I have been self-employed and the proprietor of my own company for the past two decades. Many business owners have approached me for assistance in running their companies or to inquire about hiring me as a business coach. When it comes to matters of marketing and advertising, one of the first questions that I am frequently asked concerns the methods that offer the greatest returns on investment.

Winning business awards is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to expand your company and brand, as well as establish a strong presence and foundation for your enterprise. When I was first presented with the concept of doing this, I reacted to it with some skepticism and some of my misgivings. I reasoned that our company was either too young and not well known, that we were not large enough, or that I needed to be part of the “in” crowd in order to be eligible for a prestigious award. I pondered the question, “Why would anyone want to give me an award anyway?” in my head.

With all that doubt in mind, I still approached the new idea with excitement and started applying for awards.  To my surprise, M & E Painting won its first award in 2009.  To date, we have won some of the city’s, state’s, and nation’s most prestigious business awards.

So how did we do it?  Pretty simple.  Here are the steps:

Step 1.  Decide you will make award-winning part of your marketing strategy.

Step 2. Search, List, Apply.  Search for any awards that are available to you and that your company would qualify for.  Create a list of these awards and when the application deadline is.  Then get to work applying for the awards.

Step 3. You must capture, craft, and communicate a story that appeals to the award you are applying for.  There will be a panel of judges that will be reviewing your entry.  You must be an amazing storyteller and story writer.  Be sure that you appeal to the essence of the award when you are sharing your story.

Step 4. Partner with and/or have somebody in your corner that is a great copywriter/copy editor.  This person will help you take your story from step 3, and bring it to life, proofread it, and edit it to make sure it appears and comes across well written and professional.