Microsoft Inspire Awards 2022
In case you missed it, the Microsoft awards nominations page is now open! You have until March 31, 2022 at 6 pm Pacific time to nominate yourself. Over the past 12 years many of our clients have won partner of the year and more, so it is definitely worth
the investment of time and effort to pull your nomination together. If you don’t try, you can’t win!
Here are tips to help make your application package more compelling:
- Make your application visually unique and differentiated. You have to fill out the form and follow the format, however include URL links to photos, charts, graphs, slides, videos and images to tell your story in a visually engaging way. Create a nomination
video, or PowerPoint presentation with voice over. Ugly heavy text word documents require cognitive effort to read and process and big chunks of text are easy to skip/scan/ignore, and will look and feel the same as everyone else’s – undifferentiated,
not memorable.
- Make it about Microsoft. We are all self-serving. Of course you are proud of YOUR results and impact. But help the Microsoft judges know why your success is not only good for your, but for Microsoft too. What’s in it for Microsoft? How does your achievement
further Microsoft’s goals and agenda? Why should they care about what you have done and accomplished? In what way is your success also a win for Microsoft?
- Add a human element and leverage video as much as possible. This can be a remotely directed quick 1-2 minute customer case study story, or a 1 minute overview from your CEO sharing why your story is so incredible
Download and read our free video best practices guide here
Video + Case Study Services | Neural Impact | The Neuroscience of Emotional Engagement
See these excellent best practices example from Mobile Mentor, on our clients who won last year:
Partner of the Year Video Submission (vimeo.com)
- Make sure all your claims are substantiated with PROOF and EVIDENCE. This proof can be in the form of a customer case study, screen shots, chart, graphs, data. Specific data and stats are more credible and believable than generic, vague claims
- Show indisputably WHY you should win. Communicate your “bottom line” story of results in a pictorial way. Communicate and demonstrate the “before and after” state in a visual story (Imagine your single visual slide being shown on the big screen on
stage at Inspire!). The brain LOVES contrast. Here is a great example that could be from one of our clients this year showing license and customer ads growth, last year over this year in one visual story.
Submit your nomination.
Good luck to you and your team!