How to Win Business Contests for Publicity

Have you ever considered entering business contests as another way to garner publicity as well as business insight?

Going into a competition, it may be all about the prizes and publicity. But win or lose, entering contests can be used as a tool to reevaluate the performance of your company, especially in arenas where you have to reveal your business model to industry judges, competitors, investors, news media, and potential customers. Spending precious hours filling out an application and preparing for a presentation before a panel can help you unearth flaws in operations and management.

Judi Henderson–Townsend, the co-owner of Mannequin Madness, has won eight awards and contests since 2002, including a $100,000 technology grant from Intel, the Business Breakthrough presented by Visa and Microsoft award, and most recently the 2009 and 2010 Face of Opportunity contests sponsored by British Airways.

With careful planning and preparation, you can improve your odds of winning. Here are some tips to beating out the competition.

1. Follow the instructions.
2. Take your time.
3. Keep it simple.
4. Showcase strong business strategies and strengths.
5. Start small, then go big.
6. Have some fun.

Full story at Inc. »