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Episode 155: Judges Tips for Awards Success with Maggie Sarfo

Release Date: 06/11/2025

Episode 155: Judges Tips for Awards Success with Maggie Sarfo

The Business Awards Show

Judges Tips for Awards Success is a special series of the Business Awards Show focusing on how to enter awards and why you should. In our latest episode, we are joined by Maggie Sarfo, a business coach, networking expert, and a judge for the Best Businesswomen Awards. Maggie is a Business Growth Coach, author, and the Regional Director for The Athena Network in the London City area. As a judge for the Best Businesswomen Awards since 2021, she brings a wealth of experience in identifying standout businesses. Through her company, Meres Consult Ltd, she helps entrepreneurs and leaders achieve...

Episode 154: Judges & Sponsors Talk Awards

The Business Awards Show

The latest Business Awards Show is a wide-ranging conversation with a panel of judges and sponsors. The Best Businesswomen Awards prides itself on its scrupulous judging, fairness and integrity. Judge Denise O'Leary of Purpol Marketing and author of the bestselling Winner: How to Win Business Awards, explains why the process is so robust and thoroughly objective. One of our sponsors is Fiona Scott, founder of Scott Media, a leading PR consultant. Fiona explains why being selective about the awards you enter is essential. She also emphasises the need to attend award events when you are...

Episode 153: Karen Campbell - Marketing Director, Small Business Britain

The Business Awards Show

Karen Campbell - Marketing Director, Small Business Britain and founder of networking group Hotsy Totsy, is the latest guest on the Business Awards Show. Karen is a ball of energy and a vital supporter of small businesses in the UK. She started out as a journalist, moving to London from her native Yorkshire to be the Arts & Entertainment correspondent for the Metro newspaper. From there, she moved into the fashion industry and then the Performing Rights Society. When the partying got too much, she decided it was time to start her own marketing business. We track her journey through the...

Episode 152: Nevina Holland Founder of Peekaboo Studios

The Business Awards Show

Nevina Holland founder of Peekaboo Studios is a maternity and newborn photography specialist with a rare talent. She has won multiple photography awards and is a Licentiate of The Master Photographers Association, recognition of her outstanding work for over fourteen years. Nevina won the Best Customer Service award at the Best Businesswomen Awards in 2017! She has gone from strength to strength since then, growing her client base, continuing to develop her outstanding offering and building a business on word of mouth. In our discussion, discover how Nevina followed her passion for photography...

Episode 151: Judges Tips for Awards Success with Aarti Parmar & Mary Gregory

The Business Awards Show

Judges Tips for Awards Success is the next in a special series of the Business Awards Show focusing on how to enter awards and why you should. Judge Aarti Parmar, an award-winning brand consultant, shares her thoughts on judging the Best Businesswomen Awards. Aarti offers excellent advice to anyone thinking of entering or who has not won previously. Mary Gregory, leadership coach and winner of the Best Coach 2024 has decided to sponsor the awards this year. Mary suggested we create a new category - Best Female Leader. So we did! And we are delighted that she is sponsoring the award. Mary...

Episode 150: Get the Award-Winning Mindset with Dee Clayton

The Business Awards Show

When considering entering awards do you find yourself thinking: “I’m not good enough,” “What if I don’t win?” “What if I do win?” “I don’t want to enter myself—someone should nominate me” “It’s not okay to tell people how great I am—they should see it anyway”. In this session, founder of The Best Businesswomen Awards Debbie Gilbert discusses with Dee Clayton, multi-award-winning NLP expert and founder of Simply Amazing Training, how to overcome these mental barriers and step confidently into the spotlight. Dee reveals in this empowering episode: ✨ How to...

Episode 149: Kate Cherry Athena Network Beds & Mid-Herts

The Business Awards Show

Kate Cherry Athena Network Beds & Mid-Herts is an award-winning Regional Director of one of the UK's leading women's networking organisations. After a 15-year career in the financial sector, Kate bought a franchise in the Athena network and has been running groups in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire for nearly a decade. She explains how she wanted more time with her children and so shifted her focus from a corporate career to her own business success. She loves being a connector and introducer for like-minded businesswomen, and thrives on building confidence in others. This has been at the...

Episode 148: Ceylan Boyce Founder Academy For Women Entrepreneurs

The Business Awards Show

Ceylan Boyce Founder Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, is a ball of endless energy. Steeped in business strategy, Ceylan's academy has helped hundreds of female entrepreneurs grow their companies. Born in Turkey, Ceylan gained a Masters in Marketing & Communications in Paris before studying Executive Coaching at Cambridge. After a successful corporate career consulting in business strategy, she set up her own consultancy business in the healthcare and pharma sectors. But this was still too corporate for this driven entrepreneur. While developing her yoga training, she was encouraged...

Episode 147: Cheryl Laidlaw London Web Girl

The Business Awards Show

Cheryl Laidlaw, London Web Girl, is a multi-award-winning web designer who exudes positive energy. After four years doing web design in a creative agency, she decided to go it alone, launching Reyl Design Group in 2010. Many other brands have followed since. Cheryl has become an expert in AI, helping clients to embrace its benefits, overcoming the myths that come with it. She helps clients set up AI assistants to underpin their business operations, boosting productivity and ensuring accuracy and prompt responses. She is passionate about every business getting the best from their website....

Episode 146: Bina Briggs Founder Plain Talking HR

The Business Awards Show

Bina Briggs founder of Plain Talking HR, is a true inspiration. On 7th October 1972 she arrived with her mother and sister at a foggy Heathrow airport. The family had fled Idi Amin's murderous regime in Uganda, as his nationalistic dictatorship sought to purge all minorities from the country. Carrying only a suitcase, without even a warm coat to keep out the autumn cold, Bina started a new life in a foreign country, with an alien culture. She soon found employment at Luton Airport rising to senior HR management in a career that spanned over 35 years. When she was made redundant, whilst a...

More Episodes

Maggie is a Business Growth Coach, author, and the Regional Director for The Athena Network in the London City area. As a judge for the Best Businesswomen Awards since 2021, she brings a wealth of experience in identifying standout businesses.

Through her company, Meres Consult Ltd, she helps entrepreneurs and leaders achieve exponential growth by focusing on strategy, execution, and personal development. Maggie is also a TEDx speaker and the author of "The One Secret to Happiness."

In our conversation, Maggie shares her invaluable insider perspective on what makes an award application truly stand out. She reveals her top three tips for crafting a compelling entry, discusses common mistakes to avoid, and explains the profound impact of storytelling and tangible evidence. The discussion also covers the underutilised networking opportunities at awards events, the power of being a "unicorn" in business, and insights from Maggie's own journey as a TEDx speaker and author. This is a must-listen for any entrepreneur looking to gain recognition and catapult their business to the next level.

{1:39} What Maggie looks for in awards entries.

{4:16} How to present your evidence.

{4:50} The common mistakes in entries.

{7:03} An entry that stood out.

{8:41} Awards - the perfect networking opportunity.

{11:47} Maggie's Athena Network online events.

{14:10} Maggie's work in business consulting.

{16:16} How awards contribute to business growth.

{18:08} Maggie's Ted Talk.

{19:39} Maggie's book - The One Secret to Happiness.

Connect with Debbie at: https://thebusinessawardsshow.co.uk

Connect with Maggie: https://maggiesarfo.com/