Awards season is creeping up on us once again.

That time when businesses across a range of sectors have the chance to put themselves forward as an exemplar in their industry or as a stand-out company in their region.

Awards are, of course, great PR and sometimes just being shortlisted and being including in the same breath as other outstanding businesses in your field is worth its weight in gold.

However, it is important to say that there are lots of awards so it is important to ensure that those you are planning to enter are credible and relevant to you.

Then, it is vital to get the entry right and at PLMR Advent we’ve helped dozens of clients over the years to pick up everything from regional awards to international nominations by ensuring they tell their story in the best possible way.

Now, the first thing to say is you do need to have a good story to tell.

For example, if you are looking to enter a business growth award and haven’t grown, wait until next year or find another category.

Our team is great at helping you to tell your story in an award entry but it is vitally important to have the facts and figures to back that up.

It is also crucial to note that every awards organisation asks for something different. You may have set questions that you need to answer and provide evidence to back up your claim or, in other cases, it might be as simple as saying ‘tell us why you should win in 500 words’.

Again, that’s where having support from a team with a journalistic background, which most of us at PLMR Advent do, can be a big help. Telling a good story in as few words as possible is what we do best.

And, over the years, we’ve developed an excellent track record of supporting clients to win key awards in property, retail, leisure, hospitality, events and a range of other sectors.

Not only that, we have also worked with businesses solely on their award entries – firms such as Purple Planet Packaging which we supported to pick up both the Green Business and Overall Business of the Year at last year’s Coventry Telegraph Business Awards.

We have helped individuals too, such as D-Drill’s Julie White, who we supported to win Businesswoman of the Year a few years ago – an accolade that led to her appearing on BBC’s Question Time!

It’s a great example of how winning an award can lead to further publicity and provides great credibility for your business.

Take Sonihull, a company that put itself forward for a King’s Award for Enterprise but then utilised the services of PLMR Advent to help promote that success, leading to regional, national and trade media coverage.

So, if you think you’ve got something to shout about or that you are doing an award-winning job – no matter what the sector – take the time to put yourself forward. And, if you need some help doing it, just ask!