SMA 2019 - Distributor criteria

clock • 9 min read

Below is a full list of the distribution entry criteria

These categories are open to all firms that class themselves as a distributor - whether volume player or VAD. 

Please do read the criteria before crafting an entry - they are there to guide you through the process and give you an idea of what the judges are looking for. 

To submit an entry please click here.  

 

Best Sales and Marketing support team 

Criteria 

Who can enter?  This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value-added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2018 to Jan 2019, so please bear in mind when writing entries. 

  • Please provide a brief background to the team you are entering including their levels of experience and any specialist skill sets. What is the team called? Why are you entering this particular team?
  • Describe the characters in your team and how this helps with their success. Also any little quirks of the team would be interesting to hear about.
  • Outline the success of the team in terms of partner results in 2019. Please use partner/vendor feedback to illustrate this
  •  Highlight examples where your team has effectively worked with reseller or vendor partners to develop a successful marketing campaign resulting in strong channel sales
  •  Highlight an example where your team has worked with a partner sales team to win a key piece of business
  •  REQUIREMENT: Include a testimonial - either vendor or reseller (or both) within the entry itself 

Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words, and try to think about the judges when composing them. Use plenty of spacing, bullet points and paragraphs to construct your entry to make them easier on the eye. PDF and other multimedia entries are encouraged, and you can add personality to your entry too to make it stand out. If you are submitting a video, please keep it to FIVE minutes or less. 

 

Best Marketing Campaign - Distributor 

Criteria 

Who can enter? This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value-added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2018 to Jan 2019, so please bear in mind when writing entries and referring to particular campaigns.  It can cover a social media/viral campaign or a more ‘traditionally' executed campaign. 

  • What was the campaign and when did it run? How did it work? Please describe the campaign itself, what mediums you used to run it on (ie social media/online/print etc) and its title.
  • Why are you entering this particular campaign?  What makes it stand out?
  • Which partner was it in conjunction with?
  • Who was it aimed at? ie SMBs, Enterprises, Public sector (or other specific sectors)
  • How successful was the campaign - use facts and figures to back up claims.  How many customers benefitted from the campaign?
  • Was there anything quirky or unusual about the campaign that really got it noticed? i.e. did it use cutting edge technology, or go viral?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide a customer (reseller) testimonial within the entry 

Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words, and try to think about the judges when composing them. Use plenty of spacing, bullet points and paragraphs to construct your entry to make them easier on the eye. PDF and other multimedia entries are encouraged, and you can add personality to your entry too to make it stand out. If you are submitting a video, please keep it to FIVE minutes or less. 

  

Best Company to Work For 

Criteria 

Who can enter?  This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value-added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The company must pride itself on being a great place to work both in terms of results/growth, staff/employee satisfaction/motivation, CSR and general company culture. This award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2018 to Jan 2019, so please bear in mind when talking about particular activities, trips or incentives offered to staff. Images can also be used if required. 

  • Why is your company such a great place to work?
  • What do you think makes it stand out from your peers?
  • How does company culture help generate results?
  • Has your company used internal social media campaigns to generate a fun working environment?  How has this enhanced the staff morale?  Give examples.
  • How does your company empower staff to do their jobs better?  Give examples.
  • How are you addressing the gender pay gap/skills gap in the industry? Any particular campaigns you are running in your company?
  • Can you give examples of CSR activities? ie Charity events etc
  • How do you motivate staff and engender loyalty? This can include outlines of bonus/commission schemes, extra leave, holidays, prizes etc
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide testimonials from your staff within the entry 

Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words, and try to think about the judges when composing them. Use plenty of spacing, bullet points and paragraphs to construct your entry to make them easier on the eye. PDF and other multimedia entries are encouraged, and you can add personality to your entry too to make it stand out. If you are submitting a video, please keep it to FIVE minutes or less. 

 

Manager of the Year - Distributor (nominated)  - NEW FOR 2019! 

This is a brand-new category for 2019 and it is your chance to nominate a manager that you feel has gone the extra mile for you and your colleagues. All we ask is a 100-150 word statement explaining who the person you are nominating is, what their job title is, how long they have worked at your company, and why you are nominating them for this award/what do you think qualifies them as the manager of the year. The more nominations a person receives, the more likely they are to make the shortlist.

Training Initiative of the Year 

Criteria 

 Who can enter? This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value-added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The period covered by the awards run from Jan 2018 to Jan 2019, so please bear in mind when writing entries and referring to particular achievements/successes.   

  • What training initiative are you entering? (brief description)
  • Why do you think it stands out?
  • Describe the training in a nutshell - who runs it, who it is aimed at, who developed the course, what vendor it is linked to, for example
  • How does the training initiative empower resellers? i.e. does it open new doors to them/help them attract new customers/increase their revenue potential?
  • What proportion of your company turnover is made through training? 
  • How much resource do you put into your training business in terms of staff, hours and money invested?
  • How is providing this training beneficial to your business? i.e. does it help keep you closer to vendor partners? Please elaborate.
  • Name some particular partner success stories that have resulted from your training
  • REQUIREMENT: Include customer testimonial in the entry to back it up.

Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words, and try to think about the judges when composing them. Use plenty of spacing, bullet points and paragraphs to construct your entry to make them easier on the eye. PDF and other multimedia entries are encouraged, and you can add personality to your entry too to make it stand out. If you are submitting a video, please keep it to FIVE minutes or less. 

 

Best Graduate and/or Apprenticeship Scheme  - NEW FOR 2019 

Criteria 

Who can enter? This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment.  The Graduate or Apprenticeship scheme must have been running from, or further developed since January 2018.  

  • The skills gap is a top challenge many channel firms are facing. Describe how your company is looking to plug that gap with a dedicated Graduate and/or Apprenticeship scheme.
  • Tell us about your particular programme and why you launched it/how long it has been running. Where do you get your Graduates/Apprentices from - how do they apply and how do you select them?
  • How many Graduates/Apprentices have you trained so far and are you planning on increasing this?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage more female graduates into your schemes?
  •  How long is the process and what do they do once it is finished?
  • What have been the biggest challenges in running your scheme?
  • Describe any particular success stories - ie, someone who has gone on to become a senior manager within your own company or has been headhunted somewhere and has done really well for themselves.
  • REQUIREMENT: A testimonial from a graduate/apprentice within the entry - either a current one, or one that has flourished after completing their training with your company.

Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words, and try to think about the judges when composing them. Use plenty of spacing, bullet points and paragraphs to construct your entry to make them easier on the eye. PDF and other multimedia entries are encouraged, and you can add personality to your entry too to make it stand out. If you are submitting a video, please keep it to FIVE minutes or less.

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