Use metrics wisely.

Regardless of what type of award you’re applying for, metrics will undoubtedly be key.

You can’t just claim to be great and expect judges will believe you: you must provide proof, empirical evidence, objective measures.

And they can’t be just any objective measures, they have to be clear, accurate and compelling. You can’t vaguely toss around numbers and expect to impress a panel of experts.

Here’s a great example I used in a final project for the excellent Virtual Facilitator Trainer Certification course I recently took (nice employee benefits, right?). How would you answer this poll?:

The revamped sales training yielded $5 million in new revenue. Is that a good result for a sales training program?

If you answered C, give yourself a gold star. It depends. For starters, what was the goal?

If it was $2 million, fantastic. If it was $10 million, not so much.

They say content is king? With metrics, CONTEXT is king.

Let’s try that sentence again:

The revamped sales training yielded $5 million in new revenue, vs. a goal of $2.5 million.

Ah! Now we’re getting somewhere. There’s a basis for comparison – what you did vs. what you aimed to do.

But wait…what if you provided even more context?

The revamped sales training yielded $5 million in new revenue, vs. a goal of $2.5 million, and 2010 results of $1.75 million.

Even better – you beat the target AND significantly improved over last year.

To further show impact, you could indicate:

• These results vs. industry benchmarks, if available (and superior)
• Marketplace implications, such as out-selling competitors in the same category for the first time
• Comparisons to your company’s other sales training programs, if warranted, e.g.: showed greatest improvement, had most significant impact on sales in 2011, biggest revenue boost in 100 years, etc.

Conclusion: to use metrics wisely, always put data in context. 

In other words, results vs.:

And be sure to include all the implications of these fantastic results.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

This concludes the series, Seven Tips on How to Win Awards. I hope you’ve found it helpful in that it has inspired you to go for it – to tell your story and win recognition for your outstanding efforts.

I welcome your comments and feedback, either here or by e-mailing me at deb @ debarnoldink .com.

The rest of the series:

Introduction

Tip #1: Know Who You’re Talking To

Tip #2: Read the Question

Tip #3: Start Early

Tip #4: Tell a Good Story

Tip #5: Keep it Simple

Tip #6: Be Succinct

As seen at the fabulous Ballard Farmers Market…