Finalists announced

The judges have now sifted through this year's entries and the finalists who will attend the gala night in June are as follows:

Allpark Ltd
Benning Brothers Limited
Clark Marshall Associates
Hodgson Pharmacy Ltd
Internal Audit Group
Mitchell Carpets Ltd
Quay Assessment Training Ltd
Sharp Printing Solutions
Winter & Smith (Electronics) Limited
Writetrak

Some hot entry tips from chair of judges, Matt Kear Lloyds TSB.

As the business awards have grown the task of judging has become increasingly difficult due to the high standard of applicants. This I feel is an excellent reflection of the superb businesses we have seen in both boroughs.

I'm certain there are many more out there and would take this opportunity to encourage them to enter so we can give them the recognition they so rightly deserve.

To assist in the judging process it would be helpful to have an understanding on some or all of the following:
 
1. The origin of the business and how and why it started
2. What products or services you provide and how successful are they?
3. Have you got any objectives and goals?
4. Is their a sales and marketing strategy in place?
5. Have you examples of staff training and motivation?
6. What obstacles have you faced, how did you overcome them?
 
This list gives you a flavour of some the areas we look into when judging a business.
 
The more we know about you and your business the stronger your chances of winning. These awards continue to be a success year on year with past winners benefiting from the kudos that brings. On behalf of the judging panel I wish every applicant success for this year I'm sure our task will be as challenging as ever.

You can win these awards

ComputerTel is a Gravesend based telecommunications company specialising in the supply of call recording systems and quality monitoring software.

Celebrating over 20 years in business, we have learnt that going the extra mile for our customers secures strong partnerships that will continue to grow and thrive. ComputerTel offer their customers unrivalled project management and support including excellent customer service, both pre and post sale.

So why did we chose to enter the Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards two years running? The answer is simple; we wanted other people to know who we are, what we can do and how well we can do it.

So why should your company enter the Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards 2011?

Winning an award - or even being a short listed as a finalist -creates awareness of your company and adds credibility. It also gives you an opportunity to contact existing customers with your news and offers integrity to new prospects, not to mention the publicity you will receive in the local media.

As a former entrant and winner of the Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards, we'd like to help you on the way with a couple of tips:

• Treat entering the awards as a proper project and put aside sufficient time to find facts and supporting material

• When filling in your form, try and ensure it is enjoyable reading (remember that the judges will read huge amounts of entries!)

• Don't be shy with your achievements, if you have got big name clients - mention them! If you have got accreditations (Investors in People, ISO etc), remember to mention them as well.

• Mention any staff motivating factors you might have in place (training and incentive schemes). If your company supports a charity or green issues, make sure you mention them as well.

• Lastly, think about what makes your company special and try and convey that in your entry.

Good luck to all entrants and hope to see you on the Gala Evening on 10 June 2011.