And the winner is: How to clinch an award

We all like being recognised for our hard work but winning a business award can also provide valuable PR for your firm. Features editor Louise Druce sets the stage for how to walk away with the ultimate prize.

There is no one, set magic formula to winning a business award (there are too many of them for a start), but there is plenty you can do to make your firm stand out from the crowd to be in with the chance of bagging not only a great prize but some great marketing clout.

Now without sounding like a press release from the ministry of the bloomin' obvious, you need to enter as many competitions as you can in the first place. Don't just go for the big cash prizes or mistakenly think it's crass to nominate yourself for an award – how else are people going to know you're out there?