the point and not add a lot of fluff. Judges hate to read the same old same old. Also make sure any promotional pieces are mounted and clean. Be clear and precise.”
Marketing statements with images are very important in getting a message across to the judges.
“If you speak about a project have images that coincide with that,” said Edwards. “Many items people write about a campaign and have nothing to view. This results in lost messages to the judges.”
Preparing for an entry is an ongoing process. But, start early and organize well.
“When you begin a promotional campaign, open a model, host a Realtor event start with those images, ads, flyers and invites and like a scrapbook create a place in your office for each event/model/project and start your collection,” said Edwards. “I create a folder on line for each issue of the magazine and save everything in that magazine so when I enter a program I have covers, articles and so on. It just makes it easier to enter.”
Be an organized shutterbug, too.
“Take photos,” said Edwards. “Digital cameras make this easy to take right from the camera. Rename when you save to your computer per project and save in a folder. I have an external hard drive I purchased for $140 that holds all award folders. I keep it plugged into the desktop and when needed and I can find an image quickly and right then.”
NEFAR gives out annual awards to its members and affiliates, but Realtors and affiliates do not have to enter to win — they just have to stand out to the association.
“NEFAR members submit nominations, which are then reviewed by a panel of NEFAR members,” said Melanie Green, the association’s communications director. “The panel selects the winners from among the nominations, based upon the criteria for each category.”
But, when it all comes down to it, winning an award is based on what you’ve done.
“We try and keep our nominating system as simple as possible,” said Jim Bailey, publisher of Realty/Builder Connection. “We work hard to get names but we want people to keep their nominations brief. Once we get a list of possible winners, we do the background work to see who’s deserving.”
And who IS deserving?
“Those who serve their profession,” said Bailey. “Simple as that. If you go above and beyond, you’ll get recognized.”