March 3, 2022

POTYA judge’s advice for a winning entry

Part of our role in supporting US Partners is to make sure you have the knowledge and tools you need to reach your potential, and this is no different. We want to give you a chance to hear from those who will determine whether you will claim the title of Microsoft Partner of the Year Award finalist or winner – the judges.

We spoke with Adriana Bade, Microsoft Senior Partner Marketing Advisor, Dynamics ISVs and former judge and manager for the MSUS side of the Partner of the Year Awards, about her experience reviewing partner submissions and her top advice for partners hoping to claim their spot atop the podium this year.

Microsoft Partner of the Year Award submissions are due April 5, 2022, at 11:59pm PST. Start your nomination now.

Top tip: Dedicate time to your submission!

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Award Guidance from Judges is full of excellent advice around getting started, writing your entry, and editing and final review. But if we boiled it down to one key takeaway, what would it be?

According to former judge Adriana Bade, dedicating adequate time to design and edit your entry is the best starting point.

“It’s really important to demonstrate your credibility as a partner as well as your commitment to Microsoft,” impresses Bade. “A partner who takes the time to develop their story from end-to-end, gather the evidence to support customer ROI, and present it all in a creative way will stand out in the minds of judges as we work through subsequent rounds and final deliberation.”

No partner is too small to win or too big to fail. “We have had large, well-known partners submit sub-par entries consisting of simply bullet point answers. While their actual solution and track record may have been top-tier, they didn’t take the time to show that in their submission, which impacted their score,” recalls Bade.

Keep in mind that judges are sourced from across solution areas and roles, and typically judge nominations outside their area of expertise. What does this mean?

“Your submission needs to clearly and strongly state who you are right off the bat,” says Bade. “For example, were you the top co-sell partner last year? A former award winner? Since your reader may be someone highly technical or someone with a marketing and communications background, you need to find a way to present yourself in a way that resonates.”

As judges review your entry, they write commentary to share during subsequent rounds. By creating a connection, you are more likely to remain top-of-mind for that judge and show better during deliberations.

Let’s dive into some key areas where time makes a difference:

1. Create space for creativity

Have you ever tried to force a joke or create something spectacular under a time crunch? In many cases, deadlines are an enemy of free-flowing creativity. As mentioned before, judge Adriana Bade credits partner creativity as one of the things that helps them stand out in the crowd.

“Entries that take a bit of risk to be different – with humor, wit, outstanding storytelling – take hold of the imagination. They have more staying power. So, if two entries both hit all the points on the rubric, the one that is more unique will still stand out,” says Bade.

Defining what angle works with your company’s character, your customer’s story, and so forth takes trial and error, and lots of refining.

2. Center around a customer story or competitive take-out

This is not a new concept – real world evidence is enormously valuable in proving the value of what you do. However, unless you have your customer stories written, approved, and ready to go, you’ll need to invest time in talking to customers, gathering testimonials, or documenting how you swooped in to take out the competition.

This requires more than regurgitating facts. “Oftentimes we see entries where the partner has crammed in several case studies which don’t go beyond surface level,” explains Bade. “A quality customer story or competitive take-out focuses on digging into the detail and connecting the dots for the reader.” Again, your reader may not be familiar with your company or solution – the information you include in your entry will be their only source of knowledge and must be relatable.

For example, “We had one partner whose customer, a coffee wholesaler and retailer, was unprepared for the large scale direct-to-customer motion they needed to adopt when their storefronts shut down as a result of the pandemic,” recalls Bade. “The customer needed to see their inventory in a new way, which the partner was able to deliver, and then some.” Because the pandemic touched everyone and is intimately familiar to most in their professional, personal, and consumer lives, this customer story had a wide reach and was likely to resonate strongly with anyone who read it.

3. Gather evidence to emphasize impact

In the example, above, the partner not only told a great story, but showed how their solution created a clear return on investment for their customer, the coffee wholesaler and retailer.

“At the end of the day, [judges] need to see hard data,” says Bade. Gather your facts – the metrics, numbers, and statistics that demonstrate the strength of your solution.

How many people your solution served, in what ways it increased productivity (and by how much), and so on can be captured in case studies or customer stories, but also press releases or a customer quote. Use solid stats to show what you achieved.

4. Connect the dots for the reader

This bears repeating. Make sure to connect the dots between who you are, your customer pain points, your solution, their ROI, and so forth. Again, the judges reading your entry could be brand new to your solution area, so assume they know nothing and go above and beyond to make it clear.

A critical part of connecting the dots is demonstrating how you worked with Microsoft teams to deliver value to customers. “Listing client engagements (or wins) with products on Azure but no real Microsoft participation fails to provide a solid view of the partnership,” says Edwin Vargas, another Partner of the Year Awards judge.

5. Do include supplemental materials

Everyone has the same 8,000 words in which to capture their story. If you nail your entry in the ways we outlined above, including supplemental materials is one more way to drive home your impact.

The main body of your entry needs to be complete – remember, connect those dots, but if you can expand on those points with quality complements, “it really does augment your application,” explains Bade. “Supplemental materials are part of your official packet which a judge must review – that’s extra time they’ll spend thinking about you and your solution.”

Supplementary materials may include full case studies, additional quotes from customers, and press releases, among others. Especially powerful are materials co-branded with Microsoft.

6. Consider your award category

You probably already have an award category in mind, but after you’ve done the groundwork, read and choose your categories carefully. By selecting the most appropriate category, you can ensure your entry is as relevant as possible.

Also, always consider more than one category. Yes, writing more than one entry will take more time, but it will also give you a better chance of being a winner or finalist.

Stay focused, though. “Select categories you have a good chance in and spend your time creating solid submissions for those rather than trying multiple categories with less compelling entries,” says Bade. “Even if a particular solution or story fits well with multiple categories, make sure that you tailor your submission to each. Cutting and pasting something generic is a quick way to fall out before the final round.”

Remember, the ultimate goal of your Partner of the Year Award entry is to weave together a well-written story that emphasizes credibility and commitment to Microsoft in a creative way. This requires investment. Start early, take the time.

While judges don’t begin their review until the nomination window closes, starting early will give you ample time to define your unique story line, pull together the compelling evidence, prepare your supplemental information, and ensure its edited and ready to go.

Inspired? Make sure to check out the official judge’s guide, to ensure you bring forward a quality entry worthy of your solution.

Claim your place on the Partner of the Year Awards podium!

Your organization could be the next Microsoft Partner of the Year Award winner! With the submission deadline of April 5, 2022 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time looming, don’t wait to submit your nomination to be considered.